This is the second time I've had to write this chapter, so if I get any really long complaints about the length of time it takes between updates, I will merely demand in return that you replace my piece of crap computer, ok?

Just read and review, it would most definitely make my day.

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

Briteyes, who refused to respond to any other name now, found herself sitting on a cushion in room. Though she was sure she'd never seen it before, it had some familiar bits to it. Workshop-type benches where scattered everywhere except in the one small corner where she sat, a huge fireplace to one side with two other figures beside it. Some how, though she was unarmed and had no idea how she got there, she wasn't afraid and merely waited calmly to see what would happen next.

"Hello," said the taller of the two as they both drifted towards her and sat side by side on cushions as well. "Do you remember me?"

The performer looked her over, her eyes the only part of her body that showed any movement though her mind was racing a million miles a moment. "...I...oh! Trystan!" She sat up straighter, confusion flashing across her face. "But...that means we're in Tortal, and how did I get there?? Or is Tortall connected to Summer Sea, I thought they were two completely different realms..."

"I will explain everything," cut in the woman mage, silencing the young woman across from her with a wave. "You're still in Summer Sea. This young one beside me is Devan, my brother. HE is the mage in charge here, we are at his workshop as we speak." She motioned to the small boy beside her, who looked like he'd rather fade into the woodwork rather than speak to her right then.

"Oh..." Briteyes frowned, then bit her lip, trying to reason out just exactly what had happened. "I just have one question: why am I here? I can't really remember..."

Trystan shot the younger boy a glare and he sighed, her thoughts becoming clear almost immediately. Zeroing in on the boy who was supposed to protect her brother with a deadly glare of her own, the performer leaned forward, her hands reaching out like she wanted to strangle him. "You...!"

"EEP! I CAN EXPLAIN!!!" The boy hid behind his sister, who sighed and broke them up, silencing both with an equally deadly glare and lightly bolts that rippled from her hands to enforce it. "

"Tell her, Devan," she ordered firmly.

"I...fell asleep," he explained softly. "I am sorry about all this, really!!"

"Why am I still alive?" asked Briteyes crisply. "I know by all rights I should be dead."

"Because you've been in three different realms," explained Devan simply. "There's a ton of metaphysics and spirit/magic stuff that comes into play, but to put it simply once your spirit, or soul, has traveled to two other realms besides your own, you become immortal within those realms. Now, the body you do inhabit there can be destroyed, so you're not some god who can run around being killed constantly and come back pain-free. Every time you do it takes a little longer to come back, but you will eventually. Your body will force itself to heal, and if it's lost too much like yours did it will phase itself in with one of its other bodies so it will be whole again. I did that with your Tortall body, so all those scars you left behind are probably going to pop back up again..."

"I see." The musician cracked her knuckles. "I need to know, though. Have the Dedicates lied to me? Is Ben truly dead?"

Devan paused, exchanging looks with his sister before replying, "The Dedicates have not lied to you."

"..." She bent her head and left a few tears fall down her cheeks, Devan gathering his courage for what he had to say next.

"I do need something from you," he said suddenly. "A boon, if you will."

"What?" she asked, her head still slightly bent.

"You cannot use what you know to verbally influence the plot of the realms," he stated firmly. "I'm going to put a spell on you, one that will inhibit you from in any way, shape, or for communicating to others what will happen next. You can physically be present, and with your ACTIONS do anything you can to change the course of history, but that's it..."

She considered his words, then lifting her head slowly, smirked. "You can't."

He huffed back indignantly. "What?! What do you mean I can't?!"

"Not without my permission, that is. Isn't that right, Trystan?" The woman mage confirmed it with a nod, Devan growling angrily.

"Ok, then can I?"

"Not without a boon."

Devan sweated nervous as the young woman rose, a slightly not-so-sane light coming to her eyes. "What sort of boon?"

"I want my old fighting abilities back. Now." She thought about it, then added, "Up to the ability level and knowledge that I had when we left Tortall."

Devan sputtered angrily, "What?! But...I can't...that's not...sis?!"

"That's fair," stated Trystan with a shrug. "Considering what you've put her through, that's entirely fair."

"...fine." He held out his hand grudgingly. "Do we have a deal?"

Briteyes took his hand firmly and shook it, feeling something prick her hand as her blood was taken and placed as a seal, a blood oath, even as the room began to fade as she was cast back into the darkness once again...

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

Nicole slowly walked to the cage of the shrike, opening and gently leading it out, doing everything with the utmost caution . With as great a care as was possible as she buckled the saddle and reins firmly in place, letting the giant bird sit there and get used to having them on again while feeding it bits of meat all the while and telling it what a wonderful bird it was even for being named Butch the whole while.

Lifting herself up on a puff of wind, she slowly lowered herself into the saddle, bit by bit putting more of weight on the creature and making sure it wouldn't suddenly (or violently as it had been) react to it. Settling herself once she was fully in place, she took a bit of meat that was far larger than the rest that she'd fed the bird and hefted it up in the winds, dangling it in front of the shrike's beak before making it take off with the winds.

Just as she'd hoped, the giant predator of the skies took off after it, leaving the small sprite to hang on for the ride. Around and around they went, skimming just over the crew's head more than once as they continued these aerial gyrations. Laughing with glee, she closed her eyes and held out her arms like she was the bird itself....and found herself hung up on a piece of rigging where Butch had followed the meat through and she hadn't been small enough to go with it!

Falling back to the deck, the small person landing with a soft 'thump' and lay there groaning, blinking back the stars in her eyes as Jack stood there and laughed. Butch landed right above him, laughing as well while gulping down the meat he'd speared on his talons.

"Oh...go take a long walk off a short pier..."

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

"Where to now?" asked Bry as she rode in the back of the other two, leaning back lazily in her saddle and just enjoying the late afternoon sun.

"How about this Master Vescom?" asked Randy as he studied the map. "He's just an hour off the road if we split from the caravan at this next crossroads to the left. Also, we need his credit to get our Masters so we might as well drop in now and get his 'Specialized Magics' course along with his 'Recognizing Unmagics' course at the same time."

"Sounds good to me," agreed Olivia, fiddling with a bit of mage's ice in the palm of her hand that was constantly changing shape.

"Ok, sure," said Bryanna, turning back to the book she'd been browsing from one of the other caravan members. "Just...give me a heads up when it's time to turn, ok? I want to be sure to give this back to that George guy before we do..."

"Yeah, sure."

They continued with the caravan until a few hours before sunset, splitting from it and passing through a small town along the way until they reached a lone brick mansion a few miles outside of town, set by itself in a vale of sorts of old, twisted trees.

Bryanna shivered slightly as they entered the yard, closing the gate behind them and dismounting in the main courtyard.

"You go knock on the door," said Olivia as she began to remove her saddlebags from the mount. "This was your idea..."

Randy glanced about the entirely silent yard, gulped, and then nodded consentingly slowly. "Um...ok..." He walked up to the door by himself and lifted the knocker gingerly, as if the jaws of the gargoyle there might suddenly come alive and snatch his hand from the rest of his body. The 'knock' echoed hollowly about the house and yard, Randy adding a few more that were louder than the first before backing off quickly and heading for his horse. "Well...guess no one's home..."

"Who goes there?! Well come on, answer me!" All three looked up to see a balding, slightly heavy set man leaning out of a window a few stories up.

Olivia prodded Randy in the side, the young man finally finding the words to speak. "Students, from Lightsbridge University!" he called back, pointing to the badge on his shirt though the man couldn't possibly distinguish it from there.

"Students, you say?" the man seemed to consider his words, and then nodded. "Very well, I shall be right down..."

"Are you coming Bry?" asked Olivia as the other two grabbed their things and headed back towards the door, the healer remaining motionless beside her horse.

"Hm?" Bryanna looked at them, then nodded as she realized they were moving. "Uh...yeah. I'm coming..."

The front door opened, the man coming out to bow to them, observing them as they had already done as they bowed in return. He was about Randy's height, probably in his 40's or 50's, black hair that was non-existent on top of his head and a rough beard that just fell below his chin. Eyes that roamed restlessly, they seemed pleasant on the outside, but if one cared to look deeper you got the feeling of something deep and dark. Dressed entirely in black, he welcomed them into his home and set them all up in rooms of their own on the main hall.

Bryanna looked around her room, shivering again though she was sweating from the heat of the fire in the hearth.

"Are you sure you're going to be ok?" asked Olivia as she looked over her pale companion, pausing in the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine," replied Bry as she shook it off, heading for her bags and began to unpack her things. "I just need to keep busy, I think..."

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

Brenna hummed pleasantly to herself as she crushed the plants in her small, wooden bowl and then dumped them in a small cauldron of boiling water. Stirring it while reading the book in front of her aloud to herself, she carefully dipped a rag in the solution with another hand and laid it with some others to dry on the rack to the side.

"What'cha doing, Brenna?" asked Kaitlin as she came bounding in, tugging on Brenna's long, raven hair playfully. The resident farm girl swatted her away, being careful not to upset either the small cauldron or the bowl of mashed plants.

"Just testing some stuff," replied Brenna lightly as she picked some other flowers from the bundle she had to the side and plucking their petals to go in a separate bowl. Taking the pestle, she ground them into a thin syrup with some water added to lighten it a little. "I found this book, see? It's on plant dyes. Turns out we have most of the plant dies right here, on the farm. So I figured, what the heck? Might as well see if I can get some of this to work and maybe re-dye some of our clothes so they're not covered with stains any more."

"They're stains from hard work," admonished Kaitlin, wagging her finger belligerently. "They're not something to be taken lightly!"

"I'd still rather try and perhaps find another color I can dye my work robes other than that light brown," replied Brenna with a shrug as she went back to her work. "Hand me that stack of rags, will you? I want to see what color this turns out as and what its cross with a light blue will do to it..."

"Alright, alright..." Kaitlin obediently crossed the kitchen as Cheeks dashed in the room, followed by two rather wound up twins who knew they were closing in on their target. Brenna (who didn't see them as they were coming from behind) turned with one of her 'no-good' dyes to throw it out and was crashed into by the twins, the dye spilling down her front and all over her hands, immediately staining it a lovely, putrid green.

*twitch* Brenna stood there with her newly-colored skin, a vein appearing on her forehead as Cheeks disappeared entirely and the twins immediately hid behind Kaitlin.

"Hey," commented Kaitlin as she shielded them from Brenna's growing death glare. "At least you CAN'T blame this one on me."

Brenna's eyes twitched again. "Watch me."

Kaitlin suddenly decided it would be a good time to make herself scarce, disappearing with the twins like wisps of wind and leaving Brenna standing there fuming as Libby walked in.

"Dude, you're green," said Libby, stopping to look at her in surprise.

"Yeah," Brenna sighed angrily. "The twins were being stupid again, and I got this dye all over me.

"Aw..." Libby paused, then laughed. "Sucks to be you. Later!"

Brenna smacked herself on the forehead, leaving a green handprint there as she headed for the washroom. *grumbles about killing twins on the way*

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

Kristen paced the rows of her largest class, occasionally pausing to firmly correct the stance of one student or another as Cam lead them through a kata she'd found in one of her many books on fighting.

"Hand higher here," she murmured as she lifted the said appendage a few inches. "And your foot needs to be farther out, like this..." The exercise ended and she dismissed them, heading for the front as always to speak with the parents who were gathered there to watch their children's progression.

"Madame Kristen," said one the women, a shy little thing with big, brown eyes and mouse-ish hair. She was well dressed for a merchant's wife, for her husband owned the leather market, but still kept her clothes rather plain and free of ornament most of the time.

"Good to see you today, Mistress Palmer," replied Kristen with a respectful nod. "If this is about Joey, you don't need to worry....he was perfectly well behaved in class today."

"I am glad to hear it, but that's not it," replied the woman softly. "Halley, his little sister, would like to join the lower level class as well. And while I, personally, do not see any problems with this my husband is less than ecstatic about such a prospect..."

"Such a pretty young girl as she, I can see why," replied Kristen carefully. "But might you suggest that it would be beneficial to her well being should she be attacked that she know at least the basics of self defense...? There is not need to go to higher levels like Joey wishes to, but perhaps a few courses might make the difference between staying alive and becoming the next victim of a heinous crime."

"I will mention that to him," said Mistress Palmer with a grateful nod. "Thank you, Madame, and good day."

"Good day to you too, Mistress Palmer!"

"Ma'am, my lord wishes to meet you," said Ramon, one of the servants who brought a small boy for his master every other day for instruction. Not that she was complaining, young Tobey was one of her brightest pupils, and would probably go into Jon's class eventually. "His accountant has insisted that should he keep spending money on such a class, he should meet the teacher." Gently he guided her over towards the door, keeping his head slightly bowed at all times. Though slightly subdued, he was a likeable fellow and she didn't mind him as much as she did some of the others.

"I suppose if it is necessary..." Kristen followed him over. She also didn't particularly care to deal with nobles in general, but a customer was a customer, and they were in no position to turn down money of any (legal) kind.

"My lord, this is Madame Kristen, the Master of this Self-Defense course," said Ramon as he bowed low. Kristen bowed slightly to the man, it not being required by law as she was a Master in her own right to bow as low as Ramon did, a title equal to that of any Lesser Noble.

The man who stood before her was obviously more of a scholarly nature than physical, with a high forehead and a long nose that denoted him as one of the Renton Clan. Fair, straight hair fell to just above his collar, blue eyes that had been guarded with indifference and boredom glanced her over. That is, they were until they met her own and they immediately melted into begging puppy love in an instant.

"My fair lady, oh beautiful one who makes even the sun seem dim with her shining glory," he breathed as he took her hand, kissing it before she could jerk it away and bowing before her gracefully. "Oh, that mine servant and son have laid eyes upon such beauty as this day after day and have not yet come home gushing of thine splendor....it is beyond the likes of such a mortal as I to why not."

"Myself as well," replied Kristen with a hint of sarcasm, backing away slowly. "A...pleasure to meet you, Sir. Now if you will excuse me, I have other things to attend to."

"Of course, but the sun and the moon will seem dim and the very air about me stale until I am in your presence again, my brilliant diamond of my heart!"

Kristen sighed as she slipped away, feeling a headache forming behind her eyes. "Right..."

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

Ben remembered only that the horse had stopped and he wasn't shoved off it immediately when he was traded from one set of keepers to another, bought by some unknown being and taken elsewhere than where he had been heading originally. Or so he guessed, anyway. Vaguely he could recall hearing a bag of coins being tossed from one set of hands to another, being shoved in a pouch, and then someone coming and untying him from his bonds.

Once he was off the horse his new owners tossed him in the back of a wagon, leaving him locked in there with a bit of bread and water, stopping once at sunset everyday and giving him five minutes to relieve himself behind a bush before they shoved him in there again. Cold and numb with grief and fear, he could hardly sleep or even eat as the days went on, growing hot and feverish, often completely delusional with dreams that they hadn't taken him but instead killed them both, torturing each to their last breath again and again and again...

His routine was abruptly changed again as the wagon stopped at its final destination, but he was too sick by this point to even notice or care. Someone dragged him out roughly and he was taken down into a building a small corner of his mind noted that he should be familiar with, but it was unheard among the clamor of the other voices in his head.

Thrown into a dark cell, he collapsed where they left him, tired, sick, hungry, and wishing he were dead. Tears ran down his face as he slowly fell asleep, his dreams once more haunted by the horrible images of the past. His sister was dead, his best friend probably killed with her, no idea where he was, and no one to turn to. What else was there to live for?

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

Jack swore as Tanner got over his guard again and whacked him hard on the shoulder, leaving another bruise among the collection he already had. "You don't have to hit so hard!" he grumbled as he backed off, rubbing his shoulder gently. Tanner had asked to spar with him a few days ago, and finding out that Jack had never learned to fight with his staff had immediately began a new kind of training for him to learn how.

"You don't have to let me get over your guard, either," retorted Tanner with a cocky grin. "Wimp. Come on, you can try it again if you want."

"What's wrong, Jack, afraid of getting beat by little old him?" asked Jenny as she passed by, mainly absorbed in the map she had in her hands.

"This isn't fair, he's bigger than me and has, like, twelve years most experience man, compared to my twelve's friggin hours!" snorted Jack as he sat down on a crate nearby.

"Hey, it's not my fault you didn't pick up on a basic skill ever self-respecting Trader aught to know," shot back Tanner with a shrug. "Maybe if you hadn't been such a thick-headed pansy as a kid..."

"Knock it off, Tanner," cut in Jenny quickly before things came to blows and Jack REALLY got his butt kicked. "It's not his fault, we've been over this already. Teach him if you want, just don't taunt him in the process."

Tanner nodded respectfully. "Yes, ma'am."

"It's still not fair that I'm facing someone that's bigger and better," Jack pointed out quickly.

"Alright then," said Jenny, glancing above to the rigging where Tyler was swinging around like a monkey as always. "Hey, Tyler, get down here!!"

"Coming!!" He let go of the rope he was hanging on to and dropped down in front of her, his usual carefree smile on his face as he went to a mock attention. "Reporting for duty, Ma'am!"

"At ease," she said with a wink, playing along with the little game they had. "Go get your staff, young'un, and get back here on the double!"

"Yes ma'am!"

Tanner coughed lightly. "I should probably mention one little detail..."

"No need to, I have this one covered," replied Jack cockily as Tyler appeared back in his spot, immediately going to the ready for a fight. "You're going down, little guy!"

Tyler just smiled...

*twenty minutes and several more bruises on Jack later*

Jack lay there on the deck with Tyler sitting pertly on his back, his staff somewhere to the side and his pride shot down out of the sky. Unable to move, he just stayed put and groaned from the massive amounts of pain he had just endured.

"What do you know," said Jenny with a shrug as she headed back for her cabin. "I guess the little bugger's fairly good, uh?"

"I tired to warn you," commented Tanner as he circled Jack slowly. "Tyler is the better than me and Trev COMBINED."

Tyler winked and jumped back up into the rigging, giggling like a little girl as he did.

"Oh...oh well. Tough luck, Jack." Jenny closed the door behind her as Tanner disappeared below the deck, Jack not even bothering to get up as he couldn't right then.

"I hate you all..."

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

Bry sped through the halls of the creepy mansion as quickly as she could, finding herself out in open sunlight a few moments later and in the stable just seconds after that. Sitting down across from her mare, she finally felt the worst of her migraine begin to fade away.

Nothing was going right. Her spells refused to work half the time, she couldn't heal anything unless she was outside the mansion grounds. And their teacher, well, don't even get her started on him. He was so flashy and performance-oriented, using three times the magic to 'spice' up a spell that would hardly take any power at all without all the flare he'd added to it. He insisted she create green auras around herself while healing to 'calm the patient'. Or so he argued. To her, it shouldn't make much difference to a person either way. If you're hurt, you're hurt, and you're going to be calmed just from the knowledge that you'll soon be fixed, with or without aura .

Besides, some commoners were afraid of magic, and wouldn't that just frighten them all the more?? He was theatrical, the bastard, she just wanted to take her powers and stop his heart completely...unfortunately that was impossible as her healing powers had no effect around him AT ALL.

Besides not being able to work her spells, she was constantly getting these headaches and was in all around cranky mood. Randy had attributed it to being 'that time of the month', and she'd nearly strangled him. Not that that wasn't a daily occurrence, as he practically worshiped the ground their new teacher walked on, and it made her nauseous just to think about it. Couldn't he see how fake the pompous windbag was? How little he could actually do in light of how much power he wasted on special effects?

Olivia, of course, had taken her usual stand. She simply didn't care. She'd already learned what there was to know, had mastered the techniques, had gotten her seal, and was waiting for them to catch up. In the mean time, she'd taken up making ice sculptures again and had made a wonderful miniature of them together the other day. Randy was taking his time because he didn't want to leave period, and she still couldn't get past the basics because for some reason she couldn't work in this environment. At this rate, they'd be here through spring and into summer. She'd kill herself before she'd stay here that long, though.

"Feeling alright?" asked Olivia as she stuck her head in the door, some carrots in one hand and an ice pack in the other.

"Better," replied Bryanna with a slight smile. "Thank you so, so much..."

"Eh, it's not like I have something better to do," said Olivia with a shrug, handing her the specially made pack to help her relieve her headache since she couldn't use her healing powers to numb it and they'd run out of painkillers a few days ago. Walking up to her horse, she petted the beast's nose and fed it a carrot, murmuring gently to it the whole while.

"I really don't like this place," shivered Bry as she felt something watching over her shoulder, glancing about herself nervously when she suddenly felt it go away. "There's something just...wrong about it."

"I think you're imagining things," admitted Olivia slowly. "But I dunno, I will admit the Master guy is a bit...odd. And not odd like Wesley is either, he's just plain odd."

"Wes wasn't odd, he was "special"," replied Bryanna with a quick grin. "But...yeah, I can't wait to get out of here."

"Come on, I'll see what I can do to help you get through the spells then because truth be told I'm very bored and the sooner we get out of here the happier my poor, dead mind will be."

"...ok."

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

Brenna sat there staring at her still-green hands in frustration. It had been three days since the accident, and still the dye would not come off. She'd tried washing them with soap and water, scrubbing them with some cloth-soap and a brush, dunking them in near-boiling water, trying to exfoliate the skin off, and all sorts of other tonics and remedies other members of the house had suggested. Yet still the horrid green remained, seemingly even stronger than before. Having pealed off a few blisters on her palm, she found that even UNDER the blisters her skin was green, and having green hands for the rest of her life (in Summer Sea) was definitely not something she wanted to do.

"Brenna!" called Rupal as she came in the front door, leaving it open as she did. "Another basket of goodies from the twins and someone here to see you!"

"Coming!" Brenna called back, tucking her hands in the full sleeves of her gardening robe and heading for the front at a fast walk. Passing Kaitlin in the kitchen, she noted the twins huddling in the corner in fear and smirked to herself. At least they now feared her wrath. Perhaps having green hands would have its perks...she could hold this over their heads the rest of the time they were there! "Who is it?" she asked as she picked up the basket Rupal pointed to, seeing no one around.

"Ahem..." She turned to see an older woman standing behind her, wearing a similar robe to her own with patches and stains on it, obviously something only used for work. With an open smile, the woman bowed slightly. "'Allo! I would be the twin's mum, Joan."

"Oh! I'm Brenna, owner of the farm," replied the resident farmer in surprise as she bowed quickly, bringing her hands out of her sleeves without realizing it. "Nice to meet you..." Noticing Joan's stare, she looked down and gulped. "Whoops..."

"Please tell me that's not the natural color of your skin," said Joan a bit bluntly backing up a step.

"No!! I...uh...there was this accident with some dye, ok? My hands came out like this and I can't get it to come off..."

"Oh, I see." The woman sighed in obvious relief and smiled benevolently. "Don't worry, my dear, I have just the thing! Here." She fished out a small bottle, handing it to Brenna. "Try that."

Brenna uncorked it suspiciously. "...what is it?"

"That? Oh...just some lemon juice...." Joan whistled innocently.

She sniffed the bottle and made a face. "It doesn't smell like lemon juice..."

"Just try it already!" Joan sighed impatiently. "Do you want green hands or not?!"

Brenna held up the said limbs in submission. "Ok, ok..." Pouring some on her hands, she turned her head away so she wouldn't smell it and rubbed it in, wiping them on a cloth Joan handed to her before turning back to her hands. Blinking several times to make sure it wasn't a dream, she gasped, "...they're not green!!! YES!! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!" Dancing around the room, she came to a stop beside the twin's mother and asked, "Seriously, what is that?? I might need it again later on..."

"Well, if you really want to know..."

"I do I do I do!!"

"Alright...the base is pint of lemon juice that you leave out for six days in the sun, and then add half a cup of sour milk and some finely powdered dried horse's poo before letting it set for another day and then add some more manure (wet this time) and some urine if you can get it..."

About the time she mentioned manure, Brenna wasn't so sure it was worth not having green hands anymore....

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

"Kristen, there's someone here for you!" said Cam as he came barreling into the room, stopping to stand there panting and gulp some water from the pail beside kitchen sink. "Jon and Mike are waitin' for you up there, so you might want to hurry."

"Who is it?" she asked lightly, continuing to bend over her project of copying the stances and katas from the book in front of her.

"That noble fellow who's drooling all over you all the time."

Kristen sat up quickly. "NO!!"

"Yeah."

"Shoot..."

"What are you doing?!" demanded Mike as he stuck his head in the door. "This guy's loaded and he's here for some sort of business proposition. Get you butt in here NOW!!"

"Alright, alright...I'm coming!" She wiped off her hands and grabbed the pot of tea she'd been making herself with some cups and a plate of cookies left over from last night's dinner.

Walking into their sitting room, she bowed respectfully and took the only seat that was left beside the immaculately dressed noble. "Good evening, Sir...?"

"Gwain," he supplied for her quickly. "I apologize for neglecting to mention my own name the other day, Miss Kristen, but I was otherwise occupied admiring your beauty..."

Kristen grit her teeth and sent Matt a look, which he responded to quickly. "Sir Gwain," he coughed lightly. "I'm sure you understand we're rather busy people, and haven't much time for this...proposition of yours...?"

"Oh, quite right." He nodded and pulled a document from his pocket and laid in on the table. "My esteemed gentleman and most fair lady, before you I lay this proposition. Your school of fighting has done very well for itself, but is it not time for it to move up slightly? To...make a big gain of sorts, if you will. Create a name for itself in all of Emelan. I suggest that you hold a Mastery of the Combative Arts Contest, right here in your school!"

"One small little problem," said Jon rather wryly. "You know, that thing called money?"

"Yes, I am aware of that," went on Sir Gwain as he sent Jon a rather haughty glare. "But that is where I come in. I will sponsor this for you, if you have a door fee, a sign up fee, and sell food vendor's slots in the yard with a tax on whatever they make and keep whatever you make after you pay back the 'loan', if you will."

"What's the catch?" asked Matt suspiciously. "You're not letting us use this money for free, are you?"

The noble held up his hands in submission. "All I wish in return is the assurance that all of you will attend the ball that I will throw in your honor afterwards." He gave Kristen a longing look. "And I do mean ALL of you..."

Matt shot Kristen a look that silenced her as she began to protest, keeping her anger apparent with the death glares she sent him but remaining silent none the less. "We accept."

"Excellent! My servant will be getting in touch with you and the dean of my coffers soon, so you can discuss just how much you will need and in what time frame this can be accomplished, ok?"

"Alright, then." All four of them rose as Sir Gwain prepared to leave, handing them the parchment and heading for the door that Jon hurried to open for him. "Good day, Sir Gwain."

"Good day, to you all! And may your day be most excellent, fairest of the fair, and capturer of my heart!" With that he whisked himself away, Kristen cracking her knuckles as she attempted to restrain the urge to jump after him and strangle the man to death.

"Oh Matt..." she said in a light voice, the undercurrent of it a deadly one.

"Yes?" he asked, turning around nervously.

She pinned him down with a glare. "You just signed me up to wear a dress to that pompous meathead's ball, didn't you?"

"...yes?"

Kristen was after him like a shot. "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE!!"

Matt ran away screaming, since his saber was up in his room, and he was otherwise unarmed. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

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

Briteyes, as she refused to go by anything else anymore, lay patiently on her back as Moonstream inspected what was left of her wounds, the head dedicate's power flowing through her in a gentle, calming way.

"You've spoken with Devan, haven't you?" murmured the Dedicate as she slowly began to pull out of her trance, her eyes meeting the one of Briteyes' that could be seen.

"Yes," she replied in surprise, stroking the sleeping Silven's head gently as she did. "How did you know?"

"There are traces of his magic in you," explained Moonstream. "And traces of some new power as well...he has struck a deal with you, then?"

"Yes, he has."

Moonstream waited to see if anymore would be said, but finding the young woman silent decided to change the subject instead. "Your facial bandage can come off now, if you wish."

"Get it off, then," came the flat reply. "It itches most of the time."

"Alright..." Moonstream did so, slowly unwinding the bandage on her face as she noticed something about the hand that was shielded around the squirrel. "Briteyes...where did that come from?"

The young woman gazed up at her in confusion as she lay still so she wouldn't get cut in the slicing off of the bandages. "Where did what come from?"

Moonstream took her hand and raised it to her eye level, tracing the apparent scar there with her thumb. "That. I know it wasn't there before."

"Devan had to combine this body with one of my old ones," explained Amanda quickly simply, pulling her hand free and laying it where it had been before. "Thus, some of my old scars as back. Like that one."

"I see...well...how's the other eye?" Moonstream pulled away the last of the bandage and turned the shutters on low on the lamp beside the table, dimming the room, considerably. Slowly opening the foresaid eye, the performer let it adjust to the light and began to look around, using her left hand to inspect the skin around it itself and tracing the scar there than ran from the top of her forehead to the edge of her chin right over the left eye.

"I can see...though it's going to take awhile to get used to the light." Briteyes paused, Silven rousing and coming to stand on her lap as she slowly sat up in bed brushed her hair out of her face. "Could I...see a mirror?"

"Are you sure?" The dedicate began to reach for one that happened to be in the room, hesitating as she did. "You don't have to...though..." She coughed and quirked and eyebrow slightly. "I would like to know why one eye that was once a dark blue is now a dark green. Are you going to tell me?"

"No."

"Do you still want the mirror?"

"Yes."

"Very well..." The dedicate handed it over as she rose to leave the room, patting her on the shoulder one last time before she left to get back to the Head Dedicate duties that she'd taken back up the week before.

Briteyes turned the lamp up slightly, tracing the pinkish ridge that ran down her face numbly as Silven scampered up to her shoulder and hugged her around the neck.

#It's not so bad you know...you could ask the dedicates to fix it...??#

A single tear slid from her left eye, falling straight down the track the scar had made in her skin. "I couldn't care less about the scar...I just want my Ben back..."

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

Gwen carefully measured out each cup of ingredients as Tyler dutifully stirred everything together beside her, working up a sweat his small arms were going so fast.

"Flour...yeast...the eggs...and some ground oats...that should do it!" She set the measuring cups aside and dusted off her hands in satisfaction.

"Now what?" asked Tyler, looking at the mound of dough he had before him. "Do we just stick it in the oven and let it cook?"

"No, silly," Gwen took a handful of flour and dusted it on the counter, getting her fingers lightly covered as well. "Now we knead the dough until it's elastic enough to be set to rise, and in a few hours we'll start to bake it!"

"Oh, ok...how do you knead dough? Do you put it on the floor and walk over it with your knees or something?"

"You're too cute sometimes," commented Gwen as she dumped the dough on the floured countertop, working her fingers into it for a few moments before she doubled it over onto itself and began to work her hands through it again. "It's like this, see? You just work it like so...and then roll it together and start over again."

"Can I try?" asked Tyler, inching closer as he watched.

"Oh, I dunno if you could," replied Gwen with a wicked gleam in her eye. "Such a little kid like you....I'd have to come back and finish it for you in the end. Nope, I'd rather just finish the whole thing myself."

"I could finish it!" argued Tyler, getting his hands floury and sticking his chin out stubbornly. "Watch!"

"Alright..." Gwen watched as he began to thump the dough with his small fists, up to his elbows in the stuff as he grimly struggled onwards.

"Do you need me to take over?" asked Gwen, giving him one last chance.

"I got it," he snapped. "I'll show you! I'll get it done....how much longer do I have before it's done."

Gwen headed up the steps to the deck. "Fifteen minutes."

Tyler's jaw dropped before he started on a very colorful tirade of words that followed her all the way back to the cabin.

"Where are you going, Gwen?" asked Nicole as she floated by on a tuft of wind.

"Getting a pen and some paper."

"...why?"

"Because Tyler's cursing again and I want to take notes for later." Gwen grinned innocently. "He uses some phrases that I never would have thought of!"

Nicole shook her head as she floated away. "Right..."

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

Bryanna stormed through the halls of the mansion, a book in one hand and a sealed jar in the other, bursting into the Master Mage's workshop and slamming the book and jar down on the nearest table so hard that everything around it rattled.

"I'm sure you have a good reason for such an intrusion," commented the mage with a hint of steel in his voice, glancing up at her from the text he'd been reading. "Or at least, you'd better think of one quick...it is rude to intrude like that."

"You're teaching blood magic!!" shouted Bryanna accusingly, unable to hold it in any longer. She flipped the book to the back, showing the seal on it. "A well-known clan of blood mages wrote this twenty years ago. When the clan was rounded up and destroyed, all the texts and scrolls were supposed to have burned with them. Though here is one, still in good condition, and one must wonder how you've managed to get it..."

"Insolent brat, all my books have been reviewed and approved by the Council of Mages," retorted the mage. "It is not blood magic if you use your own blood and do not steal that of another!"

Bryanna knocked the jar over, spilling a rust-red dust all over the table. "That is the blood of animals, which you specifically told me to use. That's not my blood, is it? As a healer, I've sworn never to use the blood of humans or animals, which is just as disallowed as human blood is."

"No, the only restriction on animal's blood is that the animal must die a natural death, and not cruel treatment may be involved."

"What does it matter?! Once the blood is taken for blood magic, the carcass is not even good for eating afterwards. The hide useless, not even it's bones fit for other purposes. To use its blood is a waste of resources!" argued Bryanna heatedly. "I'd rather use the animal for food, leather, and other things that to waste all of that just for a pint of dried blood."

"There are methods now which you may obtain the blood without ruining the rest of the beast for other means," insisted the mage. "You speak of things you cannot understand, child! How can you turn away the chance to save more than you were before, to increase your own power so that others might live??"

"If to increase other's lives is to take other's lives away in death, than I'd rather work with what I have and leave it at that," snapped Bryanna. "I refuse to be taught by you any further, Master Mage. Regardless of my seal for graduation, I will not complete the studies any longer, and the sooner we can leave I say the better! And believe me, the Mage's Council will be hearing about this."

With that she stalked out of the room, heading back for her own at a run the moment she was out of sight. She wanted out, and she wanted out now.

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

Libby and Cheeks walked together through the woods, Libby with the ax that had its cover on it in her hands and Cheeks pulling the wagon along behind. It was just a small little thing, large enough to haul decent amounts of firewood in without being over burdensome.

"Are you sure it's around here?" asked Libby as she glanced all around, following the faint track before them as Cheek's followed a few paces behind.

"Yeah, she said it was along this track," replied Cheeks as he paused to wipe the sweat from his brow. "Wait, I think it's up ahead..."

Following the track a bit more, they found a huge tree that had recently fallen, Libby going around and picking up all the bits of dead wood she could find and Cheeks taking the ax so he could chop off larger logs for their own use.

"How...much...more..." asked Libby as she panted from her 'hard work', Cheeks casting a baleful eye over the meager pile she'd accumulated and snorting in reply. "Oh, fine."

"Yeah, hurry up. We need as much kindling as we do regular logs."

They had just filled the cart over halfway when Cheeks paused, turning his head slowly as if searching for something.

"What's wrong?" asked Libby, getting only a hand held up for silence in reply. Cocking her head slightly, she listened as well, and heard a far off wail, like someone crying for help.

"Did you hear that?" asked Cheeks, their eyes meeting as she nodded slightly. Turning back towards were the sound had come from they took off at a run, going fast enough that they weren't walking but not going so fast that they'd possibly miscalculate where the sound was coming from.

Like a shot, a boy came scrambling through the brush, bowling into Libby and knocking them both to the ground.

"Hey!" she yelled, getting a hold on his collar as he tried to pick himself up and continue on his way. "What're you.."

*RAWR*

"AHHH!!" Cheeks hefted the ax he'd brought with him out of instinct and brought it down hard on the head of the beast that had suddenly appeared out of this air, cleaving its head in two with a single stroke.

Everything was silent for a few moments as the beast fell, it's black blood pooling beneath it before it disappeared in a wisp of black smoke and the three of them were left alone in the forest once more.

"You...you killed it..." whispered the boy as he clung to Libby's leg, Libby still frozen in fear from having a huge, wolverine-type monster leap at her out of the blue.

"That thing was really big..." she whispered faintly, Cheeks dropping the axe and coming to steady her as she began to sway. "With really big, sharp teeth..."

"Hey, it's gone now, ok?" replied Cheeks, his voice remaining steady though inside he was shaking like a leaf. "Come on...the others will be wondering where we got to."

Libby looked down at her leg. "What about the kid?"

"Hm?"

The boy suddenly realized he was being looked at and let go of Libby's leg, scrambling on all fours as if to run away again when Cheeks reached over and grabbed the back of his shirt, lifting him to his feet and setting him between Libby and himself. He just came to Libby's chest, about ten or so with pale skin and dark hair. Hollows showed where his cheeks should have been, sucked in from obvious lack of food, and the rings under his eyes betrayed either sleepless nights or constant physical exhaustion. From the way he had been running, probably both.

"Oh no, you don't," said Cheeks firmly.

"Yeah, who are you and what the heck was that?" asked Libby in an annoyed manner, wrinkling her nose at the thought of the beast's blood.

"Just a kid..." he mumbled, slouching as if trying to hide within himself. "Dun make me go back...they'll make me do the scary stuff again!!"

"Nobody's making you do anything, kid," replied Cheeks. "What's your name, though?"

"They...well, m'name's Jem," he stuttered, shaking in either fear or exhaustion, or perhaps both.

"Well then, Jem, I think right now the best thing for you would be to come with us," said Cheeks as he picked up the ax, wiping it off on some leaves and putting its head cover back on.

"You won't make me go back, will you?" asked the boy as he began to back away, a fearful look in his eyes.

"Not if you don't want to," replied Libby with a shrug. "Come on, we can talk more when we get back to the house.

He looked at them suspiciously. "You two aren't some young married couple looking for a kid to chuck all the work on, are you?"

Cheeks and Libby glanced at each other, then laughed.

"Heck no, kid! Come on, we'll get you some food, though, and maybe a decent night's sleep before we decide what to do with you," stated Libby firmly as he followed them back to the wagon reluctantly, and then climbed in at her bidding. Huddling in a corner, he continued to meekly ride there the rest of the way to the house, seemingly resigned to whatever fate had thrown him next.

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

Kristen smiled to herself in the clamor that arose everywhere. Only a week since Sir Gwain had approached them with his 'proposition', and in a week's time they'd managed to put together everything they'd needed for such an event. Fighters from all over Summer Sea, and even Emelan had come pouring in from other towns and the countryside to prove their skills. Others had been hired for small fees to judge the fights, some Masters she'd managed to contact among other famous fighters who'd happened to be in town at the time and had offered to lend their services for the free publicity their own schools of the Combative Arts would receive in return.

Having just come from the rings herself, she felt pretty good in the solid win she'd just had. The other woman had given her a run for her money, an old grizzled thing who probably could've thrown Kristen out a window in her prim, but had blurred her vision and slowed her speed, making her skills no match to the younger, fresher woman Kristen was. Unfortunately, Sir Gwain had been there to see it and she could sense him coming up behind her with his usual, love struck-ish look on his face.

"Oh, fairest of the fair, you sure are a goddess of might and war, and even wisdom in your own right!" he praised her lavishly as he tried to take her hand and kiss it, finding his lips only met air and her hands were linked rather firmly behind her back. "You have won now three rounds in a row! Such stamina, such speed, whoever finds it in them to beat you surely must be a god of sorts for no mortal ever could!"

"Ah...I thank you for your....thoughts, Sir Gwain," replied Kristen slowly, carefully choosing each word so she wouldn't encourage him, nor insult him to the point that he'd yank all the money he'd lent them away in one fell swoop. "Though they are opinions, and certainly not fact. Though if you'll excuse me, I think I'm being summoned by one of my partners..."

"One last thing," he practically begged her, grabbing hold of her elbow. Kristen resisted the urge to rip herself out of his grip and smack him across the face.

"...yes?"

"You will be there at the ball in your honor, yes?" he asked pleadingly. "Oh, that it would light my life like the sun lights this world if you would allow yourself to enter such a humble man's hovel for once such evening."

Kristen seriously doubted Sir Gwain was humble, or him home but a hovel, but nodded just the same, albeit rather stiffly, before making herself disappear in the crowd. The man seriously needed to find a hobby that didn't involve her.

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

Ben remembered no more after the night of being thrown in the cell, his fever overcoming all other senses and locking him in his nightmares of the past that continued to haunt him, night after night and day after day until finally, the demons inside him lay still and he drifted out of the darkness to find himself lying on a soft cot staring at ceiling he was sure he'd never seen before.

A kindly, wrinkled, old face appeared before his eyes, smiling down on his benevolently as he felt a warm, strong hand lift his head and help him sup from the cup that had been lifted to his lips.

"Drink, youngling," a hoarse, and aged voice whispered soothingly in his ear. "The worst is over now...Nana will always be here for you..."

He then drifted off again, but this time into real sleep, sleep without nightmares but instead peaceful dreams of playing on swing sets and jungle gyms, chasing Sandy the dog around the yard and coming home to find his sister home from school with a treat for him from her day's gain...

Once again, time passed and he had no idea at this point just how long he'd been captured, or even in this Summer Sea place for that matter. The same old lady still sat beside him, humming softly to herself as she set aside her knitting and instead picked up the shallow bowl of steaming liquid that had been waiting for him.

"Gently, now, gently," she crooned as she lifted his head again, helping him drink it, and then filling it with water as well at his soft request and helping him drink that was well. "So I see you've finally regained your senses...you gave us quite a scare for a few days, lad, and the Master would have been less than pleased should his new helper had died."

"Perhaps they should have given their 'helpers' better treatment while getting them here," mumbled Ben, closing his eyes as he sighed. "Please...ma'am...where am I?"

"In the Master's mansion," said the old woman sadly. "Same as you were when you and that spirited young thing came through a few months ago...she's not with you now, is she?"

"No," replied Ben sadly as he turned on his side, huddling up in a small ball with his face buried in the pillow. "They...they killed her...and Silven too..."

"Ah, there now, lad," she whispered as she gently ran a hand through his hair, soothing his quiet sobs with her touch alone. "She was a good 'un, I could tell, and the world be sorry to see her gone...but now you have to get strong again, so you'll survive in the rat race this place has come to be."

"I don't want to be strong," whispered Ben sadly. "I want my sister and Silven to be back."

"I know, I know...but they aren't coming back, lad. They just aren't, an' you know that too."

"I know..."

"Go back to sleep," she commanded softly as she continued to stroke his hair, his eyes closing of his own accord as she did. "We can talk of these things later, when you've had your rest and are well once again...sleep now, youngling, for Nana will be here to watch over you always..."

Humming softly, she lulled him to sleep, a deep one this time with no dreams, where he found complete rest.

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

Randy stormed into the room as Bryanna sat there fuming on her bed, trying to meditate and clear her mind of the emotions that continued to rage through her.

"HOW COULD YOU?!" he practically screamed as he grabbed her shoulders and shook her so hard that she thought her head might snap off. "What the HECK were you thinking, moron?! Insulting a Master Mage like that...and one with perfectly good credentials too!"

"He's a Blood Magic Mage, stupid," retorted Bryanna as she wrested herself from his grip, glaring daggers at him as she backed up a few steps to put some room between them. "I knew something was wrong here from the start, any Healer worth their title would be able to feel the death in this place from all the dried blood he most likely has stored here!!"

"Animals blood, which is perfectly acceptable!"

"It is not! Don't give me that bull, Randy, to use it is as a healer is like using a human's blood, I simply cannot do it!"

Randy shrugged and sighed. "So he made a mistake, big deal! It's perfectly alright for other mages to use animal's blood..."

"That's still killing them for the very thing that keeps them alive," argued Bryanna passionately. "I will not ever accept the use of any sort of blood other than your own to seal a spell with, anyone who things otherwise is a traitor to all mages and healers alike. Besides, he didn't try to teach it to Olivia, did he? What's so different about either of us, that I would have to learn Blood Magic and she wouldn't? I'll bet he was purposely trying to make me go against what I've learned as Healer for his own evil intents!"

"Now that's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard!!" cried Randy, forming his hands into fists as he leaned forward. "The Mage who has let us live here is as praiseworthy as any I've ever met, Bry, and if you're too stubborn to see what a wonderful man he is for teaching us all these things we've learned, then you've truly lost your mind!! That, or your heart's finally frozen through!!"

He turned and stomped back out the door, heading down the hall back towards the Master Mage's living and working quarters, leaving Bryanna to punch the pillow she had on her bed repeatedly while imagining it was his and the mage's face by turns.

"Hey..." said Olivia gently as she stuck her head in the door a few moments later. "Everything alright in here? I could hear you guys all the way from outside."

"Yeah...no...I just want to get out of here..." Bryanna sighed, then turned so her back was to the door. "Will you please leave? I'd like to be alone for awhile..."

"If you want..." Olivia went back out into the hall, closing the door quietly behind her before going off in search of Randy. This was not good.

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

"Nicole!!" called Gwen as she plunked a new, fat purse of coins into her belt pouch and pranced towards the gangplank to the wharf. "Oh Nicole..."

"Yeah?" replied the nymph-creature, popping up from below the deck. "You need something, Gwen?"

"Just someone to go shopping with me for awhile," replied Gwen with a sweet grin. "The guys are all busy, and Jen doesn't want to go but said I had to take someone with me, so will you?"

Nicole hesitated. "Do I have to?"

Gwen's grin turned slightly devilish. "You do if you want one of those gingersnaps I'm making tonight." She pulled half of one out of her pocket. "I'll even let you have the rest of this one from this morning's batch if you'll come along peaceful-like."

Nicole grumbled as she snatched the cookie from Gwen's hands. "This is extortion, or something like that," she muttered as she munched her way through the cookie that was half her size, her overly large mouth easily taking in a fourth of it at a time.

"Tee hee! We're gonna have fun!!" giggled Gwen as she skipped off the ship, Nicole in tow, towards the market place and small shops. "Just me, you, and shopping!!"

"Whoop de doo...."

*Five Hours Later*

Nicole lay there in a partially comatose state as Gwen continued to walk through the shops of the rather large sea port, occasionally buying something, but mainly window shopping and chattering on constantly until the poor, tiny nymph thought her pointed ears might fall off.

"Please?" she begged as they exited another glass-blower's shop. "For the love of GOD can we go back to the ship??"

"Ah...you're no fun..." pouted Gwen as she turned back, her eyes suddenly caught by some bunnies jumping through hoops on the side of the road and she stopped to watch. "Aww!! How cute..."

"Oi..."

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

Jem sat between Cheeks and Libby at the table, a plate of food set before him that Kaitlin continued to fill constantly as he practically inhaled everything that was set before him. Cheeks watched in slight amusement as the boy took care of half a chicken, some spare ribs, half a loaf of bread, a wheel of cheese, a salad, part of a pie, several cookies, and he was now eating an apple turnover in one hand and a peach turnover in the other, with a hung of onion and carrot flan in front of him.

"So, what now?" asked Brenna from where she sat across the table, drumming her fingers on the countertop as she munched on a cookie from the plate in the center as well.

"I say we keep him," said Kaitlin as she spooned on steamed vegetables onto Jem's plate, then whisked back into the kitchen to put the rest away. "I mean, look at him, he's adorable!" She pinched his cheeks teasingly. "How could anyone resist such a face...?"

"He may be cute, but we can't have any freeloaders around here," stated Libby firmly. "I mean, come on, I have to muck out horse stalls all day. Like heck if some kid who happen to be chased by some mutant wolf is going to sit around all day and scarf down our hard-earned food like he's the lord and master here or something."

"I never said that!" countered Kaitlin, sticking her tongue out at Libby. "I just said we should let him stay here."

"He might have family too, that's looking for him," added Libby quickly. "We could send him back to them and let him be their problem instead."

"Whatever we decide, we can certainly afford it," came the muffled voice of Rupal from the stack of books she was buried under as usual. "Finances are great right now for taking on another mouth to feed, if we must."

"Hey, I have an idea," cut in Cheeks as Libby started to open her mouth to start another argument. "Why don't we ask the kid?" All eyes turned to Jem as he self-consciously wiped the crumbs from his mouth and his hands on his shirt.

"Alright," agreed Brenna as she looked him over again. He couldn't be more than ten or so, she figured, skinny from lack of food and huge eyes that held a slight tinge of fear, though they'd done nothing to even suggest they would hurt him as of yet. "What do you want, Jem? You can stay if you like, but if you want to leave we'll understand and help you in any way we can...what'll it be?"

"Uh..." The boy paused, then gulped. "If...if'n it'd be alright with yous here, an' you c'n find some work for'm t'do, I'd stay here..." He shifted in his seat, then added, "That is, if'n yous all would let me...and I'd b'safe here..."

"Of course you'd be safe here," said Brenna indignantly. "Like any place could be safer than MY farm! Ha! So, you're going to stay?"

"...if'n I can."

"You can," Cheeks assured him, patting his shoulder in a friendly manner.

The boy smiled slightly, and nodded. "Then yeah, I'll stay."

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

Kristen and Chris stood side by side as they watched the last of the competitions, the final few rounds that would decide the winners of their armed combat league. Matt was in one ring and Jon in another, the other four knocked out or having not participated for whatever reasons long ago.

"It's almost done," breathed Kristen as she tried to force herself to stay awake. It had been an exhausting week, running from this event to that event, keeping everything running smoothly, and the cleanup she'd have to do afterwards! But it would all be worth it in the end when at last they had their winnings and earnings, and everything went back to normal with the fat bonus coming their way!

"I know, I'm going to have to replace half the boards in this floor from being beat so hard during all the fights," murmured Chris with an amused smile. "You'd better be glad you have a carpenter in this little group of yours, or you'd be losing everything you made just to get this place fixed up again alone."

"I'm grateful for a lot of things," replied Kristen as she clapped with the others as Jon caught his opponent straight across the face with his fist and he went down like a rock. "And that is one of them...ouch, that's gonna leave a mark."

"On the guy or the floor?"

"Probably both..."

"Great. One more for me to replace."

"Yeah."

"Uh, Kristen?" asked Cam as he suddenly appeared nervously at her side, tugging on the edge of her tunic."

"Not now, Cam," she replied, putting a hand on his head. "Matt's about to take this guy down..."

"No, but it's really important...!!"

"Cam, not now! It can wait until after this next move, I'm sure..."

"But it really can't!!" He grabbed her arm and pulled it so she was facing him. "Kristen, there' a-"

A young boy suddenly came bursting into the front of the rings from the back of the room. "FIRE!!!"

Panic broke out, the flames suddenly becoming visible as they licked their way from the back hall into the main fighting area. People ran for the doors, Kristen grabbing Cam's hand and dragging him out after her as Jon and Chris stayed to the back, shoving out anyone who might get left behind.

The fire then spread, quickly licking its way to the roof and roaring to life with the fresh air it found there. The roof collapsed inwards just as the last stragglers burst their way out, everyone having barely made it out alive.

A water chain was quickly formed, but even Kristen could tell it was too late as the fire transferred its way from the Dojo to the house, the upper floor of wood quickly eaten away to nothing while the lower floor that was stone remained firm. The fire was quenched before it would go any further, but it had done its work regardless. Their home, their place of work, was gone.

Chris stood with his hand on Cam's shoulder, the boy having buried his head in Kristen's shoulder and was crying softly as she stood there numbly in shock, mechanically rubbing his back but unable to do anything other than that. Jon sat at their feet with his sides heaving, being one of the last to run through with a wicked burn running up his arm where his sleeve had caught fire. Matt sat beside him and Mike stood behind him, neither one able to comprehend just what had taken place. Everything was simply gone.

"So...what now?" asked Matt after several moments of silence, everyone looking to Jon and Kristen since one of them had lived in a medieval time before and the other usually knew just what to do.

Jon just hung his head as Kristen shook her head sadly. "I just...don't know..."

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

Ben was startled out of his sleep by an incessant pounding on his bedroom door, Nana getting up and opening it slowly to see what the fuss was about. "Can I help you?" she asked dryly as two guards shouldered their way in, more than a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"We're just here for the boy," said one of the guards gruffly as he pushed her aside, tossing a squire's outfit and a new, silver flute on the bed. "Master says he's to play for tonight's meal."

"Tonight?! He just got back on his feet three days ago!" exclaimed Nana in surprise. "No! This is far to soon for lad in his condition to even think about being out of bed for any extended period of time. You can just march yourselves right back to that Master of yours and tell him the boy will not..."

She was cut off as one of the guards backhanded her, just hard enough to daze her a little. "The boy comes or you will take his punishment for insubordination of not showing!"

"Wait, don't!!" cried Ben as he struggled to get out of bed, barely able to even throw aside the sheets he was still so weak. "I'll go, just don't hurt her..."

Nana staggered back a few steps as they shoved past her back out the door. "Be ready in a few moments," one of the guards cautioned as they closed the door behind them. "We will be back soon to take you to the Master."

"I understand."

"Good." The door closed firmly and Ben was at Nana's side in an instant.

"Are you alright?" he asked as she shook her head and looked up at him with a rueful smile.

"I'm fine," she replied, nudging him back towards his new clothes. "You'd best get ready before the come back, I keep forgetting that it is not a good idea to be on the bad side of those two."

"I'm sorry I got you in trouble," he whispered as he changed, the clothes being a bit big but he would grow into them soon. It was a set of hose and slippers, a loose formal shirt, and a tunic that went to his knees without a belt. All of it being in shades of brown and orange, it complimented his eyes and complexion nicely, as Nana commented just as the guards came back to take him away.

"Come on, boy," one of them ordered, him instantly obeying out of fear from what those cold, cruel eyes might do to him.

"Yes, sir..."

"Be careful, now!" called Nana after him as she stayed in the room as ordered, nervously rubbing her hands as she did. "Don't over exert yourself, you hear?"

"I'll be careful!" promised Ben, turning back around and walking with his head down after a sharp reprimand from one of the guards. The flute clutched in his hands, he walked through the halls of the man who had killed his sister and now wished him to play willingly for his supper.

Life was way to full of cruel ironies, in his young opinion.

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

And that would be chapter NINE. Please review, it would be MOST appreciated, yes indeed it would. Much love to all, and maybe there will be an update soon, since we have a four day weekend, and most of it at this point has been reserved for moi, and my typing of chapters. ^_^

~Crosseyedbutterfly~

'I'm not exactly sure where I was going, where I've been, nor how I got there, but I'm fairly sure I ended up where I was supposed to be.'