Disclaimer: I do not own CoM. All rights belong to Tamora Pierce The part with Rosethorn and Crane is taken very closely out of the book. Pierce owns the basic lines.

I would like to thank my beta, Rosethorn. You are the best!

Not Where I Belong

Chapter Seven

Author's Quick Note: I have an announcement to make. I made a little error in the storyline. Briar gets his shakkan before they hear the murder. I checked the first two books out of my public library (Thank you for not being checked out! n.n) and found out that the murder scene isn't until Tris's Book. So my storyline is going to be a bit different, hope this isn't an inconvenience to you.

From last time:

He followed his senses to the back of the greenhouse, and along the far wall, there was a little tree getting covered up by a large leafy green one. The little tree, or bush, Briar didn't know what it was, seemed to be very sick.

Briar leaned over and picked up the tree, hearing it thank him for planning on helping it, and then made for the door. He was just on his way out, when a voice that vibrated around the glass house shouted, "Stop thief!"

Briar risked a glance over his shoulder, and saw a man, a dedicate, in the yellow robes of the air temple coming at him. Briar did the thing that seemed like the best option. He ran. A few more people wearing yellow robes and with the white of novices joined the first man and they all gave chase.

The ex-thief took a zigzaggedy course around the grounds, trying to lose his pursuers. And it seemed to be working. That was, until, a stray goat crossed the road to the bush that Briar was currently taking refuge behind and began bleating. An air dedicate looked up and saw him.

"There he goes!"

"Get him!"

"It's that thief boy!"

Back at Discipline, Daja was waking up from a nice long rest when she heard a commotion from out front. People were yelling, and the sounds were getting closer. The Trader walked out of her room to run into Tris at the top of the stairs, who still looked half asleep.

"What's all that racket?" the redhead asked, as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. "It woke me up."

"I have no idea. Let's go find out." The two girls headed down the staircase to see Sandry coming out of her room.

The noises were even louder now, and seemed to be headed right towards Discipline. The three girls walked outside. The commotion was coming from the long spiral road that ran between the loom houses across from the cottage. Yellow and white robed figures were running down the road chasing someone that was unmistakably Briar, who was clutching something tightly to his chest.

Sandry opened the gate and beckoned wildly to Briar, who came running though the opening. One of the dedicates, in a yellow robe with a black hem, pointed at Sandry and shouted, "Don't you dare help him!"

Tris looked at Briar as he stumbled past and asked, "Why are we helping you?"

"Stuff yourself," he snapped. "I never asked for your help."

Sandry latched the gate and looked at it. It wasn't much a barrier, but it would have to do, given the circumstances. She purposely stepped into the middle of the path, putting herself squarely between the hunters and their prey.

The dedicate who seemed to be in charge, and also in the lead, reached the gate and cried, "Admit me instantly!" His order lost its threat, however, when he braced his hands on his knees and gasped for breath.

A novice came up behind the dedicate and reached for the latch to the gate, but pulled his hand away quickly when Sandry slapped it. "I did not give you permission to come onto my home ground," the noble cried, her cornflower blue eyes blazing in fury. "I forbid you to enter."

Tris's jaw dropped as she thought, 'Either she is completely crazy, or the bravest person that I have ever met.'

"Little girl, rank means nothing here," snapped the novice. He went for the latch again, and Sandry stepped forwards, her fists balled in front of her.

"What is going on here?" Tris and Daja looked at each other. Both had wondered when they would ever be glad to see Rosethorn, but now they were. From the looks of it, the dedicate had been working in her garden. Her legs were streaked with dirt and her habit was soaked with dew.

The dedicate who had been bending over catching his breath straightened. "Don't play innocent," he retorted. "Since you are barred from my greenhouse, you send this young rodent-"

"Roach," muttered Briar under his breath.

"Shut up, boy," Rosethorn hissed through clenched teeth.

Briar's accuser crossed his arms over his chest. "Your spy stole a hundred-and-thirty-year-old shakkan tree, and I demand its return!"

"Crane, you idiot, I do not have spies. And you couldn't tend a shakkan properly if your life depended on it. You stick them in that glass house of yours and expect plants to skip the pattern of season because you ask it-"

Lark interjected. "Please, everyone, disharmony upsets the balance of the Circle. Dedicate Crane, Rosethorn would no sooner steal a plant from you than I would steal of hers. Besides, if she did wanted to steal it, she would go herself, not send someone else."

Rosethorn gave a lopsided grin. "Thanks, Lark."

Crane was not about to give up or to be silenced. "The boy is a thief!" He strode over to the gate and leaned inside, grabbing Briar by one arm and pulling him forward. "See," he said pointing the skin on Briar's hands, "he a thief marked twice! He doesn't belong here. As soon as I get my shakkan, Moonstream will hear about my complaint.

"Shame on you," cried Lark, her golden-brown cheeks flushed with anger. "Who are to judge who is fit to stay or go? This lad is here for a reason!"

Briar wrapped his now shaking hands tighter around the bowl that was holding the shakkan tree. If they did toss him out, he would have nowhere to go; nowhere to belong.

Rosethorn put a hand on Briar's shoulder. He looked at her. eyes pleading, to let him keep the shakkan. The dedicate turned back to Crane. "A tomato plant," she said abruptly. "Let the boy -and the shakkan go, and I will give you a tomato plant."

Crane sneered. "With a few words so that as soon as I transplant it, it will die?"

"No, Crane," sighed Rosethorn, sounding exasperated. "With a few words so that it will prosper. Even so, after you force it to grow out of season the fruits won't taste the same."

"One tomato plant for a shakkan? You insult me, Rosethorn."

Lark looked around at the crowd of people and said, "Why don't we talk inside? I know that service in the dining hall will be over soon"- instantly a few dedicates and novices hurried away, "- and some of us here would like to prepare our own meal."

Some of the novices and dedicates looked at each other and scampered off to the dining hall. Lark, Rosethorn, Crane, and the children went back into Discipline. Lark shooed them to their rooms so that the adults could speak in private.

Briar strained to listen through the door, but even with his acute sense of hearing, he couldn't pick up on anything being said in the kitchen. So, to keep himself occupied, Briar put the shakkan tree on his windowsill and tried to turn it in the direction that he thought it would benefit best from.

He turned sharply, almost knocking his prize off the ledge, when his bedroom door opened to display Rosethorn leaning against doorway. "You certainly pick the hard way, don't you? Calm down, I'm not here to arrest you," she said as Briar made the move to bolt out of the room with the shakkan.

The boy looked at her and carefully set the plant back down. "So what did you and that Bag decide?"

"Dedicate Crane was a is a stuck up old dedicate, Briar, but you will not call people that, no matter how much we despise them. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Rosethorn." Briar nodded.

"Good. Now as for that shakkan, I'm allowed to keep it, but I don't have the time to tend to it-"

"I'll take care of it! Just tell me what to do!"

"It isn't exactly a project that I would choose for a beginner, but seeing as it chose you-"

"Chose me? How can it choose me? It doesn't even know me."

"Please stop interrupting, Briar. A shakkan is no ordinary tree. A shakkan stores magic, it becomes magic. That magic can be used by the person who tend to it, that what be you. But do not ever try to tap into it unless you know how, and you need it."

"Can we fix it now? Please?"

"No. I have some work to do, we can work on it later."

"But-"

"It has lived in Crane's greenhouse for a long time with no attention, a few more hours will not kill it. As for now, you can run down to the main area and get a new pot for it. I'll draw a picture."

After Rosethorn had drawn pictures on slates for Briar to get for his shakkan, she went back to her garden while Briar ran down to the stops where he was to collect his items.

Tris had been walking through the front door, when all of a sudden she felt incredibly dizzy and had to grab the doorframe to support herself. Then the ground shook slightly under her feet. "Stupid earth tremors," she muttered under her breath, "you have to keep happening, don't you? Let's just hope this isn't the build up to the climax of a quake."

The only thing that happened at the forge where Daja was working with Frostpine and Kirel, was all the metal objects that were not help down, rattled and some even fell off the shelves.

Briar was walking back up the road to Discipline with his pot and dish, when, he too, felt the tremor. It put him slightly off balance, and if not for his quick reflexes, he would have dropped and broken his parcels.

Sandry, who had been with Lark in the dedicate's workroom, wasn't so lucky. The shake caused her to drop her spindle, undoing all of the work she had just been about to knot off and finish. "Cat dirt!" she exclaimed in dismay as she watched her work unwind.

Lark shook her head. "Those have been happening all spring. I'm a bit worried about what they are predicting what is to come. I do hope Tris is all right , these must be affecting her."

Sandry stood up. "I'll go check on her." The young noble walked up the stairs and knocked softly on the merchant's door. "Tris, it's Sandry. May I come in?" Sandry heard a quiet yes, and entered.

Tris was curled up on top of her bed, looking slightly pale. "Feeling a tad under the weather, pardon the pun," she said to the questioning look she received from Sandry. "These little quakes aren't really helping."

"Would you like me to get you anything?" Sandry asked kindly, wanting her housemate to feel comfortable and get some rest.

"If you just to one thing. When Briar gets back, don't let him nail his ledge in next to the window. I don't really want to get a headache on top of a stomachache."

"No problem." Sandry smiled at the other girl and then left the room, quietly closing the door behind her. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she collided with Briar, who was heading to his room to nail in the new boards.

"Hi Sandry. What were you doing upstairs?"

"Tris isn't feeling very well. That mini quake gave her a queasy stomach. So she asked me to tell you to not nail any boards in."

"But my shakkan-"

"Will have to wait," Sandry finished for him. "Tris needs to rest and you nailing in a ledge for your shakkan is not going to help her feel better sooner"

Briar walked away muttering under his breath and entered his room, closing the door behind him. He set his supplies down on top of the dresser, high enough so that Little Bear couldn't try to eat them.

Setting the shakkan tree in his lap as he sat cross legged on the floor, Briar asked it his first question after placing his hand on the trunk. 'How old are you?'

A branch wiggled and placed itself on Briar. '146 years old.'

Briar stared at it in amazement. This tree was almost 150 years old! That was amazing! He was about to ask what was wrong with it, when he was interrupted by the front door opening and Daja calling out that she was home. The entrance was quickly followed by Sandry shushing her and telling her about Tris.

Briar placed the shakkan lovingly on the windowsill and left the room to go find out if Rosethorn was ready to work. Instead, as soon as he exited his room, a white fur ball came charging at him, knocking the boy to the ground.

"Little Bear, get off," laughed Briar, as the canine began to give him slobbery kisses all over his face.

Sandry came to the plant mage's rescue. "Little Bear, come here now," she said using her finger and pointing the empty space of floor that was next to her. Little Bear tucked his tail between his legs, and meekly climbed off of Briar to sit where Sandry told him.

"Awww Duchess, you didn't have to do that. He was just playing, weren't you boy?"

Little Bear gave Sandry the puppy dog eyes look that he had picked up on his first day at Discipline. Everyone knew Sandry couldn't resist the puppy eyes. "Oh sweetie, I didn't mean it," she said reaching down and petting the little dog in between his ears. "You are a good boy, if a bit rough at times." Little Bear gave a wag of his tail and trotted off, heading for the stairs.

Briar grinned at Sandry. "Knew you couldn't resist that. He's a smart dog. By the way, have you seen Rosethorn? I want to see if she's ready to work on the shakkan."

"Yes. I saw her in the garden a few minutes ago. Behind the bean plants."

"Thanks Sandry." Briar walked off and entered the garden, the rays of sunshine feeling warm on his skin. All of the plants called out a greeting to him as he passed and headed for the beans. He found Rosethorn weeding in-between the plants, to give them the room that they needed to grow.

"What do you want, boy?" asked Rosethorn without looking up from her work.

"Well, I was uh, wondering if you could help me with the shakkan?"

"Oh all right. I know you are not going to stop pestering me until we get it done." Rosethorn stood up and dusted herself off. She then beckoned to Briar to follow her back into the house. Once entered, she led him to her workroom. "Go get the shakkan and all the equipment, boy."

Briar ran off and quickly came back with all of the needed supplies, even though it did take him two trips. He laid everything out on a workbench, and Rosethorn proceeded in telling him what he had to do.

After the shakkan had been repotted into a new pot and watered, Rosethorn looked at her student. "Boy, we need to get rid of some of these buds. Which ones do you want to keep?"

"Get rid of the buds?" Briar gaped. "But won't that kill it? Why? I don't want to hurt it."

"Briar, shakkans are grown to be small. If you let them keep every bud they grow, then they won't be a shakkan anymore because they aren't holding the proper shape. Pruning is required, even if you do not want to do it."

Briar took a shaky breath and nodded. Taking a small pair of scissors, he cut off the buds that Rosethorn instructed him to do so. It gave him a sharp pain, almost as if someone was pinching him very hard. And it happened each time a bud was cut off. Briar felt tears spring to his eyes but quickly blinked them back. He didn't want Rosethorn to see him crying.

After what felt like an eternity, which couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes, the shakkan was done being trimmed. Rosethorn nodded in satisfaction. This boy certainly had a gift with the plants. "Run along Briar, go put that shakkan somewhere safe. Then you can nail in your shelf if Tris is up. Under no circumstance are you allowed to wake her.

Briar nodded and carried his shakkan out of the workroom to run into Sandry. "Briar, are you all right,?" she asked kindly, seeing a tear that had started to leak out of his eye.

"I'm fine, Sandry. Pruning hurt us."

"Here, take this," she said offering Briar a silk handkerchief. "I think the lady who made them thought that I was going to cry for months."

Briar brushed past the offered handkerchief and walked to his room, where he lovingly set the shakkan back on top of the dresser. Sandry watched him as he did that. 'Briar certainly is an odd boy. In a good way though,' she thought to herself. He was sharp tongued one minute, and kind the next. She didn't know what to make of him.

The ex-thief exited his room and walked back to Sandry. "Do you know if Coppercurls is awake yet," he asked nodding at the ceiling.

"I don't know. I'll go check." Sandry tiptoed up the stairs to come face to face with Daja who was on her way down.

"Don't bother," she said in Trader talk, "Merchant girl is still asleep."

Briar growled softly underneath his breath from beneath the landing. "Is she gonna sleep all day? I wanna get started on my shelf. Maybe I'll go wake her myself," he muttered under his breath in Trader talk.

"Boy, what words did I hear come out of your mouth just now? What did I specifically say about Tris?"

Briar looked down at his feet and scuffed a barefoot in the floorboards. "You said that under no circumstance was I allowed to wake her."

"That is correct. Now what were you just about to do?"

"Give her a little wake up call. But I was gonna let Little Bear do it." Rosethorn cuffed him lightly.

"When I said that, it included getting others to do your dirty work for you. Now go to your room and stay there until I tell you to come out. And no going out the window. My plants will tell me if you take one step out of that room."

Briar went into his room and closed the door. He had no intention of staying in his room, and since Rosethorn said her plants would tell her if he took a step out of his room... well that led to some possibilities.

He carefully opened his window and looked up. There was a white garden trellis on the side of the house, and there were no plants on it. The only problem was, he would have to make about a five foot leap, catch it, and climb to safety, with no one seeing him. That would be the tricky part. The kitchen window looked right at that area. Hopefully, no one would be looking as he made his jump.

Briar climbed onto the window ledge and suddenly didn't know if this was such a good idea. He had no free area for him to get a running start. It would all be a spring and a lucky catch. Briar took a deep breath, judged his distance, and leaped.

His hand snagged on the edge of the trellis and he quickly hoisted himself onto it, glad at that moment that he was so light. No shouts were heard, meaning that no one had seen him. That was good.

The dark-haired boy scrambled up the trellis and climbed to the safety of the rooftop. It was certainly a wonderful view from up here. The sky stretched on for miles, dedicates and novices walked along roads, the birds were singing, the sun was shining, what could be better?

Briar lay back on the shingles and was content to just watch the clouds glide by. Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours, and Briar found himself dozing lightly on the roof and was startled awake by Tris, who had woken up from her long nap to get some fresh air.

The young merchant had found Briar sleeping on the roof, and to her he had seemed quite dead, because, without him being aware of it, he had fallen asleep meditating to the clouds and was breathing slower than he normally would have.

Briar sprang to his feet, instincts bringing his hands to where he used to have his knives. When he saw who it was, he inwardly groaned. No way was Tris going to not tell on him for leaving his room.

"Shhh. Be quiet Coppercurls! Do you want me to get caught?"

"Caught? What do you mean?" asked Tris, who had by now come over her scare.

'I'm supposed to be in my room, not up here-"

Briar was interrupted when pounding feet were heard coming for the attic ladder. "Tris," called a worried Lark, "are you all right?" The sound of feet coming up the ladder started and Briar turned to Tris.

"Not a word," he breathed softly before leaping off the side of the roof, catching the trellis (by a completely lucky grab), and swinging back into his room.

At that moment, Lark reached the roof with Sandry and Daja hot on her heels. "Tris, what happened, honey?"

"N-N-Nothing," Tris stammered. To tell the truth, she had just had a minor heart attack when Briar had jumped off the roof. She cautiously went over to the edge and peered over. There was no body sprawled out on the ground. That had to be good at least.

Sandry joined her after Lark had gone downstairs. "Are you sure nothing weird happened?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Unless," she whispered, "Briar jumping off the roof is ordinary?"

"Briar?" asked Daja coming up behind them. "What was he doing up here? I thought I heard Rosethorn confine him to his room until further notice."

"She did," said Sandry thoughtfully. "But she also said that she would know if he took a step out of room, no matter what escape route he used. So how did he get up here?"

Daja leaned over the edge, so far Sandry thought that her friend was going to fall off. "There's a trellis on the side of the house. It's a pretty long reach, but do you think he jumped to it and then climbed up here?"

The other two girls took a look. "Do you think he could even jump that far?" asked Sandry. "I know I would probably kill myself if I even tried."

"Well," said Daja, "he is agile enough to do it, but I don't even know if you just jump off the roof and make it inside before we got up here. Tris, after he jumped, how long did it take for Lark to get up here?"

"Not more than a few seconds. And I'm assuming he made it safely because he's not dead, and the plants haven't gone crazy yet."

The girls trooped off the roof and back into the main house, where they could hear Lark making quite a racket trying to cook dinner and to stop Little Bear from eating the meal that was being prepared.

"Should we go check on him?" asked Sandry quietly, not wanting to be heard but not really having to worry due to the noise.

"I don't think we are supposed to visit with him. But I do think that Rosethorn might have been a little harsh on him."

"It's not like he learned anything," said Tris sternly. "He ended up sneaking out of his room and spending who knows how long on the roof? I don't know what kind of punishment that is."

"True," agreed Sandry, "but she should let him out. I mean, even if he did disobey, at least he kept quiet so that you could rest, Tris."

"Oh all right. Let's go ask if Rosethorn will let him out. But remember," she said, "this was not my idea."

They had reached the bottom the stairs when they heard Lark call them all in for supper. Rosethorn arrived with Briar a few moments that they had all sat down. The food was blessed, and everyone began to eat. Little Bear was in the corner eating a bowl of scraps that Lark had saved.

Briar was just starting to relax. Rosethorn hadn't found anything out, so he assumed Tris hadn't said anything, at least not to the dedicates. He was pretty sure that he had given her a right scare by jumping off the roof. Hopefully that would keep her quiet. But Briar had thought he was safe too soon.

An English ivy plant was creeping into the kitchen through the open window. It went immediately to Rosethorn and started speaking with her. Briar noticed that they were talking quietly so that not even he could pick up on what their conversation was about.

Rosethorn nodded to the plant, which then withdrew back into the garden. Rosethorn turned to fix her piercing glare on Briar. Her eyes looked like little chips of hard ice. "The ivy had something very important to tell me, Briar. Why were you out of your room?"

Author's Notes:

I am so very sorry that this took so long to get up! This last week has been completely hectic, with band concerts all weekend, a scholastic bow meet inRockford, meet in Sycamore, and just way to much homework! But I should be open for a little while...

On a happier note, tomorrow is my 16th birthday! Sweet 16 and golden birthday all in one!! So if you are feeling nice, you could leave a review. n.n

Reviewer's Comments:

warrior of tortall: Awwww, thankies for adding me! it makes me feel special. n.n

The Summer Stars: Well happy early birthday! I probably won't update till after then, so I can wish it to you early. n.n That was her worst aspect, Briar wasn't in every chappie. We love Briar! n.n

TamiaEternity: Glad you love it! This isn't exactly soon, but it is updated n.n

IcyPanther: Yep that was Crane. At least Briar got away safely, ne?

Sorceress Sakura: I ended up checking out the books (although they have been retuned) but I'm hoping to get them for either my birthday of Christmas. n.n. Since you love Briar so much, I'm going to give you something. :: hands Sorceress Sakura Briar plushie::