A/N: I was almost tempted to call this chapter "Answers" because of how many questions will be answered because of it. Well, I thought I gave a good portion of the story line in this. Well, we hit 30 reviews! Lol. Most people are happy for a hundred. I'm happy with what I get.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of this, except the things you don't recognize and the storyline. Other than that, it all belongs to Tamora Pierce.
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"Little Arra wake up." The voice was soft. She knew this woman. Arra remembered this voice. Looking at the scene before her, the woman shook the small lump under the covers. "Arra, you've got to wake up or they'll find us."
The small girl sat up and yawned. "Marina, where are we going?" Marina! Yes, that had been her name. She was my maid, Arra remembered.
"We've got to go. Your father is sending people to come take you back." Marina picked up the girl and ran out.
"But where are we going?" The young Arra insisted.
The maid looked at her deciding whether or not she should tell the young girl, though she had no doubt she would understand. This small girl understood things any other four year old should not. And Marina knew why, too. It was because of her Gift. The one that was handed down on her father's side, though it only showed up in the females.
"We're going away." She said finally, not willing so say anymore.
Arra looked upon all this, feeling as if it were playing straight from her memories. And then we went on a very long ride on one of the horses she stole to northern Maren. I didn't remember much because I fell asleep though. In accordance to her thoughts the pictures flew by.
Marina slid off the horse with Arra. The brown-haired maid held her out to the Shang. He looked her over and then signaled someone over to see if she had the Gift. When the man said she didn't he nodded his acceptance.
Marina looked at the brown on white splotched mare. "Can she take the horse?" She asked the man. He, once again, nodded.
She hugged the four year old. "Now, Semarra, you remember everything I told you. That's why I'm doing this. To help you and to save you. You remember that."
What she told me. Arra thought. 'Prince's don't love. They lust.' Marina practically preached that to me. Someone laughed pleasantly. And the picture fell away until only a grey landscape remained.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"Fate." A woman stepped out from the greyness. Long tresses of silver-blue hair fell around her oval face. Her voice sent an ache to her ears like a memory of pain and her eyes were bottomless pits. "I've brought you to my domain which is why you can see me in this form."
"F-Form? Fate?"
The stranger smiled. "Or would you rather see me as the old seer from the night you were going to your room?" She paused then added thoughtfully. "Though the one that came to see you when you were very young wasn't me. That was actually a seer."
Arra was at a loss for words.
The Fate smiled. "Good. No words." She patted Arra's cheek. "Now lets see. You've been a tough one to get. We--"
"We?"
"Yes, my two sisters and I. We were forced to the extremes, we grabbed at the first glimpse of you."
For reasons unknow to her Arra felt rage build up inside of her. "Extremes? What kind of extremes?" Her voice was tight.
"Lets just say it got you to Tortall which is a starter."
"YOU! You made me . . . explode." She finished sadly.
The blue-haired fate sat in an invisible chair. "What many people don't understand is Fate is everything. Even for those who try to escape it. There are many roads traced out and every now and then it is up to people to choose which one to take. But the future for either road has already been figured out all that needs to be done is the decision: which road are they going to take?"
"Then why isn't my choice of life part of some fate also?"
"Every couple of centuries there are people born like Alanna the Lioness. They are the fulcrum. And on an even rarer occasion ther are people born like you. Like your Gift you are undetectable. Didn't you wonder why none of your father's great mages could find you by scrying?" She paused letting it all sink in.
"Undetectable? Undetectable how?" Arra said slowly at least pretending this all made sense to her.
"Like how other people are tied to either one path or another, this or that. You have the power to disregard our pre-made paths. You walk in between the paths. And as long as you walk between them we can't detect you."
Arra scowled. "Then how did you find me?"
"It's hard to explain. But we caught a glimpse of you. Putting it to the metaphor, it's kind of like you put just a toe on the path. We figured we wouldn't have another chance so we acted."
"Why are you telling me all of this? I thought some things even the gods do not know."
"That is true. There are some things that the gods cannot see. But I am not a god. I am a Fate. We are on two different links. As a Fate we see all. We even know who the gods will choose as their vessels and tools." She laughed. "Yes, most of the time gods are easier to predict than mortals."
"A-and my fate?" Arra asked quietly.
Something like annoyance or anger flitted across the bottomless pits of the Fate. "What your fate should have been or what it will have to be compromised to?" She didn't pause for an answer only went on. "It would've been simply to marry Prince Liam and by that simple act everything would have been kept in order."
"Simply? You call that simple? Marrying someone you don't even know?" The dark-haired girl stood her defiance.
"Royalty do it everyday. And more often than not they fall in love too. Would you like to see how your life could have been?" The fate waved her hand and Arra fell into another picture like before except this one wasn't a memory.
A girl with sun-bronzed hair stood looking out of a window. She wore a fawn colored dress with an over vest of darker brown and gold. The gown reached down to the ground as well as the vest though the front could be seen as a V on top and and upside down V below the clasp at her midriff. Thus was the fashion in Karucia. Arra then noticed who this young woman was, it was her. A version a bit older than herself though.
Arms wrapped around the vision-Arra and soft lips came down on her neck. She turned around with surprise. "Liam!"
He grinned and kissed her again except this time on the lips.
There was a knock at the doors. "Princess! Princess Semarra it's time for dinner!" A voice called from the other side of the door.
Liam broke the kiss a little sadly. "Come on Arra, we have to go." He grinned at her almost dazed expression.
Arra stepped away from it all. This picture was too much.
"Have you seen enough?" The Fate's voice broke in again and the picture fell away.
"That couldn't have been me! She's—she's--"
"She's happy. Can you say that your happy?"
Arra thought of everyday of her life. How not a second passed when she thought about having to get away. How she hadn't formed her life to be happy but soley to be away from what could have been. She came to her own conclusion. The only thing she felt was . . . miserable. But she wouldn't admit that. "Yes. I'm happy." She lied.
"When? With who? Your friend Joel the Shang Hawk? Speaking of which, you broke his heart you know."
Tears stung her eyes. "You lie." she whispered.
The Fate shook her head. "He loves you. He would have followed you but you left before he could. And that's just one life that was changed because of your choice."
"M-my choice? My maid took me away!"
"True. But your odd Gift gives you knowledge and awareness at a young age. You understood. And you could have gone back."
"How is changing one person's life destructive?" She asked speaking of Joel, though she felt bad for her friend. Though she inwardly she questioned herself. How could she say that she'd thought about going back? It had been a small flicker here and there. But she covered it up with saying to herself that if she left now it'd be like quitting Shang. She wouldn't be one to quit. And then, before she'd gotten her Name, she'd been thrown into all of this.
"You didn't change just his life. Your own mother, she died of grief not six months later when they concluded they were never going to find you. Your father was forced to remarry because they had no heir. His new wife bore him a son and a daughter."
"Good! Now they have the male heir they wanted!"
"No. He has the Gift. The one that runs in your father's side of the family. Only the females are supposed to have this Gift. But because of the rift you've caused now it is in the hands of a male! Men do not understand the power of it. He will destroy your kindgom."
"My kingdom? Oh, no. That kingdom belongs to me just about as much as I belong to it. And I don't." Arra said, frustrated.
"I'll give you some parting words." The Fate ingored her outburst. "You forget what your maid, Marina, told you. She was a fool who thought she loved your father. Give this Prince a chance. Accept his affections."
Arra cut her off with anger and resentment that had been incrypted into her system. "No. I promised myself long ago that I would never love a prince!"
The woman smiled wryly. "Normally, I would admire such stubbornness. But you are being the wrong kind! You are being stubborn not for your own beliefs but simply to go against what someone has said!" Suddenly she grew tall, hovering over her with a terrible booming voice. "YOU WILL OBEY. THE FATES DO NOT OFTEN INTERFERE DIRECTLY IN MORTAL AFFAIRS. YOU WILL DO AS YOUR TOLD UNLESS YOU WANT PEOPLE AROUND YOU TO DIE! YOUR HALF-BROTHER PLANS NOTHING BUT DESTRUCTION FOR KARUCIA AND WITH HIS POWER HE COULD NO DOUBT SUCCEED." Her voice became calm again. "We do not often forsee pain and misery for mortals. Nor do we take pleasure in seeing them in such a state. Do not forget my words."
The Fate put her hand on Arra's chest. "This is the mark I will give you so that I may find you." When she retracted her arm there was a silver handprint. "Goodbye for now."
Arra woke up in a bed with her ears ringing. Suddenly, she burst into tears. She cried for Joel and the pain she'd caused him, for her mother who had loved her, for the mothering she would never receive from her.
Comforting arms enclosed around her and a warm, soft voice whispered sothing words into her ear. Though she didn't look up into the face, only clung to the body that was near. Not caring who it was, she cried and hung on.
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A/N: Please Review! Tell me you hated it. Tell me you hate me for this chapter. Tell me that you might have liked it. Ask me anything and I'll try to answer (within reason, I won't answer a question like: How does it end? Does so-and so die? Etc. And if I do answer it would probably be through e-mail.). I'm just wondering—was anyone expecting something like this? Once more just to be thorough. PLEASE REVIEW!
Muahahaha. The next one, I think you'll like. There's a bit of a fight scene. And I think it's the longest one I've written so far. Lol. Which may not be that long once I put it on snippet: Arra noticed sweat on his forehead causing confusion in her mind. Sweat from what? "Um, ah. . . Arra, your going to have to take your shirt off."
Not the best quote I could have chosen but it'll do. BTW: a lot happens in the next chapter. Don't let it all confuse you too much. . . and I think the next one's a cliffhanger . . .
Yes, I got the riding from 'The Hero and the Crown' and 'The Blue Sword' by Robin McKinley. Hope no one hates me for borrowing it. I just love her books and wanted to incorporate something into this from them.
On top of cloud 9-wow. That's like deja-vu. I wrote that up there before I got your review. And the question does someone die . . . that's weird. Do you have ESP? Sorry. I can't tell you. I feel like a mean person. Like I'm always saying no.
Swapneshwari- Yay! You got it. Though if you've read the books its not hard. Yes. Cliffhangers suck. The way I answered that makes me sound like an ass. Don't take it the wrong way.
Tidsmagi- Wouldn't want to make you cry. If worst comes to worst you'll at least have up to chapter nine for this story. Though I'm gonna tell you right now, that's just barely getting into the story line.
Elfsquire90- Secret? Do you mean her past? To tell you the truth it's hard to answer a question like that. I'm standing on the other side. Sometimes I can forget that I know everything about Arra and this story and what's going to happen and unless I tell you, you guys don't. So for all I know you could be talking about a secret that I haven't even brought up yet. . .
piglet12345- No, I haven't yet said why Liam is on the trip. I'd love to say it's in the next chapter, but it's not. It's in the one after that. And someone might have worried a wee bit more than the others . . . hehe.
Clair-a-net- Yes! You got the book. And as I said for Swapneshwari, it's not too hard to figure out when you've read the books. I'll be sure to check out the book you mentioned.
Zerrin of the Wind- Do you really think Nameless Shang is a good idea? I haven't found someone who's done it yet but that doesn't mean there isn't one out there. If there isn't, I'd be surprised. It might have something to do with the old woman. . . (though since you've read the chapter you should know lol.)
Jadepiper- I don't put them up all at once for a couple of good reasons. 1: because i'd get less feedback, people don't usually review for every chapter when there's more after it. 2: having chapters in reserve gives me time to write more. If I fall to far behind I might just give up all together. (that's what happened with my last story) It usually takes me a couple days to write a new chapter but if I'm pressed for time I'd have a stress overload, for something I'm doing for fun. I don't mean to sound mean, I'm just giving you honest answers for your question.
pineapples rok mi sox- Muahaha! No just kidding. I'm glad you like my story. I took french in fifth grade, but I really really really hated the teacher. So I moved to spanish the next year. Lol.
I think starting next chapter I won't answer every review. Just the ones that ask questions. This is getting long.