A/N Beware. Heavy language in one scene at the bottom when Novellee loses control.

Regen- they all know that her real name is Novellee because Jayme told them in chapter, like seven or eight? And they know she's from Serinda because that's the language she was speaking in the ifrst couple of chapters.

Mage Light- it was just a hallucintation, in a way. They were really there, but they wouldn't have hurt her. They were just to make it seem like it really was the dream playing out in real life.

Thank you Karakin I appreaciate you telling me that.

Great Merciful Goddess- It's a habit not to trust for her. But that'll change soon.

Angstwolf- it is quite funny.

imperfectionist-angel185- =)

Chapter thirteen: Homecomings

Novellee was not in a good mood. Her magic sight had returned while she had taken a short nap the afternoon before. Then Trent had woken up and demanded to see her.

After she had assured him that she was indeed the assassin (It had simply taken a flip over her right hip and a boot planted in his gut), she had stayed up late hearing stories about the man she was about to kill.

His name was Brent and he was Trent's identical twin. They had had a twin sister, but Brent had killed her when they were fourteen. It wasn't quite clear to Novellee if it was an accident or on purpose. A horse had run down their sister, Sara, which Brent had been riding. But she hadn't died instantly. She had lived to suffer three days of agony before dying.

Now Novellee understood how Trent could be glad that his brother was about to die. What had surprised Novellee the most was that she had recognized Trent's brother. He was one of Morrison's minions. At first, Novellee was unsure of whether this was considered making the first move, but after relaying the facts, she decided it was simply following orders. After all, her brother had led her here, in a sense.

With four hours of sleep under her belt, she had been awakened at dawn's first light in order that they could leave on time. It had been decided the night before that they would stay at Novellee's estate for a day or two before heading back to Corus to report to the King.

But four hours sleep wasn't enough and she had to resume humming, much to her displeasure. Not to mention the fact that she was in a dress again. Her clothes had been to shredded from her flight through the woods to be worn, and had ultimately been thrown away.

She stuck to the front of the riding group, alone like she liked it. She didn't want to get in a tangle with anyone while she was under the influence of the chant. She wasn't in complete control of her emotions or reactions while she was irritated.

She breathed a sigh of relief when they got to her estate. She could pass off her guests to Polly and sneak away to hide by herself. She might even be able to slip in another nap before dinner.

Ellie soiled her plans though.

She came tearing out of the house as soon as Novellee dismounted screaming at the tops of her lungs, "Lee's back! Lee's back!"

Novellee had barely gotten her feet when the small girl collided with her in her imitation of a hug. Lee tolerated it only because she knew how much Bennie liked the girl. She was gritting her teeth when Polly came bustling out.

"Novellee!" she scolded with a ferocious scowl. "Where in hell have you been?" she demanded. By now, everyone was in hearing range, and she just bet that Alanna was getting a kick out of it. She wished the earth would open up and swallow her whole.

"Polly," she snapped her voice tight and clipped. Polly drew herself up to her full height at the tone. Her baby was not in a good mood. "See to the guests while I take care of the horses."

"Ellie can—"

"Now!" her voice was dead calm. Polly looked hurt before she turned and beckoned to the guests.

"If you would follow me, I'll show you around the house," Polly said, her hurt evident in her voice. Novellee didn't look any one in the eye as the passed by her. When they were all gone, including Ellie, who had the sense to leave before she got her head bitten off too, Novellee gathered the horses' reins and led them to the barn.

"Novellee!" Bennie shouted his greeting as he rushed towards her, but then he got a good look at her face and stopped. She was extremely agitated and he knew that getting possessive would set her off. And he did not want to be an outlet for her frustration.

"Can I help you with the horses?" he asked as he calmly resumed his walk to her. She nodded and handed him off a few horses.

"Nice dress," he joked and was satisfied when she gave him a light punch. All she needed was rest, he decided. He heard her humming, and he knew what it meant. She had over used her gift and hadn't been able to get enough sleep to bring it back.

"Whose are they, by the way?" he questioned with a gesture at the magnificent beasts. And magnificent they were. The horses practically screamed nobility.

Novellee quickly relayed what had happened when she had left his room that night. She didn't leave anything out and was quite exhausted when she was done. She rubbed down each horse, gave them fresh water, food and hay.

"Take a nap, Novellee," Bennie commanded as he looked at her face. She was pale, too pale, and she had resumed humming as soon as she had finished her story.

"Yes, your majesty," she said snidely and giving a mocking curtsy. She ruined the effect, though, when she walked into his open arms for a hug. "How's it going with Ellie?"

"We're getting married, Novellee," Bennie told her as he watched her climb up to the hayloft. "I want to ask you if she can come back to the inn when we leave."

He heard her sigh, but because he couldn't see her face, he wasn't sure if it was from exasperation or from the pleasure of being able to rest. "Sure, Bennie, if it's alright with her father. Wake me for dinner."

With that she was out. Bennie went back to what he had been doing before she had interrupted his work. A new mare, Ginger, that they had gotten a few months ago was foaling. She was a retired plow horse that Novellee had bought. The owner had mistreated Ginger and Novellee had bought her out of sympathy. She had thought the poor dear too old to be of use, but after a few weeks of nursing, it was revealed that the horse was young and reasonably healthy.

Ginger had been bred during the breeding season, and now she was heavy with foal. She was ready to have the colt any day now. Bennie made note to tell the regular worker to keep an eye out for her.

"Hey, Ginger," he called softly as he entered the stall. She perked up her head and gave a soft cry. Bennie walked to her, stroking her face and neck. She leaned her head against he shoulder and playfully ate at his hair.

Bennie stroked down her abdomen, checking on the baby. "You're gentle with her," he heard someone say.

He turned and looked at a woman with brown hair and smoky gray eyes. He gave her a smile, and Ginger walked over to her, rubbing against her shoulder also.

Bennie was surprised at Ginger. She wasn't too kind with strangers, her old master having broken her in the cruelest of ways. Bennie immediately trusted the woman, because Ginger trusted her.

"I'm Daine," she said, sticking out her hand. Bennie shook in return.

"Bennie, Novellee's stable hand. Was there something you needed?" he asked politely, placing a hand on Ginger's back. Ginger gave him a nudge with her rump, sending him off balance. He laughed and gave her a friendly pat.

"The horses really like it here. You're nice to them," Daine whispered, it sounded like she wasn't really aware of what she was saying. She grabbed onto Ginger's bridle to hold her in place and looked deep into her eyes.

"Novellee did a good thing when she rescued her," she said. She sounded more aware of what she was saying this time. "She did a good thing for all of these horses. I can see that now. She saved them all, didn't she?"

Bennie cleared his throat nervously. He wasn't sure if Novellee wanted everyone to know what a softie she was at heart. Daine seemed so innocent when she asked he answered her anyways.

"Yeah, Novellee saved them all. Everyone has a history, a sad one. Novellee did a great thing when she bought the estate. She was only sixteen at the time. Imagine that, sixteen and with enough money to buy and run her own estate. Makes you wonder who she offed to get that much money, doesn't it?" he gave her a smile.

"Yes. Where is she, by the way? Numair wants to find her to grill her on what she knows about the Gift," she said with humor. She already knew where Novellee was, having gleaned it from one of the horse's. But she didn't want to intrude on her privacy.

"She's not here," Bennie lied, not quite meeting her eyes. "She went back into the house, mentioning something about heading to the library. Sorry."

"That's alright. Thank you, though," she gave him a smile and a wave before leaving.

$$

Novellee sat at the table, humming in between bites. Her energy was coming back. The nap had helped, but she still wasn't strong enough for her liking. She wanted to be completely up to speed when she set out to kill Brent.

A headache was working behind her eyes doing its best to drive her crazy when the silence surrounding the table like a plague was broken.

"Must you chant at dinner too?" Trent snapped, breaking the penetrating silence as he slammed down his water glass.

Novellee looked up, her eyes cool, but before she could give him a piece of her mind, Cameron jumped to her rescue. She had steadily avoided him since she had woken up from her catnap a few hours ago.

"Don't take that tone with my Novellee!" Cameron yelled as he stood and slammed his fists into the table. He was furious that Novellee had left him and come back with four other men. Including that man that had claimed Novellee had slept with him. He had been itching for a fight.

"Cameron," Novellee's voice was deadly calm, each word measured and spoken hollowly. She also got to her feet. "Shut up."

"What did you say to me?" Cameron demanded, rounding the table until he was standing next to Novellee. She had never dared to take that tone with him before and he didn't like it.

"I said shut up," her voice remained deadly calm, never rising above a quiet volume. "I'm sick and tired of you acting like my god damn father. I had one once and I don't want or need one now."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm so god damn sick of you always clinging to me, always acting like you own me, always fighting my battles. The only reason I tolerated it was because Polly liked you. Well, fuck her and fuck you. Don't pick my battles and don't fight them for me. I'm nineteen and I've been taking care of myself for more then half. I don't need your fucking help." She punctuated each word of the last sentence with a poke in the middle of his chest.

She whirled away, and then swung back to face him again. "And I'm so sick of you panting over me. I hate it and it makes me sick. Every time you touch me I have to fight down bile. I don't like it when you touch me, your kisses make my toes curl with disgust and the lust in your eyes is revolting. And I swear to the gods if you touch my again, I'll stick a knife in your gut and leave you to die in the gutter."

With the headache raging, she turned on her heel, her hair swinging out behind her and slapping Cameron in the face, and strode out of the hall. Her fists were clenching in her anger. Her chanting became even more audible as she began saying the phrase over and over.

She just wanted to scream. Instead, she slunk off to the servant's quarters, slammed into a vacant room and hurled herself onto the bed. She needed more sleep and she needed a little peace.

"Lee, are you okay?" a voice whispered from the door. It was times like these, Novellee thought, that she wished she could allow herself to cry. She looked up to see Bennie standing in the doorway.

"I made a total fool of myself," she whimpered as she grabbed her head. The headache was killing her.

"Yeah, you did. But you should have seen his face when you strutted out. He looked crushed," he sat next to her on the bed, placing a hand on her shoulder. She reached up and grabbed it before pulling it to her cheek and rubbing against it.

"You know, I think of you like a brother Bennie," she said, her voice gruff with emotion. He smiled and nodded at her.

"You must really be tired. You're getting mushy on me," she laughed and released his hand. "Go to sleep, Lee. I won't let anyone bother you."

She nodded, exhausted beyond belief. But tomorrow was another day after all.

$$

Burdock sat in the only available place in the crowded room, the windowsill. Daine and Numair occupied the bed while Alanna took the chair by the desk and George leaned against the dresser. They had gathered into his room to discuss their impressions of Novellee.

Numair broke the silence by asking the question that had been on his mind since the day before. "Do you think that chant was really for patience?" he asked to the room in general.

"No," George said as he straightened. His hand worked at his chin as he paced the room. "It wasn't for patience, it was for gathering magic energy."

He let the announcement settle in as he paced some more. Numair was deep in thought, remembering how her Gift seemed to gradually grow brighter as she had continued to hum under her breath.

"How do you know this, George?" Numair inquired of him.

"I heard it around, you know, from people. It's an old legend. I'd never believed it was true. But it's said that magic, the Gift, doesn't come from within, but from the air surrounding us. The people who have the Gift are said to have something inside their body that receives the magic and allows the person to use it as they wish. The chant simply attracts the energy faster then normal, so the power comes back sooner, then if it was simply left to come back by itself."

The silence returned after George had spoken. There was much to contemplate. For thousands of years people had believed that the magic had come from within. And now it seemed that it was believed that it came from the atmosphere around them. Was this even possible?

"George, that's absurd," Alanna laughed and flicked the matter away with her hand. "Everyone knows that magic is given to us from the Gods. Who could believe otherwise?"

"Novellee could," Numair said distantly. He stared unseeing at the wooden floor, deep in thought. "How much do we know about Serindain beliefs? The country is simply to far away for us to observe. Who knows what they believe. And the chant seemed to be working for her. If we confront her with the truth, she'll probably confirm what George is saying."

"Enough of this," Burdock exclaimed. They had come to talk about Novellee not her religion. "We gathered to talk of Novellee. What do you think of her?"

"She is very strong," Daine offered, linking her arm with Numair's. "Yet, she is gentle with her strength. All her horses are horses that she rescued personally. That says something about her."

"And she doesn't take anyone's crap. She has backbone," Alanna grunted as she explained what she knew had happened with Cameron. "She gave him a piece of her mind, and something tells me she'd do that to anyone who bothered her."

"And she's obviously skilled in the Gift," Numair said with excitement, getting into his favorite topic. "The spell she conducts and the grace she does them with are frankly amazing. She's pulled out spells that I've never even heard of in legend."

Burdock nodded. He felt the same as all of them. Novellee was a commendable person and she deserved to be knighted if she accepted Jon's offer. "What say you, George?"

George was silent for a long time. He finally looked up and answered truthfully from the depths of his being. "She is worthy of Jaymie's respect, so she is worthy of mine, as she is worthy of the king's himself. If she joins up with us, she would be one of the greatest factors in Tortall's defense.

"Think about it. She could kill off anyone offending Tortall's safety, silently and quickly and no one would no. We need her as much as we need our knights and nobles. As much as we need a king."

A/N I know, it's kinda pointless, but I wanted to have a homecoming for her and give Novellee a chance to tell off Cameron.

Nubia