A/N I know, it's been awhile, but my school only got out on Friday, so sue them not me. lol. But yep, it's summer and I'm not making any promises, but sense my days will be empty, it is logical to assume that I will have more time to write. Anyways, thanks to..

Cloverluck 11: Thanks

Sammey: The wig stayed on because she didn't move very much during her trance so therefore, it had no reason to come lose

Mage Light: I'm glad that you love it

Cherryfearie: Yes it was a very sad story. I'm just glad that it wasn't a real one.

Demented-dreamer: Isn't it though? And I'm glad that you love it.

cylobaby: Thanks for that. I wasn't sure what it was and was to lazy to go look it up. lol.

warrior of tortall: I'm glad that you like it so much

Wingedrider: Well... I can't say who/what has the power. You'll just have to wait for the end where everything is revealed in a big shocking moment. Fun huh? lol. And I've recently been thinking of writing a story about Neal. A fluff story actually. lol.

Okay... on to the story.

Chapter Ten:

The woman stood from the bed, her tattered dress barely hanging from her shoulders. She didn't bother wiping the tears from her wet cheeks. To wipe them away would be to acknowledge the weakness within her. She wasn't weak, she was the strongest woman in the world. One man who thought he owned her would never change that. Couldn't change that. Never again would she allow herself to be so helpless.

She grabbed the ring, the emerald blazing at her touch, from the table beside the bed that she had hated so much. She slipped it onto her finger as she walked through the door and didn't look back. This, she thought, will be the sign of my freedom, and my strength.

She strode across the room, her hand reaching into the pocket of the dress that was hanging from her shoulders. She had been dragged into that room a girl that hadn't known the truth about the world. But now her eyes were open, even as her body ached from the abuse. She knew the truth of the world, of the bastards that had claim of the throne. But soon that would change. Very soon.

It didn't take long for her to manage to return to her room. By the horrified gasps she received from her chamber maids, she knew that the man, she didn't even know his name, hadn't been nice to her in any way. She turned to the mirror and saw the bruises beginning to form just beneath her skin.

A growl spewed from her throat but she didn't allow herself to look away. She knew what she had looked like just hours before and she could see that she had changed. The light that had shined so bright in her eyes was muted and dull and the innocence that had softened her face was gone. Instead the so newly forced knowledge had made her features sharp, the lines stern. The healthy flush in her face was gone and pallor had taken residence in her skin.

But what had really changed about her, were her emotions. Once, everything had been so intense, her emotions so free and real. So alive. So hot. Now, it was like ice had settled over her emotions and turned them to solid blocks that would never melt. And for the life of her, she couldn't seem to make herself want them to unfreeze. It was safer for her if they remained frozen. Forever.

She turned away from the mirror, her thoughts leaving her appearance and centering in on the half-formed thoughts of rebellion. No longer though, would they be only half-formed. She was going to take them to the limit.

As she exited the room, her hand closed around the ceremonial sword that had been given to her when she had become a woman. No longer would it be just for decoration.

The hand that had rested in her pocket slowly drew out a velvet bag as she glided down the hall, her face marred into a frown. Her searching fingers touched upon the stone. She knew which one it was without looking, as each stone had different feel to it. With the stone that she wanted grasped between her fingers she spoke the word.

"Sheshmaru," and within a blink she was standing in the ambassador's council room. Not once did she regret what she did next.

Tori's foot slammed into the ground and she stumbled into Derek, her shoulder coming away slightly sore. Derek turned and gave her a funny little look, his eyes searching hers.

Hastily she looked down at her feet and shrugged mulishly. She knew what he would see in her eyes if he continued to look into them. No matter how much she shielded them, he always ended up seeing the truth of what she felt.

And this was something she would never allow him to see. Couldn't allow him to see. It was bad enough that Neal had suspected magic was involved with her trances, and that the mage Numair was coming into New Haven to look at her. But if he saw what the trances did to her, she wasn't sure how either one of them would react.

Her hands trembled slightly as they sought out the sword that rested on her hip. The ceremonial sword, she thought as she contained a shudder. The violence that this sword had seen on it's first night was still a mystery to her, but she was certain that it wouldn't be long before she saw the rest of that night.

She was seeing so much of the woman now that it scared her. It seemed not a day went by that she didn't witness another clip of the woman's life. The woman who looked just like her. She knew it to be true, now that she had seen herself in the mirror. It was uncanny that they looked exactly alike, but somehow it hadn't surprised her. Their inner thoughts and emotions (what little the woman displayed) were so similar, so very the same, it was only natural for them to have the same outward appearance.

What spooked her were the rocks that rested within a velvet bag. Though she had told Neal that she had always had them, she couldn't lie to herself. They had appeared in her hand sometime over the two days she had been stuck within the vision. There was nothing natural about the fact that she had them with her now.

There was nothing natural about any of it. Not a thing of it made sense to her, or had really, any way of coming about. Yet somehow it had. And something told her that there was much more in store for her. Much more then she wished.

She sighed and continued to follow Derek down to the gates. They were awaiting the arrival of the mage and his wife, the Wild Mage. She couldn't help but wish something would keep the two from reaching New Haven.

Her hopes were dashed when the guards on watch duty shouted their approach. Derek, who turned to tell Tori to be on her best behavior, watched her shoulder's slump. Tori gave a long-winded sigh and prepared herself for the inevitable.

The two would watch her like a hawk for their stay, but they would do it discreetly, without her knowing. Which meant she had to be on top of things until they left, couldn't let her guard down at any time. It would be rough, but she was willing to do it. She had to do it. Robert would never be allowed to rest in peace unless she succeeded at this.

The gates were pulled wide and two people cantered their horses into the fort. They were laughing and looking into each other's eyes, but as they pulled to a stop, the mage's, Numair's, whipped around and zeroed in on her. They searched her eyes briefly before dropping to her chest where they lingered and puzzled into a frown.

Her hand fluttered before settling across the ring that rested there, gripping it slightly as she scowled up at him. As she closed off Numair's sight to the ring, he seemed to pull back and regained control on himself.

"Hello Derek!" Numair called as he dismounted. Derek gave a bow, but had to nudge Tori, who was still busy glaring at Numair. She straightened, gave a sniff of her nose and turned on her heel to saunter away.

She chose to not hear Derek's summing her back and instead sped up her pace until she was eating up the ground between them. The last thing she wanted was to be around the two people that had the power to ruin everything for her.

And the way that he had stared at her chest! If she hadn't known that her breasts were firmly bound and hidden from notice she would have been offended. Instead, she was suspicious. What had he been staring at? He couldn't know about the ring… could he?

She shrugged silently and headed into the main building, in search of Jon. After all, he was her duty also. She hummed to herself quietly as she headed down the hall, peeking into rooms as she went.

She stopped for a moment as she looked into her own room and saw the bag of rocks sitting on the desk. She stared at them for several seconds, feeling the pull in her soul to go to them. To hold them. She had felt this before, in her visions, but she had never experienced it first hand. It unnerved her and she found it much easier to simply put them in her pocket.

With slow steps, she slunk into her room. The pull became stronger with each step she took towards it, but the feeling wasn't unpleasant. Just different. She frowned and continued closer towards them.

As her fingers closed over the bag the sound of footsteps approaching her room rang through her ears. She turned her body, her ring catching on the strings of the corset and rubbing against her skin.

Not once did she regret what she did next.

The sword made a hissing noise as she released it from its sheath. The blood zinged through her veins as she strode forwards into the room, sword held before her. She saw the ambassador's who sat around the circular table, discussing things, things that no one besides them were allowed to hear. That was something that had always made her so angry, that no one but them were allowed to hear what was said. Now, it simply strengthened her resolve.

As the balding men that had run to fat finally took notice of her silent approach into the room, the talk fell into silence. The men forced their glares onto her, for the image of an innocent young girl still clung to her, despite the changes that had occurred. But soon, soon they would know.

When the glares had no affect on her, the head ambassador decided to speak. "What are you doing in here, young lady?" he asked, but still she made no sound. As she came level with the table, she allowed her features to twist into a malicious grin.

The first death was easy for her, easier then she had expected it to be. She had never before taken any sorts of weapons training, but the sword just fit so naturally into her hand. The blood that glistened along the thin blade made her smile only deepen. At last, justice was being done.

The rest of the ambassador's were nearly as easy to kill as the first, even though the element of surprise was no longer on her side. When only one man was left, the man who had first spoken, she turned to him, regarding him with solemn eyes. She knew he had more to say.

"You know what this means, don't you?" his voice rasped from his throat, it had become so choked with his own fear.

Her head bobbed down once, quickly before the word slipped out from between her lips, dark with pleasure.

"War."

She came back gasping, as her stomach turned with nausea. She had known it would be bad, but she had never expected that it would be that terrible. She could hear the footsteps once more and she knew that it hadn't been long since she had entered the vision.

She also knew by the trembling of her limbs that she was in no shape to be under someone's scrutiny, especially the mage's. So, with as much haste as she could muster, she scrambled over her desk and out the window. Her feet plopped neatly to the ground and she duck-walked to the left, so her body wouldn't be visible if someone looked out the window.

When she had made it safely around a corner she stood fully and stalked to the stable. Tori needed time to be alone, and she knew that she would only get that if she managed to leave the fort. And so she would.

The stables were dim and empty when she sidled into them so it was easy for her to saddle Wildfire and slip out towards the gate. It was even easier to leave the fort. Though she had to lie and say Derek had sent her out on errands, she forgave herself that when the fresh air and loss of surrounding walls made her smile.

The images that had been so close to the surface faded as the call of a bird washed across her senses. She sighed as she felt her tense muscles relax and allowed Wildfire to carry her deep into the forest. She didn't care where she went, as long as she got a chance to be away.

It wasn't until a while later that she realized she still had the bag of rocks clutched in her hand. She stared down at the little bag, knowing that this was the final clue. If she did this there would be no turning back. If she used the rocks everything she feared would come true.

She would be connected magically to another person.

But what frightened her more then the fact that she wasn't normal like other people, or that the magic that was surrounded by her wasn't normal and could possibly be evil, was the fact of who the person was. The person that she was connected to, who was so similar to, was in ways, very evil herself. She killed and she enjoyed it, thrived on it. Her thoughts were ruthless, and she strived always to get where she wanted to be, no matter how many people she had to crush to get there.

That was what scared. Because if she was connected to that woman, how much was the woman and how much was herself? Where was the boundary on who was who? Where was the line that distinguished what belonged to which woman? And what if there was no line? What if everything she was meant nothing? What if everything she was was really the woman in her dreams?

What if, by being able to use these rocks, she lost everything that was her and became simply the woman in her dreams?

Those confusing thoughts were what had her shaking in fear.

But she didn't hesitate once her mind was made up. Almost without a thought her hand reached into the bag and grabbed onto the tiny rock. She knew which one she wanted, though there were hundreds in the bag, but she had no trouble picking out which one she wanted. For each one felt infinitely different in her hand, yet at the same time, nearly the same.

Looking at them she knew that she would see no difference. And to another person she knew that they wouldn't be able to tell the difference. These rocks were special to her and her alone. No one else would ever be able to use them. They didn't have the blood.

Slowly, as though her muscles had trouble moving, she placed one rock on the ground and turned her back to it, walking steadily away, her little back strong and straight, her shoulders thrown back.

With a quick indrawn breath, she reached into the bag and grabbed the second rock and pulled it out. As she exhaled the breath, she allowed the word to slip from between her lips and be carried away by the wind, "Sheshmaru."

Her eyes closed on a blink and as her lashes fluttered down, she heard the wind whisper past her ears, felt the wig hair ruffle as she soared through the short distance that separated her from the locater rock. Her hands clutched at her midriff as she felt a deep sensation within her belly. It felt as if a hook had been driven into her belly, behind her navel and was being pulled forward. It wasn't painful so much as uncomfortable and she made a grunting noise.

And as her eyes opened up from that blink, she was slamming into the ground, her legs falling out from under her. The breath that had been in her lungs whooshed out and the bones in her arms went to jelly. But her hand, the one that had held the first rock, was once again touching her. And she was staring before at the spot that she had stood not a moment before. In the time that it had taken her to blink she had been able to cross the distance.

Her hands wanted to shake, the tears wanted to gather and she so very badly wanted to get away from it all, wanted to go back to before Robert had been killed and everything had been normal. But she couldn't do that, she couldn't allow herself to fold. For the sake of Robert she wouldn't allow herself to.

Instead, she forced herself to her feet and examined what had happened. Both rocks were now in her hands and both felt exactly the same. It seemed the rocks were easy to use. But there had to be more purposes to the other rocks, for not all of them were locater rocks. But would all of them respond to the magic word?

And what were the limits of the locater rocks? Could they only span a certain distance? And could they only bring her? Or would they allow more to travel with her? She had to know before she used them. One day she might have only these rocks to depend on. She had to know.

With a determined scowl on her face, she left the home rock, the one that she would be brought to, where she was standing and slowly mounted her hose, before riding several feet away. Once again, she grabbed the field rock, the rock that she would hold when she said the magic word, and whispered the word and once again she felt the tug.

This time, when she opened her eyes, her horse was bolting out from under her. She grabbed onto Wildfire's mane and soothed her with calming words. But again it had worked. All that needed improvement was her horse's reaction to the sensations.

Starting over, she dropped the home rock and kicked her mare into action. She would try this run from farther away. She galloped Wildfire for several minutes before stopping her and whispering the word, field rock firmly in hand.

The sensation overtook her again, and when they landed at her home rock, Wildfire did startle, but she didn't try to bolt. Tori had known that she had picked a good horse, but this only confirmed it. Wildfire was a fast learner and adjusted easily to things. And this only proved it.

She would do it again, but this time she wanted to be farther away. Again she urged Wildfire into a gallop, but she kept her running for at least two miles before stopping and retrying it. Again, after saying the word, they were returned to the home rock and again it happened within the space of time that it took to blink. And this time, Wildfire did less the snort.

But the process was wearing. Already she could feel her shoulders tensing and her limbs shaking with exhaustion. It physically strained her body to travel like this. But in a pinch it would help her more then anything else would.

Tori would put it to one more test though. The final one before she would trust it within a sticky situation. Once again, she turned her horse and set it to running, but this time, she kept her going for nearly two hours in a steady run back towards the capital. She had spanned nearly ten miles before she stopped and took a deep breath.

When she said the word this time, she felt the pull but it was much stronger, like a giant had hooked her like a fish and was yanking her back with all his might. She closed her eyes tight and clenched her jaw, but before she had a chance to panic, it was over. She was once again back where she had started. And it was getting dark.

With a sigh, she replaced the rocks in the bag, and tied the bag to her waist. She had been out her all day, testing the rocks, and she was ready to be inside and asleep. She knew she wouldn't have peaceful sleep, when did she ever? But this time, she was prepared for it.

Something had occurred to her when she had been testing the rocks. She had been worried that she would no longer know who she was, but now she saw that she did.

She was Torianna the companion, and Torick in the Own. She was Robert's sister and Derek's soldier. She was the unwanted child of two parents and the burden of an old nurse.

And never would she be the woman who was in her dreams.

A/N... well there you have it. Did you like it? I hope so. Also, I've been thinking of writing a fluff story about Neal, but it wouldn't be with Ms. Peirce's character as his love. It would be one of my own. What do you guys think about that? Review me!

Nubia