Disclaimer: yes, this is the very last time I will say that I don't own Briar, Evvy, Rosethorn, or the wonderful Nadrak (now Cassurian) dancing.
Sorry about the wait, but I haven't been able to hook my laptop up to the internet for a while.
On with the story
CHAPTER FOUR
STOP
(The chapter of a cliffie)
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TO RECAP
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Suddenly I see them. A drunk has grabbed a young girl and is pulling her further down the dark alley. The girl is putting up a terrific fight, but the drunk is stronger than she and has her arms twisted up behind her. Tiny rocks are shooting out of the walls, peppering the brute, but he is too drunk to notice. A terrible rage builds up inside me, a heat so intense that I feel as though a flame will come shooting out of my mouth. I run towards the monster and his prey, determined to stop him somehow.
"STOP!"
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Now on with the story
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E
"STOP!"
Suddenly I can't move. A huge, invisible hand is holding every part of me completely still. I can't even blink, and it is an effort to draw a breath. Behind me the, the, the-thing has also frozen stiff. I hear footsteps run up to us and a pair of long, slim, golden brown hands pry me loose from the disgusting drunk.
"Are you OK? Look at me."
Suddenly the spell is broken and I can move again. My head moves unbidden until I am looking into the worried face of the disna Shadiyah. She gasps in surprise. "Evvy?"
"H-how, how did you d-d-d-do that?" I stammer shakily, still shocked bythe sudden assult. "Hold me st-st-still and make me look at you? Are you a mage? You never said." She looks startled, then realisation dawns on her face.
"Did I use magic? Really?"
I nod.
"Wow. I didn't even know." She has a look of joyful amazement on her face. Then she blinks twice, and frowns. "Are you ok?" she asks again.
"I'm fine." I lie.
Her frown grows deeper. "You're lying. I can hear it in your voice. What's wrong?"
I draw in a deep, shuddering breath, ready to lie again, then, quite suddenly, I burst into tears.
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She draws a deep, shuddering breath and bursts into shocked tears of relief. I put my arms about her and hold her close until her shivering sobs grow gentler, and finally stop. Then I open my arms and look down at her.
"Now. Where do you live?"
"I'm staying at the Disporn, just down the road."
I nod. "Cummon, I'll take you there." Then I pause, and turn to look at the still frozen drunk. "What do we do with him?"
She frowns wrathfully at him. "I'll ask Dedicate Rosethorn when I get home. Leave him here until then."
We walk down the street together in silence. I feel that she wants it that way. When we get to the Disporn Evvy turns to me and says "Thank you saicha Shadiyah." That shakes me. It is the first time anyone has ever addressed me as a mage. I like it. Saicha Shadiyah… "I'm all right now. I can go up to my room from here." She continues.
I stubbornly shake my head. "I have to see someone here anyhow. I'll make sure you get to your room alright, and that there's someone there with you, then I'll find who I'm looking for."
Evvy frowns, then sighs and nods. She leads the way up the stairs to the top floor, then turns left and knocks on a plain oak door. The door opens. A middle aged woman in a green habit stands with a scowl on her face.
"Where have you been, Evvy? I thought you were coming home at 5:15!"
Evvy looks at me for help. The woman looks at me too.
"I'm disna Shadiyah. I was on my way here to meet someone when I saw a drunk pulling Evvy down an alley."
The woman's thin, fragile looking eyebrows snap together forcefully. It seems amazing that they don't break. "What happened?" she asks worriedly.
"Saicha Shadiyah came running in and yelled 'STOP' and we froze. Couldn't move. He had my arms twisted up behind me, and he was so drunk he didn't pay attention to what my magic was doing! If saicha Shadiyah hadn't been there-" She swallows hard.
The woman looks up at me. her eyes are flinty with anger. "And the drunk?" her words sound to me like chips of ice striking a cold metal floor.
"We couldn't decide what to do with him. Evvy said to leave him there for now."
"What should do with him Rosethorn?" Evvy asks the woman.
"I will deal with him." Sooner him than me I think, watching as this foreboding woman's mouth thins, her eyes narrow, and her eyebrows merge together. She looks like a volcano about to explode. "Where did you leave him?" she asks me fiercely.
"Down Thieves' alley."
She nods, and is about to walk off when I stop her. "Excuse me, umm Dedicate Rosethorn?"
She turns to me. "Yes."
"Do you know which room saicholl Briar is staying in?"
Her left eyebrow shoots straight up in a questioning arch. I have never seen anyone so skilled at eyebrow acrobatics! She looks at me for a second more, then stalks, hands on hips, to the doorway and yells "BRIAR!"
"No!" I exclaim, dumstruck, turning to Evvy in amazement.
"Yes." She affirms nodding, her eyebrows halfway up her forehead.
"What is it Rosethorn?" asks saicholl Briar curiously though somewhat nervously, coming to the door. He sees me. His face takes on a look of panic.
"Would you care to explain this?" asks Rosethorn tartly.
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║: MWOO HAHA, MWOO HAHA, HAHA :║ x 1,000. This cliffie thing gets easier as you go along, doesn't it?
Please help me with the days of the week/months of the year in their universe! I am stuck!
Please oh kind reviewers, give me ideas! I have the general plot worked out but I'd like some help with details!
Well, as always, REVIEW!
By the way, if you're stuck with names, there is a really cool site called www. 20000-names .com where you can search for your name, for a name meaning something, or browse international names. Did you know that Lalasa means LOVE! And Numair is panther! And Shadiyah is...
Just a helpful hint for my faithful R&Rers.