Chapter 10!! Yeah!! We're finally getting somewhere, you know? I am most definitely in a better mood than when I wrote parts of the last chapter, so hopefully this one will be finished sooner, right? Thanks for your reviews! ^_^

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Chris and Jon slowly walked through the remains of their once-proud school of Combative Arts, Kristen and Cam just outside the parameter in the yard salvaging that which they could. Most everything was destroyed in the dojo and the top floor, leaving them only the clothes they had on their backs and some of Mike and Matt's things since they lived on the ground floor. Parts of the kitchen were still whole, leaving them some rags, pots, and bits of food, but it made very little difference considering all they had lost.

"The weapons are all now useless," called Matt from where he shuffled through the skeleton of the dojo, a sad from on his face. "Half of them are twisted out of shape from the heat, their temper lines completely ruined..."

"And the other half have been completely disintegrated," finished Matt as he poked his way through a rack that had once held wooden swords and was now nothing more than a pile of ash.

"Let's take what we can still use and put this place up for sale," suggested Jon as he scratched his head, sneezing from the smell of smoke in the air. "What else can we do?"

"And where are we going to put those things?" asked Kristen sarcastically. "Because I doubt some of the Inn keepers will like it if we use our own furniture and shove theirs out in the hall."

"Sell it," said Chris with a shrug as he picked through a drawer that hadn't been destroyed. "I can replace anything we need as far as furniture, and it'll be better than the stuff we had before."

"Where are we going to live, though?" asked Cam in a small voice, looking with wide eyes around the remains of the building that had once been his home. "We can't live here anymore..."

"We'll rent a place for now," said Jon as he shouldered a box of preserves he'd found and brought it out to the yard. "Sir Gwain has the majority of our earnings from this as he handled the money, that should carry us for a few months at least if we're careful."

"And our classes? Our students?" questioned Kristen.

"Suspended until further notice, until we can get back on our feet or we close the school permanently," stated Jon firmly, setting the box at her feet and challenging her with a look to say otherwise. "We have no choice. Where are we going to hold lessons if we don't own our own place? Lessons are going to have to wait until we can figure out our own problems first."

"You're right," admitted Kristen, crossing her arms as she did. "But...that's our only source of income besides Chris's shop, and while he turns out quite a bit of work he's only one man..."

"I can find another job if I have to," said Jon with an agreeing nod. "It's not that hard. I may not like working with horses, but I learned enough last time that I can even resort to that if I have to..."

"Let's go," said Chris as he hauled the last of their things from the dojo and the house, Mike and Matt beside him. "Our rooms at the Green River are still ours until next week, and I'd like to be there with our things stored at that one place before dark."

"I agree," said Kristen, helping them load everything into the cart they'd rented. "I don't know this place well enough to feel safe out at night."

"I think that's it," said Mike as he threw the last box in the cart and hauled himself in as well. "Let's go."

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

Briteyes slowly limped around Discipline, using a staff that had been provided to more herself around. Most of her bandages gone, her wounds still felt raw at times and she'd been yelled at more than once to take it easy. Wearing an undyed robe Rosethorn had lent her, she glanced around and made sure the other two Dedicates were gone elsewhere before she braided her hair out of her face and headed out the door onto the grounds of Winding Circle itself.

Slowly, she followed the paths, letting a wry grin play on her face as she felt a slight tug on her sleeve. Turning, she raised and eyebrow as she recognized the novice before her. "...Tanya?"

The shorter, some-what strawberry blonde girl grinned and nodded. "Moonstream told me you'd be up soon, but I hadn't expected to see you wandering around on your own this quick, Briteyes."

The performer rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Eh, as long as they don't know, it can't hurt them, right?"

Tanya nodded, smiling shyly as she ducked her head. "Where are you going, though?"

Briteyes sobered up slightly. "I need to find Frostpine," she admitted, averting her eyes as she did. "I need to ask a favor of him..."

"He's at his forge, if you want me to show you the way," offered Tanya slowly, backing up as step as she did.

"I would appreciate it if you could," she replied in surprise. "Don't you need to be somewhere, though??"

"Not yet, I have half a bell before I'm needed in the gardens," replied Tanya with a shrug. "It's this way...." She led Briteyes to the forges and pointed out the right one to her before disappearing as the Hub Clock began to chime. The healing musician slowly tottered her way in, sighing tiredly as she leaned against her staff and studied the man inside.

Compared to her, he was huge. A mountain of a man with a bald crown, the long hair of his beard and what was left on the top of his head flowed down past his shoulders as if defiance of that which he'd already lost. Swinging his hammer a few final times, he set his creation back in the coals and turned to see her standing there in the light of his doorway.

"Hello," he said unsurely as he was unable to see her face. "Can I help you?"

"Hey, um..." She stepped forward a bit so she came into the light of his forge. "You remember me, right?"

His eyes widened in recognition and shock at seeing her alive, standing there, after finding her half dead in field with Rosethorn. "I'll say I do!" he rumbled as he motioned for her to take a seat. Each taking a crate, he went on. "Shurri defend me, I never thought to see you again, though."

"Hm, I could say the same," replied Briteyes with a shrug. "I have a favor to ask, though."

"And that is?"

"The use of your forge and some good iron."

Frostpine was slightly taken aback. "And what would you need those things for?" he asked slowly.

She turned her head towards the fire. "I can't say."

"I see." Frostpine stood slowly, then nodded. "Alright, just for today though. I have some other things I need to take care of anyways." He walked towards the door, looking back at her strangely as he did. "I'll be back in awhile to see what you're doing, ok?"

Briteyes nodded as she put the staff aside and ignored the pain in her leg, drawing back her sleeves so they were out of her way. "Fair enough." She began her work as he left, preparing the metals there to be heated and forming an idea of what she wanted in the back corners of her mind.

*Six hours later*

Frostpine hesitantly entered his forge, not sure what he'd find there when he did. Looking at his worktable, he found most of the tools cleared away and put back in their rightful place, and two beautiful weapons lying in it's place.

The first was a sword, but one like none other he'd ever seen before. The handle was just long enough to be two handed, but the blade itself was light enough to be used with one and perfectly balanced as well. The end was slightly curved, probably to add force to the blows as well as keep the point from lodging itself in anything, and the edge on it was as keen as the north winds.

The second was a staff weapon, with the strangest end blade he's ever seen. The pole itself was five and a half feet long, the blade extending another foot, but shaped like a 'T' with the top flat par being the top of the weapon. The edges were as sharp as those of the sword, with leather handle grips added along its length at certain intervals.

"Do you like it?" asked Briteyes as she appeared at his side, a small bucket in hands that he saw contained many arrow heads, each gleaming in the dimming light.

"I...you...but..."

"Briteyes!!" Lark stopped at the doorway, a very angered Silven on her shoulder with a look of disapproval in the dedicate's eyes as well. "What are you doing here?? You were supposed to stay in Discipline while Rosethorn and I weren't there..."

"I was just taking care of something," replied Briteyes apologetically as she quickly wrapped up her new 'toys', taking her staff and joining Lark at her side. "I'm sorry if I made you worry. Thank you Frostpine for the use of your forge."

"Of course," he replied quickly out of instinct. "Anytime..." The pair walked away as the performer received a double scolding from the dedicate and the silver rodent at the same time, leaving Frostpine behind and very confused.

She couldn't have made those things on her own...could she?

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

"Come on, that's not how you swab a deck!" grouched Tanner as Jack labored under his experienced eye, the later doing the chore as quickly as he could while cutting ever corner in the book.

"I don't see you doing any of this work!" Jack groused back. "In fact, if I recall correctly, I'm First Mate, you're just a deck hand, so why am I doing this instead of you??"

Tanner came and stood before Jack, looking him straight in the eyes. "That sort of position does do that, doesn't it? Ok, then, I dare you to take your power back from me and demand my respect."

The two stared each other down, an eerie silence blanketing the deck with even the winds going completely still as a lone seagull cried mournfully over head. Tanner shrugged and walked away as Jack dropped his gaze first, defeat obvious in his stance. Getting a fresh bucket of water, Jack began his chore again, this time taking his time even though Tanner had left him on his own.

He'd take his power back from Tanner someday, he swore...it just wouldn't be today.

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

Cheeks checked the hooks he'd placed in the ceiling a final time as Jem watched with wide, innocent eyes, waiting patiently for him to finish.

"That should hold," said Cheeks to himself as he picked up the hammock Kaitlin had found at the boy's request. "Are you sure you want one of these? We can always make some sort of a rough cot, if you'd rather have one of those..."

"No, this'll do, thanks," replied Jem shyly as Cheeks finished putting the ropes through the hooks and securing them tightly with knots. "I...I've always liked hammocks better than floor beds...they're more comfortable for some reason..."

"Seems like the only people around here who use hammocks are seamen," replied Cheeks with a nod. "Are your folks from the sea or near the shorelands?"

"Um...I dunno," admitted Jem slowly as he looked out the window to the yard below. "I can't remember my family much..."

"I can remember mine," said Cheeks with a grin. "My older brother...eh, he was alright sometimes. I mean, I didn't hate him or anything, but sometimes it was nice when it was just me and my parents in the house...especially when we had my sixteenth birthday party there. Man, some of the people who came...there were four girls who sat around the kitchen table while the rest of us played this game upstairs and we could hear them the whole time howling with laughter. I swear, if I didn't know any better, I'd say they were on crack. Now I know it's just natural for them to act that way, but still..."

"I've never had a birthday party," whispered Jem as he helped Cheeks place the blankets and pillows in the hammock, hanging there in the corner near Cheeks' bed.

"Really? When's your birthday?"

"Dunno."

"...how old are you, then?"

"Somewheres between 8 and 10 summers, I think," said Jem with a shrug. "I'm sure of that much."

"How do you know that?" asked Cheeks, giving the boy and odd look.

"Can't say," said Jem with an odd shrug. "Just do."

"Ah..."

"Are you done up there already?" asked Brenna as she poked her head in, obviously dressed to go work back in the fields again. "I need your help with some work, Cheeks, and Kaitlin is waiting downstairs to help get Jem some new clothes."

"Yeah, we're finished," said Cheeks as he steered Jem towards the door and down the stairs after the farmer girl. "The twins aren't here though, are they?"

"Nope, not yet anyways."

"Good, I'd rather not climb out a window to avoid them again..."

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

Randy bowed low as the Master Mage opened the door, the first time he'd allowed someone to disturb him in his study since the incident with Bryanna two days ago.

"Yes?" he asked imperiously, standing stiff and straight as a board with his hands elegantly hidden in his sleeves.

"Master Vescom," said Randy gravely, bowing slightly lower. "I wish to apologize for my fellow student's rudeness! She is a rather passionate and emotional female sometimes, sir, I hope you understand that she probably does not know what she's saying..."

Master Vescom considered his words, frowned and was about to reply when he stopped himself and smiled ever so slightly. "Oh, it is all forgiven," he replied in a benevolent tone. "I will even go so far as to give her the passing seals regardless, for she pursued her studies up to that point quiet admirably. However, there is a favor I wish to request in return for this. If you'll come in?" The mage backed up a step and opened the door wider, making room for Randy to enter.

"Of course!" Randy did so immediately, taking a seat across from the Master Vescom's desk as the mage pulled a small box from it, carefully opening the lid to reveal several small, disk-shaped medallions. "Wow...what are they?"

"They're special medallions made to help a mage become more in tune with the magics around them," said Master Vescom lightly. He pulled one from under his shirt. "Even I wear one, see?" The medallions themselves were an iron gray, made of some sort of soft metal with a black flame on the back and a strange character on the front that Randy had never seen before. About and inch across, each hung on a leather tie that could be adjusted to whatever size you wanted it to be. "This one is for you..."

Randy accepted the medallion and immediately placed it around his neck, hiding it under his tunic as the mage had done. "Thank you, sir," he said in awe of the gift he'd just received. "What favor is it that you wished to ask of me, though?"

"I need you to take these medallions and give one to every mage you meet," said Master Vescom carefully. "Don't hand it to them directly though, just leave it on a table or in their things somewhere right before you leave their presence, ok? Perhaps with a small note saying it was a gift of thanks for their teachings, hm?"

"Why don't you go pass them out?" asked Randy, slightly puzzled.

"It's a game I like to play," said the mage quickly, with a small, quizzical smile. "If they're curious enough, they'll try to pick apart the spell and eventually trace it back to me. I like to see how many of the medallions I send out actually come back to me eventually, ok?"

"Then I will be more than happy to help," said Randy immediately, taking the box and putting the lid back on it before he placed it under his arm.

"One last thing," said the mage as he turned to leave. "Do not tell your companions about it, alright? Especially the healer, I doubt she would...appreciate me having a little fun."

"Of course not," agreed Randy immediately. "They'll never know, I swear."

"Good. Your are such a fine young man, Randy. Surely, one such as yourself with such fine qualities shall go far in this life!"

"I should hope so," replied Randy, puffing his chest out as he swaggered out of the room. The mage just nodded and turned away, hiding the slightly demonic smile that slid across his face for a fraction of a second.

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

Mike sat in the lower main room of the tavern where they were currently lively, drunk off his butt with Matt beside him lamenting the loss of his students in a rather high-pitched whine. Together, the two of them managed to keep the other from doing something too stupid just because each was too lazy to move, thus the rest of the ground had long since split for the day to take care of other things.

Jon worked with Chris at his workshop, making his deliveries for him and picking up a bit of cash in tips for being so fast about it. Cabinets, tables, worktops, chairs, doors, shelves, or just plain decorative pieces, each and everyone was taken within minutes to their new owner or to the shipping docks to be sent with Jon using the small cart he'd borrowed for his day's work.

Cam and Kristen were wandering the streets of Summersea, looking for some place for sale that might suit their present needs of a new home and dojo to live and work in. A map and some news they'd gotten from friends shared between them, they went from place to place asking for prices, possible deals, and any way they might shave down the price in the process.

"What did your guy say?" asked Kristen as they met in front of two warehouses, each going on sale or for rent sometime soon.

"That it's only open for a few more years, and then it's been commissioned to go to this Dancer woman," said Cam with a shrug. "Which is too bad, because it was really almost exactly what we needed..."

"Did they give the dancer a name?" asked Kristen lightly as she looked over the map.

"Yamiz Hebet, or something like that," replied Cam with a shrug. "Well, we couldn't keep it for however long we wanted so I figured it wouldn't do and told him so."

"Yamiz...that name sounds familiar..." Kristen turned and began to walk back down the street with Cam in tow. They turned down another street coming a little closer to the Duke's castle, finding themselves in the local harrier's district.

"Excuse me, miss," said a rough voice behind them, someone tapping lightly on Kristen's shoulders. Both turned quickly, seeing an older gentleman standing there. He was a tall, slender old man with gray hair combed straight back, a long straight nose, and heavy brows.

"Yes, can I help you, sir?" asked Kristen in confusion, reaching for her belt to make sure everything was still there.

I am Eodar Acalon, and the patriach of the Acalon family," he said a bit gruffly, bowing ever so slightly to her. "You are head of the Combative Arts School down near the Emerald Triangle, are you not?"

"Yes, I am," replied Kristen. "Call me Kristen, and this one of my assistants, Cam."

"Well met, to both of you," he replied. "As to why I've bothered you, it has come to my attention that you and your partners lost both your home and school and are looking for someplace to buy so you can start over again, is that not true?"

"It is," Kristen affirmed lightly. "I'm just curious as to how you knew about it."

"I have contacts whose children attend your school," he said roughly. "However, I have a solution for you that may benefit the both of us. Fighting styles vary among different folk, and while my Zahrah and her husband know much, they do not know all and I believe it would be beneficial to some of my grandchildren and great-grandchildren if they were taught other styles of fighting and weapons use as well."

"That is probably wise of you," said Kristen hesitantly. "But how does that solve my problem?"

"My cousin's family has chosen to leave the house he owned right next to us and head north to join his wife's family there to help them with some harrier work," explained Eodar. "It is large enough to house all of you, plus there is a warehouse to the side that he'd rented out for his business, and is now empty and looking to be bought. The house is yours if you'll agree to teach our family your school of fighting, and do any woodwork with that Trader man who lives with you. The warehouse you'll have to buy yourself, but I think you will have little trouble acquiring it."

Kristen blinked in surprise. "Ah...hm. Excuse me if I seem a bit slow to respond, but I hadn't expected to be approached like this and made an offer like that. If you'll just secure the warehouse for us, I will go back and talk this out with my partners. If they agree, I think it will work."

"Good." Eodar nodded slightly, then turned and began to walk away. "Come by the main house when you wish to redeem this offer."

"We will!" promised Cam, turning to Kristen with a huge smile on his face as he hugged her around the middle. "We're going to have a home again!"

"I know," she replied, giving him a slight smile as she ruffled his hair. "Come on, let's go tell the others."

"Yeah!"

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

Briteyes sat with Silven on her shoulder, putting the final touches on the bow she'd been working on since right after breakfast with the fine piece of yew she'd managed to coax out of the water temple dedicates. In the shade of the small oak tree that had been planted for Ben's body, the revenge-bent performer felt she owed him enough to sit there when she could, vowing never to play again until every last one of his tormentors were dead and she'd returned to confirm here at this tree.

Her wounds no longer bothered her, though a great deal of the scars remained. Lark and Rosethorn had once again offered to take her to the healers and have them removed, but still she refused, keeping them she claimed as a reminder of what she'd done.

Carefully bending the fresh yew once more, she carefully shaped it a bit more with the tools Rosethorn had lent her and made sure it was flexible enough for her needs. The shavings she cupped in her hands and then rubbed over the wood, using it to give it a clean, satin-life finish that she couldn't remodel with her knives. Two small tacks and a strip of leather were secured around the center, wrapped tightly to insure it wouldn't come loose while she was shooting it later on.

Standing, she strung it with the beeswax-rolled cord and held it lightly in her hands. Unstrung, it came up a few inches past her waist, and the pull was so great that when she took one of her not so well done arrow heads already attacked to an fletched rod and shot it at a stump, it buried itself five inches in while having flown all the way across the wide, back garden to reach its target.

#It's very well made# commented Silven as she scampered along Briteyes' arm and ran a paw along its length. #A fine piece. It reminds me of the bow I had back in Tortall.#

"That's the one I modeled it after," admitted Briteyes softly. "My old one would've been too heavy for what I plan to do with this one."

#That is very true. You almost never took the one you actually owned out with you unless you planned on staying on the walls and shooting from there.# Silven crawled back up to her shoulder and stood there, looking at the quiver of arrows that lay there beside them. #Though it could punch straight through even the strongest armor, it was a pain to carry around. Everything is almost finished#

"Yeah. The tools we'll need, at least."

#After that?#

"I train to make sure I remember it all."

#...then what?"

"We go find them." Briteyes turned and walked back towards Discipline, wrapping the bow in a bit of cloth she'd brought with her after bowing once to the tree where her brother's body supposedly rested. "And kill them all."

Silven sighed as she curled her tail around Briteyes' neck. #I know you won't change your mind, but somehow I think you're wrong...#

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

Jack slammed Jenny's door open, her looking up from where she sat marking possible future trader routes on a map.

"Can I help you?" she asked flatly as he stood there seething, slamming the door closed behind himself. "And if you do break my door doing that, it comes out of your pay, Jack."

"I am SICK of Tanner ordering me around!" he griped angrily, pounding his fists on her deck so hard that everything on top shook from the shock. "Can't you do something?! Say something to him about it?!"

"What, you want me to stand up for you?" asked Jenny with a half-amused smile on her face.

"Yeah..." Jack rolled his eyes. "Come on, don't give me that, Jen. I know all you have to do is say the word or smack him over the head or something and he'll back right off..."

"You seriously want me to take over this battle for you?" asked Jenny, crossing her arms a she leaned back in her chair. "You want me, a FEMALE, to take care of something that you should be able to easily and quickly handle as the supposedly superior MALE?"

"I never said that!" ground Jack as he glared daggers of death at her. "I just want you to tell him to back off! That's your job, isn't it Captain? I thought Captains were supposed to promote respect and equality in a crew."

"My job is to get us safely from one port to another, get a good profit and equally divide the goods between all who help in the process. Not to take care of personal squabbles you might have," said Jenny with a shrug. "Toughed up, Jack, for goodness sake. The work is good for you, and if you really want him to stop why don't you exert the supposed authority you have over him as First Mate?"

"Hey, I do my share of the work, I shouldn't have to do other's too!" yelled Jack, leaning over the table at her so he was right in her face. "Now you're going to do something about this problem right now!!"

Jenny stood slowly, straightening her tunic as she did with a very calm, cool, and collected look on her face. "First off," she said in a low voice. "I am the Captain here, you are the First Mate, and you will accept my authority over you because I can and will beat you down if you don't with your own staff. And if you try and fight back, there's plenty of help here to make sure the beating happens regardless. Second, you will never speak like that to me again if you wish to stay as First Mate. Or for that matter, a member of this crew. I wouldn't mind in the least bit throwing you overboard the next port we et to and never letting you back on again! Third, I refuse to help you because it's not my problem and I shouldn't have to get involved with your personal spats all the friggin time. Now leave."

Jack stood there for a moment with his mouth opening and closing like a gaping fish, eyes bugged out ever so slightly in disbelief. Finally, he snapped his mouth firmly shut and stomped out, leaving the door swinging open behind him. Jenny just smirked, and shrugged, going back to work and leaving him to fume.

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

Kaitlin held the shirt up to Jem and then ordered him to put it on, having him hold out his arms once it was on and marking off the sleeves so she could cut them down to size. Using a pair of scissors, she quickly chopped off the extra fabric and sewed in the new hem lines.

"Awww...aren't you just adorable!!" she squealed as she clapped her hands together. "Ok, now let's do another one!"

"Another?" asked Jem in surprised. "But I already got two new outfits!"

"We don't do the laundry every day here, hun," said Kaitlin with a wink. "You're going to need more than that if you're going to live with us."

"Oh...ok...if you're sure it's not a problem..."

"None at all!!" Kaitlin happily began to rummage through another one of the crates. "In fact, it's like playing dress up with a life size doll. Except your a lot more fun than any doll I used to have as a little kid. Ok, go back there and put these pants and shirt on, they'd go really well with that vest I found earlier...."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Oh, if only Patch were entirely tangible like you were, I would be the happiest person alive..." sighed Kaitlin as she paused for a moment in dreamland, and then went right back to work. Pulling out a pair of low  boots, she cried out in joy before tossing them behind the screen as well. "And try those too, if they fit then we don't have to go buy you pair from the tanners."

"If they don't, I c'n just wear them sandals you found," commented the boy slowly. "That'd be fine with me."

"Not in winter, no," replied Kaitlin with a firm shake of her head. "Nope, nope, nope. Not good at all. We still have mild winters, being this far south, but I will not have you going about with blue toesies because we agreed that sandals would do in the middle of winter."

"Um...ok...?"

"Get over here on the box," she instructed as he came out, smoothing his new clothes with nervous hands. "Come on, now, I swear I don't bite..." Under her breath, she added with a teasing grin. "Much."

He stood there wearing breeches that were tucked in the boots that were on his feet, a bit big but would give him room to grow. The shirt sleeves were a little long, too, but looked fine rolled up a few times and then she wouldn't have to get a new one when he grew later on.

Handing him the leather vest, the boy shrugged in on slowly to complete his outfit. He looked like any other farm boy hereabouts whose family had enough money to let him dress decently, but not so much that he didn't do his own share of work around the farm.

"Perfect," sighed Kaitlin, stars in her eyes before she handed him a few more things and shooed him out the door with all this clothes back towards Cheeks' room that he now shared with him. "Now go and put those things up like a good boy and then find Brenna-kins and ask her what she wants you to do first, ok?"

"Ok..." he skittered off, disappearing up the stairs as she began to repack the clothes she hadn't used and pile up the scraps of fabric she'd had to cut off.

"Hm...strange kid...but then we all are so I think he'll fit in just fine..."

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

Olivia watched in amusement as Randy darted into the barn, a small box under one arm and some saddle bags in the other as they were packing to leave the next morning.

"Hiding something?" she asked from where she was grooming her own mount, her bags all packed and ready to go beside it.

"AH!!" Randy jumped and looked around, spotting her in the corner and sighing in relief. "Oh...it's just you..."

"Expecting the boogie man or something?" asked Olivia as she finished currying the fine beast and began to comb out her mane and tail. "What's with the box? I'm sure you didn't have it when we got here."

Randy winced. "Uh...it's nothing, really..."

"If it's nothing, then there's no reason to tell me what it is," said Olivia pertly. "Now come on, you've got me curious now."

"Eh...well..." Randy scratched his head as he set the saddle bags down beside his mare in the next stall over. "Only if you promise not to tell Bry."

"Sure, whatever, now what is it?"

Randy opened it and pulled out one of the medallions. "See? They're these magical awareness medallions Master Vescom gave to me with instructions to give one to each mage we meet from here on until they're all gone. It's a game he plays or something, he said. And he asked me to help him out since he was nice enough to forgive Bryanna and give her the seal though she didn't finish her training."

"Is that all they are?" asked Olivia as she studied it with her eyes, some instinct telling her not to probe it with her magic.

"Yeah, that's what Master Vescom said anyways..." Randy held it out to her more with a grin on his face. "You want one? I got one, and it has helped so much in sensing magic around me..."

"Uh..." Olivia looked at it, then shook her head. "No. No, I think I'll be fine without it." She felt something inside herself twinge as she backed away, the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding coming out in a soft rush of air.

"Are you sure?" asked Randy, pausing before he put it back in the box. "It could come in handy later on."

She shook her head quickly. "Yeah, I don't want it. Thanks, though." Olivia turned back to her work, feeling as if she'd narrowly avoided something. Almost like some disaster of 'cataclysmic proportions', to be cliche. But it was just a simple medallion...wasn't it?

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

Jon, Mike, and Matt sat together in the wagon they'd rented again, hauling their things from storage into the house Eodar Acalon had offered them with the warehouse next door. It had taken a week longer since Kristen had told them of her talk with him to get the arrangements set, the furniture they'd need made by Chris, and the warehouse bought with a loan from Kristen's noble admirer.

"Do we have to do this today?" asked Mike in a whiney voice as he lay in the back sprawled over some tied down crates. His head ached and the light made his eyes water, courtesy of the large amounts of ale he'd consumed the night before in celebration of finding a home.

"Yeah, she was right that the sooner we get the school opened again, the sooner we can start making money," said Matt with a shrug.

"It doesn't matter to me, as long as we come out with enough cash to live off of in the end," said Jon from up front where he drove the horses through the crowded streets of Summersea. "Going broke is not a good thing around here, you know."

"Yeah, I know..."

Kristen and Cam, who were at the house with Chris, had the kitchen unpacked and set already and were now looking around while waiting for the rest of their things inside.

"Man, it is a little smaller," observed Cam with a gulp. "You think we're all gonna fit alright?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine," replied Chris with a light clap on the boy's shoulder. "It's not like we're all here all the time. I only see this place early morning and late at night unless I'm taking a day off for rest once a week, and I usually spend those days out of the house looking at other woodworker's goods so I can learn more stuff to make."

"That is true."

The house itself was similar to the last one, in that it was two stories and the lower floor was made of stone. The upper was also, this time, which made Kristen very happy indeed. There was a front courtyard surrounded by a stone wall, marking the edges of their yard quite nicely. There was not backyard this time, but the front was large enough to hold a class there if they had to, so they didn't worry about it.

The house itself had a front door and a side entrance, and if you went in either one it opened directly into the kitchen which was the largest room of the house. Roomy and comfortable, the fireplace was huge and went right up the center of the house so all the rooms were warmed when it there was a roaring fire inside. Right beside the fireplace there was a ladder going up to a hallway and four rooms that connect to it, being where Kristen, Cam, Chris, and Jon would have their rooms again.

Matt and Mike had their rooms off the hallway beside the ladder, four rooms there with two being their bedrooms, one a washroom, and the last a sitting room. The whole thing was nicely furnished with beds, tables, chairs, and such.

The warehouse next door was as large as their last had been, divided in half the same way the other had been but with no fireplace this time. Jon had already begun to draw up plans for the new aerial course he would build on one side for his advanced class, the ceiling even higher than before with many thick beams to work off of crisscrossing along the top. 

Chris had plans as well, to add an overhang that would extend from the house side entrance to the warehouse beside it, cutting through the stonewall between them so they could travel between the two without having to go around into the street.

Once their equipment was replaced and they had their classes back in order again, they would be set for business! Now all they could do was settle in and hope the business would come back as it had been before...

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

Ben sat silently on the bed with some strips of bandages beside him and some healing goop the household doctor had give him, carefully wrapping each finger on his left and right hand with hopes that it would do it's work in time for him to play again that night with no blood pouring from his fingers to clog the holes.

The silver flute he'd been given, while it had a sweeter, more trill tone, was harder to play because the holes were more sharply edged and slightly larger as well. The calluses he'd gained from his old flute were all useless in this case, as he had to use different parts of his fingers to play.

Nana stood to the side, using hot irons fresh from the fire in his room to smooth out his new uniform that he wore every time he played, being dressed in regular servant's rags the rest of the time.

"Are you certain you must play tonight, young'un?" asked Nana as she finished her task, looking worriedly at his blood-stained, bandaged fingers.

"The Master said he was having guests," replied Ben with a slight shrug. "I can't not go if he is, that would supposedly 'shame' the Master for not having entertainment present, and then I'd get beaten later on. Better to kill my fingers and spare my body a few more bruises, right?"

"I suppose," replied Nana with a sigh. "He works you to the bone, as he does all of us, but one would think that since you're his latest 'amusement' he'd take better care of you..."

"I'm fine, he's not working me that hard," replied Ben, trying to act brave and noble, though she only had to poke him in the side where he'd been hit earlier by one of the guards for being late to remind him that it was not true. "Well...maybe he is, but I'm still alive, aren't it?"

"If you had any brains in that head of yours, you'd slack off when you could like the rest of us do to keep yourself alive," scolded Nana lightly. "Only those who do so live long enough to warn others in the future. It's not often this place gets new help, and until then we have to pick up the slack for those who worked themselves to death in a few months time."

"How long have you been here Nana?" asked Ben curiously, looking up from his fingers to stare at her back.

"A very long, long time," she replied, pausing her work for a moment to look at him sadly. "For as long as I can remember, actually. My mother and father worked for his grandfather, and then his father, many years ago. I was born into this life, and it never mattered to me what it was until the Master's father died and he became in charge. Since then, no one has lived long enough to have children and raise them as servants as well within this household. I am one of the few old ones who remember before his time of cruelty, and harshness. Me he will keep alive until I die a natural death. Until then..." She sighed and looked at her own hands. "I work, and try to save the few I can like you who don't know enough not to work themselves into oblivion like he asks us to."

"Oh...." Ben got up and wrapped his arms around her waist, getting a smile from her as he gave her one of his own. "Well, I'm glad you're here to help me."

"I'm glad I am too." She glanced up as she heard others moving in the hallway outside. "Get moving, now, you have to go help with the unloading the deliveries today."

Ben ducked his head as he let her go and jogged out the door. "Yes, ma'am!"

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

"Some First Mate you are," chided Tanner as he took the ropes from Jack and tied them for him in half the time it would have taken usually. "Can't even do a sheep shank without thinking about it."

Jack just felt himself flush slightly as Tanner walked on, taking over as he tested the winds, and after finding their Nymph wasn't inclined at that point to change them for him had Trev and Tyler help him change the sails to make the best of the breeze they did have.

"Hey, the least you can do is make yourself useful down there and grab this rope for me!" yelled Tanner as he dropped the rope straight down near Jack's head. The young man jumped back and picked it up when it had finished falling.

"Where do you want it tied?" he called back in resignation.

"I just want you to hold it steady until I get down there to tie it myself!" Tanner called back jeeringly. "I let you do it, and Shurri defend me, we'll be waiting until the next full moon for it to be done!"

"Why you son of a- just tell me where you want it, Tanner!!" yelled Jack, his temper getting the best of him. Tanner dropped down beside him, roughly taking the rope from his hands.

"No."

That's when it happened. Jack lunged forward and caught Tanner right across the face with a left hook.

"Now," said Jack as he leaned over Tanner from where he'd fallen in surprise on the deck. "Let me tell you exactly what I think of you and your high handed ways." With that he began to go down the list of every insult, every slur, every single obscenity he'd ever learned both here and back home in America. Having gone through both lists, it was a good ten minutes before he finished and when he did Tanner, Tyler, and Trev sat there staring at him in amazement.

"I think he broke Uncle Gaven's old record," commented Tyler as he looked up from the list he'd made of words he hadn't known that Jack said and planned to use later on.

"Thank you, First Mate, for your opinion of me," said Tanner with a rueful smile as he nodded his head more respectfully than normal, rubbing his jaw which was still rather sore from the punch. "But you could have just summed it up and said I was being an insolent jerk."

Jack smiled pleasantly. "But, oh, doing it my way felt so much better."

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

"Hey, Cheeks?" asked Rupal as she stuck her head in the kitchen where Cheeks and boy sat sharpening some knives for Kaitlin. "Do you need Jem right now or can I borrow him for awhile?"

"I guess, if you need him he's yours," replied Cheeks as Jem looked between the two, then stood as Cheeks made a shooing motion with his hands and followed Rupal back up stairs and then up the ladder into the attic itself. "Just have him back to me by after lunch! Bren's got something she wants us to do!"

"Ok!"

"What we doin' up here?" asked Jem as he sneezed from the dust that had accumulated everywhere. "Libby said -ACHOO- that we don't need to get a count of our summer clothes for awhile yet." *sniffles*

"We're not here for the clothes, silly," said Rupal in her usual, soft voice. "That's Kaitlin's job, not mine. We're here for the books..." She swung a curtain that hung across one back corner away showing piles of leather-bound books that were so coated in dust they looked like they'd been there for centuries without being disturbed.

"Books?" Jem looked them over, carefully picking one up and examining it closely as Rupal pulled another curtain away from the window and flooded the large space with the mid-morning sun. "Wow...I've seen them before but never those close...what's all this marking stuff in it?"

"What markings?" Rupal came and looked over his shoulder, a small smile on her face. "You mean the writing? Those are words, silly. Don't you know how to read words?"

"Read? What, you talkin' about actually understanding what this squiggle things mean?" Jem gave her a confused look. "I thought only mages 'n' bags understood this kind of stuff."

"Well, I'm not a mage or a bag, whatever that is, and I understand it just fine," replied Rupal with a shrug. "Here, let me show you..." She opened the book he was holding on an herbal testament and began to read from one of the pages. "While willows bark can be used to reduce fever and pain, it cannot be used in large doses over extended periods of time or else it might induce sever stomach pains or intestinal damage in the patient..."

"Man...could you teach me to read?" asked Jem with a sparkle in his eyes.

"Sure," replied Rupal as she smiled slowly. "Come on, though, we need to sort these out...we're keeping the ones we might need around here and selling or trading the rest. No use letting them take up valuable space that could be used to store useful things, right?"

"I guess not..."

"Then let's get to it."

Together, they went through each and every volume, setting them into three piles of useful, useless, and just plain valuable. Some of them seemed to be old, ancient texts of sorts in languages she didn't understand, and Rupal figured if it was put in a text that no ordinary person could read, then there must be something special about it.

Eventually, when every last book had been looked at, Rupal and Jem sat side by side in the dusty, gloomy room and stared at the stacks of books before them.

"Now what?" asked Jem after a few moments of silence.

"Now..." Rupal pulled out a dust rag, some paper, and a charcoal stick. "We dust off the shelves, alphabetize the ones we want to keep, and make a list of them all!! And we're going to get it done before lunch, too."

Jem looked out the window, they had less than an hour before noon, and then at her like she was insane. "You're pulling my leg, right?"

"...um, no?"

"Oi..."

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

Bryanna rode stolidly on one side and Randy stiffly on the other, Olivia stuck between the two as they traveled farther on towards their next teacher. It had been three days since they'd left, and nothing had changed.

Bryanna still refused to talk to Randy, Randy still refused to acknowledge her, Bryanna was unaware still of the medallions he carried with him and Olivia hadn't thought it important enough to impart the information to her. Olivia placed message runner between the two and loathed every moment of it, and while she did enjoy the piece and quiet sometimes, she could definitely do without the glares that continued to fly overhead between the two parties.

In short, no one was in a good mood, everything seemed to be going wrong at times, and all they could do was hope that mage boy who was in charge would take pity on them and help change their luck.

Fat chance.

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

Mike chuckled quietly to himself as he snuck along the halls of the new house, up the ladder to the second floor and then to Cam's room. Slipping inside, he quickly set the almost full bucket of water he'd brought with him on the floor, getting a chair and bringing the bucket up with him to set above the frame of the door with the door itself cracked open ever so slightly for support.

Putting the chair back in its place, he went to the open window and climbed out it, dropping lightly on the roof below. Going a few steps over, he used the trellis to then work his way to the higher roof above the second story rooms, walking over the top as it was hardly steep at all and he probably could have jumped from it to either neighbor's house or even to the store behind them across the alley way. Dropping instead to the low roof on the other side, he used the trellis there to clamber into Jon's room where he was supposed to be sorting through some of the crates there for clothes of his that were missing.

Cam suddenly came zipping up the stairs and slipped into his room, Mike waiting for the fateful splash that would indicate his plan had worked....Cam suddenly popped back into the room, completely dry with a smile on his face.

"Hey, Mike?" he asked, no noticing the rather perturbed look on the young man's face. "Could you tell Kristen we were right about the crate she's carrying?"

"Uh...sure..." The boy zipped off again, this time down the ladder and out the side door on whatever errand he'd been told to run now. Mike got up and slipped back out in the hall, checking Cam's room's door.

The bucket was still set and ready to go, and as he hoped there might be another chance to get the brat later on, he left it there and went back to work looking through the crates. There was going to be hell to pay if he didn't find his purple vest soon...

"Mike, did Cam say anything to you before he ran off?" asked Kristen as she stood there panting in the doorway, a huge crate in her arms.

"Yeah, that whatever it is you agreed on, it was right," he replied lightly.

"Oh...ok." She walked on by, stopping a few steps later. "Hey Mike, can you come get this door for me?"

"Sure..." He got up, then paused. "Who's door is it?"

"Cam's."

Mike's eyes got very, very big. "Um...why don't you leave it out there and I'll move it in, ok? I swear I won't open it..."

"Yeah, just like you wouldn't ever put a roach in Libby's locker or a nest of spiders in Matt's stuff," retorted Kristen. He could hear her shifting the crate in her hands. "Now, Matt, before I drop it..."

"Just leave it there and I'll take care of it."

"No, you'll do something to it!"

"Will not!"

"Matt...fine, I'll manage it myself."

"Wait, no-!!"

*SPLOOSH*

*THUMP*

Mike stood there from where he'd dashed into the hall, freezing at the sight of Kristen standing there soaked to the bone and with the crate dropped at her feet. The bucket lay beside her, from the bruise quickly forming on her shoulder it had done its job well.

"Mike," ground Kristen through her teeth.

"..yes?" he squeaked. "I swear, it wasn't supposed to hit you...!!"

Kristen's eye twitched as she gazed rather vengefully at him. "But it did."

"Ah...bye!" Mike took off back into the room, leaping out the window headfirst with Kristen in hot pursuit. Stopping at the window, she watched as he rolled off the roof and down into the plants below, laying there twitching painfully as she just smirked.

That made it worth it. Almost. She'd find a way to pay it back and soon...

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

Lark and Rosethorn sat across from each other at the kitchen table, each with a worried expression as the garden dedicate gently scratched the silver squirrel's back who was asleep on her shoulder.

"She's still up there," murmured Lark as she cast her eyes upwards, towards the roof. "An amazing recovering, even for one so young..."

"Something's not right, it's like she's being pushed towards this...fate," grumbled Rosethorn. "I do not like it. She shouldn't leave."

"I know, Rosie," replied Lark as she slowly stood. "I will go talk with her. Hopefully put some sense in that brain of hers. If not, though..." She shrugged. "We cannot force her to stay if she does not wish to, and I'd rather send her off prepared for that which she's set herself to do rather than allow her to leave with nothing and scrounge what she can from others before she does the deed."

"It is wrong to take lives needlessly," sighed Rosethorn. "Even in revenge."

"Rosethorn..." Lark caught Rosethorn's eyes and held them steady. "Could you honesty say that if someone had come and murdered one of your students while they were under your care and you were given the chance to repay that, that you wouldn't take it in a heartbeat?"

Rosethorn didn't reply, and Lark ascended the stairs to the top floor, and then through the attic to the roof after giving her dearest friend one last look. Finding the door open, she slowly crept through and watched as Briteyes finished another kata with her sword in the shining moonlight.

Sweat practically dripped from her, she'd been at it since it was cool enough to work like this hours ago before the sun set and now the moon was past its apex in the sky. Hair bound tight in a thick braid that fell to her waist, she'd rid herself of all silver ornamentations and her old clothes, preferring instead to wear some old leathers she'd found in the attic a few days ago. Right now, most of it was off and she was left with some pants and a loose shirt, both damp from her exertions.

Sitting down by the ledge, the young woman silently accepted the ladle from the bucket Lark had brought with her and drank it down in one draught, taking the second and dumping it over her head. The sword she had resheathed and laid to the side, sitting beside Lark with an expectant look on her face.

"Are you sure you can't tell me how you know all this?" asked Lark as she held her hands out, taking the blade Briteyes offered to her and inspecting it closely. "It is beautiful craftsmanship, even I can see that. But I do not like the purpose which such a beautiful work of art has been given..."

"I am going, whether or not you will help me," said Briteyes simply, as if that was all there was too it.

"Your hands are clean, though," argued Lark, "They have no blood on them, why start now?"

Briteyes gave her a sad smile. "You think that I know how to forge weapons, how to use them, how to maintain them, yet I've never killed before? Sometimes I wish it were true, but it is not..."

Lark looked surprised. "You...?"

Briteyes paused. "I cannot tell you," she whispered after a few moments of silence. "So please, don't ask me. I will leave as soon as I am ready, and then return again once the deed is done. That's the best I can promise, that I will return again someday..."

"You are always welcome here, love," said Lark as she gave the young woman a hug, drawing her in to her arms gently. "Though you've never been our student...its' nice, having one like you around. We will both miss you, though it would be like pulling teeth to get Rosie to admit it...and she'll never forgive you if you get yourself killed after putting all that effort into keeping you alive."

Briteyes laughed, then nodded. "That's one thing I can promise," she said, "I will come back alive. No dying, I promise."

"Good. Now, let's go inside before you catch a cold being all wet up here in the breeze like this," said Lark as she swung her feet back down into the attic. "You need a bath, and so do Rosie and I, so we might as well go together."

The performer turned fighter sighed and nodded. She was going to miss this place while she was gone...but she had to go. Revenge demanded she did.

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

Everyone sat around the table in the galley, digging into the food everyone had pitched in to prepare. Fresh bread, a fine salted fish stew with vegetables chopped up in it, some berry pudding Jenny had managed to throw together, and of course a steaming hot pie waiting for dessert.

Jenny sat at the head of the table with it's benches that were nailed down to the floor, Jack across from her at the other end. Trev and Tanner sat on one side and Gwen and Tyler on the other, Nicole sitting by Jenny's hand at her own private table with her own little utensils for her to eat with. Everything, including her fork, spoon, knife, plates, and cup she had made herself and had to wash herself after every meal. No one else could get their fingers into the cracks like they could their own table ware, so it was up to her.

The food was passed around the table, Nicole cutting or spooning bits off of whatever Jenny took to feed herself. The bread she just tore off a hunk the size of her fist that was the size of a crumb to everyone else. The soup she dipped her bowl in and then had Jenny pick out some fish and carrots so she could cut off bits for herself. The size of a hunk of fish was the same size as her bowl, so she had to cut it down somehow. The pudding she just spooned part of the edges off onto her own plate. Though she wished the seeds weren't so big, she had to eat around them because her teeth couldn't bite through them anymore, they were the size of her own teeth! The pie, well, there she just sat by the pan after everyone got what they wanted and took the bits of crust left over and dipped it in the apple and filling that remained, which was more than enough to make a pie her size.

"I have to say, it's nice only having to plan for six and knowing our seventh crew member won't even possibly finish the remains of the meal on her own," commented Jenny as she winked at Nicole.

"Are you teasing me about my size?" demanded Nicole as she shook her finger at Jenny. "Beware the power of the nymph!!"

"Who me?? Never..." Jenny just went back to eating with a devilish grin on her face. The brother's still didn't know what to think when she looked like that, so they generally avoided her and hoped for the best.

Gwen suddenly dropped a cup over Nicole, effectively trapping her inside. "Be a good little nymph, now, and behave!!"

Nicole managed to lift the cup off of herself with a tuft of wind and glared. "I was behaving!!"

"Uh huh, sure...that's what they all say..."

"What did I do?!"

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

Libby allowed Jem to help her carry all the cages out of her room down to the barn, only because he liked her bunnies so much and they seemed to love him back. She'd only started with a few, but since then (do to the bunnies nature to procreate rather quickly) had more than quadrupled in number and if she kept tripping over the cages she'd built in the dark, she was going to break them and squish a bunny by accident one night. She didn't want that to happen!

"So, what are we buildin'?" asked Jem as he set the last of the cages down as carefully as he could, scratching the cute little fuzzy creates inside affectionately before straightening up completely.

"We're gonna build them something like a hutch," replied Libby with a grin. "So they can all live together and be one big happy bunny family!!"

Jem looked at her, then at the bunnies, and back at her again. "How big is this going to be??"

Libby pointed to the three stalls she'd torn down in the barn. "That big."

"Ok, that makes sense...are you going to divide them up any?"

"What do you mean?" Libby cocked her head to the side in confusion.

Jem coughed lightly. "You know, like...put the males in one and the females in the other and all the little kiddies together away from them...?"

"No way!!" Libby grinned as she winked at him. "It's a free love society in the bunny world, man!!"

"Right..."

"Let's get to work!!"

Dragging boards, nailing them together, putting a roof on one side so they could sit in the shade, creating a 'potty place' as Libby called it, and food and water troughs that they'd have to fill daily, it was many hours later before they finished and sat there together on the ground while the bunnies inspected their new home.

"It seems big for only a few of them..." commented Jem lightly. "But I know in'a month or three we'll pro'lly have to make it even bigger!"

"No, if it gets to that point we'll start selling some of them," stated Libby firmly. "All the bunnies can go except the original four or so, they're the only ones I really care about!"

Jem looked at the mass of bunnies who were now hopping all over each in a frenzied excitement. "And how you do know which is which?"

Libby gave him her cutest smile. "I just know. I'm special like that, because I've been granted special bunny woman powers!! FEAR ME!!"

The poor boy crept from the barn as she stood there laughing insanely, dancing around her bunnies to no end. "Help...!"

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

Bryanna dragged herself out of bed as the sun slowly rose over the horizon, feeling her stomach turn over again though she hadn't eaten anything since lunch the day before and her head buzz fuzzily. They had found another teacher, this time an older black woman who was so dark she almost seemed blue at times. Her eyes had been large and kind, but even her patience with them had been worn past thin as nothing seemed to work an all their spells went awry.

It had been a simple course in book-work spells, using common ingredients with a touch of magic to get the desired effects of another mage's power. It should have only taken a few days to complete, but they'd been there for more than a week before she passed them just to get them to leave and supposedly taking the bad luck they carried with them away.

Randy had left behind a medallion as planned, slipping it in her belt pouch right before riding off with the girls. Though he wasn't feeling to well himself, and Olivia was even worse. Everything seemed fuzzy and surreal at times, others it was just a dull ache in the back of their heads, but one thing was for sure their magic had gone limp and still, and it took great amounts of energy to get it to do the simplest of things. The funny thing was, the larger the work the less energy it took and thus they confined all their magic using to the large works they would normally never thing to use on a regular basis.

Riding together, Randy felt himself immediately perk up again, Olivia getting a little color back in her face and becoming more amiable the farther away they got, though Bryanna showed little or no improvement at all.

"Are you sure you don't want to stop and let a Senior Healer look at you?" asked Olivia quietly for the tenth time since they'd left. "They might catch something you've missed...."

"I'm not actually sick, I can tell you that!" argued Bryanna crossly. "If I were, I'd know, ok?? Whatever it is that's gotten to me, it has nothing to do with my physical self..."

"It seems to affect it, though," pointed out Olivia slowly. "It can't hurt to let them have a look..."

"I said no!"

"Alright alright, don't get your pants in a knot..."

"Hmph."

"Leave the weak girl alone," said Randy lightly. "Everyone knows doctors are their own worst patients. She's probably just got a cold and can't believe she let her guard down so she's refusing to heal herself as 'punishment' or something."

"Can you tell the idiot over there he has no clue what he's talking about, and if I had a cold he'd have caught it himself by now if I hadn't healed myself of it!" growled Bryanna, continuing to face forward though her eyes swan occasionally.

"Randy, Bry said..."

"Olivia, would you be so kind as to inform the weakling healer that only fools and morons allow others to get rises out of them like that," cut in Randy sharply.

Olivia shut her mouth and glared at them both, getting the desired effect of them both shutting up and shirking in their saddles slightly. Once again, the ice-like look of the Ice Queen saves the day...or at least her own sanity...

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

Ben lay there crying in his sleep, shadows of past and present running together to create a nightmare that held him trapped in its warped clutches. Writhing until the covers where so twisted about himself he could barely move, he dreamed something was holding him there, forcing him to watch scene after scene...moment after moment of his life with his sister...how many times now did he wish he'd been nicer? That he'd said something to her? Been there for her like she'd been for him?? Regrets, so very, very many heaped on such a very, very young head...

Nana crept into the room and sat down next to him on the bed, slowly helping him untangle himself as he began to wake from her gentle, but persistent shake. "Easy, young'un..." she murmured deep in her throat. "It is only me, Nana...rest easy, it was only a dream..."

"I want her back," he whispered hoarsely as the tears continued to fall down his face. "I'd give anything in the world just to see her again...that none of this had ever happened...!!"

"You cannot change was has happened, lad, you must accept it and move on," whispered Nana as she ran a gnarled, but strong hand through his hair. "We all have our regrets...bits of the past we wish we could change...but all we can do is try to mend them with the days we have left allotted to us."

"Do you think she's watching me?" he asked softly. "Looking over me from heaven, like an angel?"

"Lad, I don't know what this heaven of yours is," replied Nana slowly. "Nor do I know what an angel is, but if what you have told me is true then yes. I would say so, most likely."

"I wonder if she misses me?" whispered Ben. "Like I miss her. If she's sad when I'm sad or if she ever cries like I do...I never saw her cry before, though I ran to her several times when Kevin beat me up crying..."

"Even the strong occasionally shed tears, have they any heart at all," sighed Nana. "She'd be a fool not to miss you, and I bet every she sees you cry she cries too, wishing she could be here to comfort you as I am now..."

"I...want her here...too..." Ben slowly drifted back off to sleep, his dreams more peaceful this time as Nana covered him with his blankets again and left the room, slipping back into her own to catch a few more hours of sleep before the dawn. He was such a sweet lad, and so broken inside. But someday, he would heal...the wound would close over and leave nothing but a scar in its place...someday.

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

Two chapters in a less than a week. ^_^ I'd say that's rather impressive, how about you? Well, you'd better think it was!! : P Hope you enjoyed it, much more to happen in the next chapter so please review and stay tuned for Chapter 11 of Summersea Saga!!

~Crosseyedbutterfly~

'Dance like there's no tomorrow, because for all you know there may not be.'