Darkjdeg: I know I have to update…ahh, it's been so long! What happened to your story, eh? Did you go limp on it, like I did on this for a bit? I want you to update soon! I hope your week was fun with your cousin!
TPFreak: I'm happy you liked it…I'm a hopeless romantic myself too…-blushs- I really hope you update soon. I still can't decide between Ayden/Ryn, or Gary/Ryn. It's driving me crazy! Update soon and show me what you like best! Btw, this is gonna be a bit mushy…
Syl Rose: I'm sorry about the pause. I hate writer's block! –swings fist again, misses, breaks mirror, and winces. "Bad luck for me!"- Yeah, I know how you feel. I have good ideas for stories, like the beginnings, but then I can't figure out how the plot should go! It's so annoying. –raises back fist as if to punch, then stops and thinks a moment. 'I really don't want to break anything else…'-
Zerrin of the Wind: I'm so happy you like it so much! I'm going to become vain because of these compliments. I love your story! It' s the perfect mixture of everything: sadness, magic, character-all that good stuff. Update soon!
On top of cloud 9: -whistles appreciatively-wow, 110? That's a lot…anyways, my cousin did the bottom part. Mine was sucky, so I redid that chappy using her version. I think it's a lot better now. Hope Oregon was fun! And please update your own story! I've been waiting for a while!
Now, I hope I do this right. I want it to be mushy, but not too mushy…you get my drift. Well, here it goes…
Oh, and ps, please reread chapter 14. I redid it cause it was sucky. The bottom part, I mean. Now it continues!
Cami was in pure bliss. If she wasn't sure that she loved him when she said she did, she was sure now. This was where she wanted to be, and where she belonged, in his arms forever and ever. His warm arms enveloped her body, and his breath tasted like mint in her mouth. This is happiness, she thought dazedly, and kissed him back passionately.
Tobe couldn't believe it. At first he wasn't sure if she was kidding around or what…but when he kissed her, he knew that she wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her.
His touch touched her mouth, and she smiled the tiniest bit before opening it, letting their breath mingle. She moved her hands along his back, and pulled him closer, feeling warm, warmer than she'd ever felt before. He picked her up from her horse, not stopping the kiss, and swung off his. They sat on the grass in complete and total happiness.
Tobe pulled away for a brief moment, and whispered, his voice heavy with emotion, "I love you Cami. I always will." For a moment, they weren't in Tortall, they weren't on top of the hill above a forest, it was just them, together.
Then Cami leaned forward and whispered, "Don't stop," and kissed him again ever so gently. He smiled.
Suddenly Cami pulled away. "What-" Tobe started to say, bewildered, but Cami cut him off.
"Shh!" She looked around warily. "I don't think were alone."
Tobe was instantly quiet. She was right; there were small mutterings, and a cough erupted from nearby.
"Quiet, you fool!" hissed a harsh croaky voice. "We don't want them to know we're here!"
"I think they already do," said a second voice, and a few mutterings of agreement echoed around them.
A deep, dark chuckle echoed from the throat of the first voice. Cami froze. She knew that laugh. The officer, she thought desperately. The one from Scanra that broke my leg. "Hello," he whispered. "How are you today?"
Twenty or so soldiers rose out of the gloom, smiles apparent on their dirt-caked faces. One waved a torch around. "A young boy, and a-" He stopped, and peered closer at Cami. He jumped back in surprise. "Oy, boss! This 'un was one of ours! You know, th' short, tiny one?"
The officer bent down, and grinned evilly. "Why, yes it is! I broke your legs! I didn't expect to see you again! It looks like you got yourself rescued, huh?" He didn't wait for an answer. "And you're a girl?" He grinned again, and waved his torch around. "That's against the rules," he whispered.
Cami was stock still, shocked. "How-how-" she spluttered.
"What, afraid?" The soldier's tall figure loomed over her, casting a long dark shadow over her in the light of the disappearing sun. "Good," he whispered as the sun dipped below the horizon, leaving only dark shapes of people circled around them. "You should be."
Then he turned around, his voice loud. "Seize the boy!" Before Cami could say a word, two figures grabbed Tobe roughly, one clamping a hand over his mouth, so he couldn't scream. His eyes were wide with fright.
"No!" Cami yelled. "Let him go!"
"Let him go!" mocked the officer. "I'll do nothing of the sort. Besides, I can't wait to bring you home, with your little boyfriend here as bait. Then, of course, you'll have to answer to Maggur." Cami's blood boiled at the thought. "And your parents too."
Cami stared up at the men who stood around her, who were laughing harshly at the thought of ruining Cami's life. Her face burned. They can't do this, she thought furiously. They can't ruin my life!
She stood and released the straps that held her daggers in place. They dropped into her hands, and she grasped them tightly, her face contorted with anger. This, unfortunately, just made the soldiers laugh harder.
"What? Are you going to slice us into itsy-bitsy pieces?" taunted one.
"Yeah. Are ya?" added another, sniggering.
She growled and slashed at one. They stepped back, a bit spooked. The officer, however, was unperturbed.
"You'll never get us all, you know," he said matter-of-factly. "We out number you twenty to one."
Cami's face dropped, faking submission. I can't with these, she thought, her hair hiding her face. But I can with something else. She slowly bent to the ground, looking like she was dropping the weapons.
"Exactly," said the soldier. "You catch on quick. Now put down the dagger…down…down…a little bit farther…good."
Cami dropped the weapons as quick as lightning, and rose up into the air, glowing a fierce red. "How dare you!" she boomed. "How dare you!"
Her hands lashed out, and fire streamed from her fingertips, alighting on the two bandits that held Tobe. They howled in pain and instantly dropped the boy. He moved away from the range of fire. The horses whinnied, white showing all the way around their eyes, and bolted. Tobe didn't go after them; they knew the way home.
"What the-" the officer snarled.
The pigment of the air changed; it was green now. The vines encircling the tree writhed menacingly and leaped off the tree towards the soldiers. They grasped six soldiers, binding them together. The other men, frightened, backed away, dropping their weapons. "No!" howled the officer, still standing. "Stand your ground!" The soldiers obeyed reluctantly, but came no closer. Grass shot up from the ground and encircled his ankles, binding him to the earth.
"You will pay!" Cami yelled, swathed in blue light.
Water from the lake trickled up to where she was hovering, gathering into a pool before her. More and more joined it, and soon she had a mass of dark water floating before her. She raised her and arms, the water rising with them. She fed her wrath and despite, her love and despair, all of her being into the water, and twirled it around, until she had a roaring, spitting typhoon in front of her. The soldiers screamed, and the leader tore at the grass binding his feet.
She let it loose.
The typhoon swallowed up the men, howling in triumph as it grabbed the people who made Cami's life hell for three weeks. When it finished, it turned back to its creator, silently asking what she wanted done with the cruel Scanrans.
She came out of her destruction mode, and looked at the men. They were terrified, and their eyes were filled with tears. They had families at home, children, wives. Cami wavered. They had done wrong, yes-but was that enough to burden a family with misfortune? No, she decided. It wasn't. "I will spare you," she said finally, and then looked at the typhoon. "Put them in the lake. I hope you can swim," She directed this last comment at the men, who looked instantly relieved. She knew they would not give her away. Smiling gently, she directed the spout back to the lake, and dumped the men in. They turned back to looked at her glowing figure once, grinned, and swam towards shore.
She slowly descended, and walked towards Tobe. "Are you okay?" she asked, looking concern.
"Yes, thanks to you," he smiled, stood, and brushed off the dirt. "But how're we going to get back? The horses are gone."
"I have ways," she said mysteriously, and kissed him.
…
They arrived at the palace at about eight, Cami's air carpet stopping at her window. They jumped off and through the window, and waved good-bye to the carpet. Cami collapsed on her bed, and sighed wearily. "What a day," she said.
"Yeah," agreed Tobe, flopping down next to her. "What now?"
Cami propped herself up on her elbows. "Well, we better go tell the others that we're okay. They're probably sick with worry."
"Sounds good to me," Tobe shrugged, and they trotted off to the library.
Cami opened the door to it, and her friends looked up to see who it was. Amoret immediately jumped up. "Cami! Where were you? I was so-" She stopped, seeing Tobe, and grinned mischievously, nodding knowingly. "Never mind." She smirked.
"What-oh," Cami said, realizing what it looked like. "No. No."
"I think 'yes, yes'," said Bys, catching on.
"Oh, come on," said Cami exasperatedly. "You really don't think-"
"Yes, we do think," said Fanog, smirking. Soon everyone was smiling and nodding.
Tobe looked confused. "What's going on?" He asked.
"Nothing is," Cami said, emphasizing the 'n' in 'nothing'. "Nothing at all." She glared at her friends. They smiled back sweetly.
"Then where were you all day?" asked Amoret. "Don't tell me you were-"
"-hugging-"
"-kissing-"
"-making passionate love back in your bedroom-" At this last comment, Tobe finally caught on.
"Oh no," he said quickly. "We didn't do anything."
"Then where were you all day?" asked Amoret. "Remember, I have the Sight, so this better be the truth."
Cami threw her hands up in disgust. "All right, I'll tell you!"
"God, you're so touchy," muttered Chevi. "One might think that you were-"
"Don't start," Cami warned, but she couldn't help a little smile.
"Ha!" shouted Lyron. "Look, she's smiling!"
"Are you going to let me tell my story or what?' Cami asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"Of course we are," said Amoret sweetly. "Shut up you guys!" she yelled. All was silent. She turned back to Cami. "Now where were we?"
"Well," began Cami pulling up a chair. She motioned Tobe to do the same.
"Great story!" said Fanog sarcastically.
"That was really interesting, that third thing she said?" added Bys, grinning.
Amoret glared at them, and they shut up.
"Since I've been working so hard, I decided to a day off," Cami said. There were shouts of 'No fair!' 'We have to work twenty-four/seven!' and 'Why don't we get days off? We're the ones actually training!', but they were soon silenced.
"And since I hadn't seen Tobe for a while, I decided that I would pay him a visit," Cami continued, as though she had not been interrupted.
"A visit where?" asked Chevi, smirking.
"SHUT UP SO I CAN TELL MY STORY!" Cami screamed. Nobody said a word. "That's better. Now, we decided to go ride through the forest to the spot at the top of the hill. We sat there for a while talking and such-" She blushed a bit, but continued. "But during the sunset, we heard something funny."
She proceeded to tell how the soldiers attacked them, and how they escaped. Her friends leaned forward, captivated by her every word. When she finished, Lyron leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "No kissing?"
"No kissing," said Cami firmly, but she stole a glance at Amoret. The girl smiled back. Uh-oh, she thought. We have a winner. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm quite tired, and I'd like to go to bed."
"That's a good idea," said Amoret, and they all got up with various mutterings, and separated to their various rooms. Except for Amoret, who followed Cami back to her room. Once they were inside, Amoret sat on Cami's bed. "Now, what really happened?"
"I told you, nothing," Cami said, bustling around to hide her blush.
"There's no use lying," Amoret said practically. "I can tell you are, you know."
"Ok," said Cami, and she sat down next to her friend. "This is what really happened…"
When she finished, Amoret had a broad smile on her face. "Yes!" she crowed. "I knew it!"
"Shut up!" Cami hissed. "Don't make such a big deal about it! I don't want anyone to know!"
"Sorry," she said, still grinning. "But I could tell. Seriously."
"It's that plain?" asked Cami worriedly.
Amoret tweaked her cheek. "To me," she said happily.
…
The next few days Cami worked as hard as she could at her lessons. Midwinter was approaching fast, and she was doing as much extra work as she could to earn money to buy her friends presents. On one free day, she went down to the marketplace and bought everyone gifts.
For Kel, she got a tiny china Yamani good luck cat, and she got Alanna a pair of gold and amethyst ear drops. Amoret was to receive a beautiful new dagger, and Tobe would get new saddle and tack, and on the border of the saddle, inter-woven with the design, she had these words inscribed: I love you. All of her other friends got various little sweets.
Though she looked forward to the holiday, she couldn't help but wonder what would happen. The Black One hadn't done anything for a while, which so far, was so good, but it made her uneasy. There was something afoot, and she didn't like it. Not one bit.
Ooooohhhh, what is the Midwinter holiday to bring? You'll just have to wait and see!
I don't care if you just put a review saying, I read it, just review, people who read this but don't review! Thanks!
Mel