I'm so sorry these updates are taking so long, and the bad news is that the length between them will probably stay the same. My Gran is in hospital right now, so between visiting on an evening and college (+homework) I've been having less and less time to write, and even when I have had time I haven't really been able to think of any ideas. Sorry. I daresay I'll sort myself out soon enough, but you'll have to bear with me till then...

The first inkling Tala had that something about the Abbey wasn't quite right came about three weeks after he joined. He'd just left Boris' rooms after another lesson in beyblading, when he heard someone whispering round the corner. "Adrik..."

"No. Don't say anything. Just because you found out doesn't mean anything will change."

"But...Adrik..."

"Don't say any more. To anyone. No-one else needs to know." Tala peeped around the corner, and got a view of Adrik's back.

"Adrik...doesn't it hurt?"

"Yes."

"Then why-"

"Why do I let it happen? Because if I didn't, it would happen to someone else."

"But-"

"I'm not going to talk about it any more."

Tala scuttled away as he heard Adrik turn and start walking. He wasn't quite sure what had happened...and he knew it was the height of bad manners to eavesdrop...but Adrik had sounded...as if he was, for some reason, sad.

"Adrik?"

"Mm? What, Tala?"

"Are you sad?"

"No more than usual. Why?" Tala hesitated, wondering whether or not to say what he'd heard earlier. But that would make Adrik angry, wouldn't it? He'd been naughty, listening, and he didn't want to upset Adrik... He shrugged instead, and looked down at the list of English words he was supposed to be memorising. "You look sad."

"I always look like that when I'm concentrating!" Adrik laughed, but it sounded different to his normal laugh...it sounded higher, and in some way not right. There was a short silence, then Tala giggled. "Why do I need to learn how to say trombone in English?"

"Maybe you'll meet a famous trombone player someday."

"In England?"

"In anywhere. Maybe an English tombone player will come to Russia."

"But they wouldn't come -here-. No-one ever comes here."

Tala was soon to find that he was wrong.

Late that night, Tala was woken up by someone coming into his room. "Put the child in here, there's a spare bed."

"Yes Mr. Balkov..." Peeping over his blanket, Tala watched as a small body was carried into the room. Biting his tongue as his books were swept off the spare bed, he saw the body being put onto it. It was a boy. He was pale, paler than Tala and Adrik, with strange, purple-grey hair. Tala decided that whoever this was, they would be nice. Wrong again...

"Hey!"

"Hmm?" Tala blinked and opened his eyes. "Adrik?"

"No." Replied a scornful voice. "Get up!" This comment was accompanied by a sharp prod to the back of Tala's head. He turned, and found the boy from last night standing there, glaring. "Who are you?"

"Tala. Who are you?"

"-I'm- Bryan Kuznetsov. And your hair's stupid!"

"No it isn't!" Tala protested. "Adrik said it's nice!"

The door swung open. "Tala, what- Oh...you must be the new kid." Bryan sneered at him. "Don't look at me like that, or I'll forget to tell you where to go for breakfast." While Bryan stood there still glaring, Tala got dressed quickly, sidling up and standing beside Adrik. "Are you coming, or not?" With a final dirty look, Bryan walked closer, letting Adrik and Tala take him to the breakfast room. Once there, he suddenly seemed small and frightened, especially when Fedya and Gaver laughed and pointed at him.

Adrik folded his arms, and they stopped. Tala tried to smile at Bryan, but was met with the back of the other boy's head. Oh...Boris was there. After the first couple of weeks, Tala had become rather bored of Boris. He was slowly being palmed off onto other teachers, a few of the engineers, Adrik, and sometimes just left to his own devices. Apparently Bryan was still very interested in him. He watched Boris from one side of the room to the other, then back again, hiding behind Adrik's legs. "Do you know Boris?" Tala asked, knowing the answer already.

"Yes. He found me living with Mama in a brothel and brought me here for training."

"He's boring."

"No he isn't!" Bryan snapped. "He's nice!" Tala shrugged.

"Are you learning to beyblade?"

"Yes."

"Me too! We can practise together!"

Just then, one of the older boys came up behind them and tugged Bryan's long hair sharply. He cried out in pain, so Tala took it upon himself to bite the hand that pulled, rather viciously. Adrik turned to fina Tala with his teeth sunk into someone's hand and sighed. "Tala, don't do that." Tala let go of the hand and spat out a mouthful of blood and spit.

"He was being horrible!" Adrik fixed the older boy, who was cradling his hand and wincing, with a long stare.

"Edik..."

"I'm sorry Adrik..."

Edik slunk away, while Tala stared after him. That voice...Edik's voice...had been the voice in the corridor. What did Edik know that he didn't? "Tala?" Tala turned, and saw a tiny smile on Bryan's face. "Thank you."

R&R please (God knows I need -some- kind of inspiration at the minute 0.0).