Disclaimer: I might have gotten the whole series as a Christmas present this year, but I am still not even close to owning it.

Not Where I Belong

Chapter Eight

From Last Time:

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?"

Briar looked up, startled, that she had found out. The plants had told her. He must have triggered something, or maybe they were just watchful. Either way, he knew that he was in a lot of trouble.

Rosethorn watched his reaction, and when she saw his mouth about to open, to protest, she held up a hand. But Briar involuntarily cringed away, expecting a slap. Every adult that he had known in his ten years had always hit kids. Whether it be drink, drugs, rage, the kid was in the way, it didn't matter, the result was always the same. The only people he had never seen hit anyone were Rosethorn, Lark, and Niko. But Rosethorn certainly looked dangerous enough to start right now.

The Earth dedicate, sensing the retreat from her pupil as soon as she raised her hand, let it fall gently back to her side. "I'm not going to hit you, boy," she said, "I just want to know why you were outside. But don't think for a moment that I'm not mad at you, you deliberately disobeyed my orders, now, pray tell, why?"

Briar risked a glance at his teacher, and gave a small sigh of relief when he saw that her hand had been lowered to her side. "I don't like being inside," he whispered, keeping one eye on Rosethorn and the other on her arm, just in case she changed her mind.

"You don't like being inside?" Briar gave a small nod. As the young boy sat and watched her, apprehensiveness in his green eyes, Rosethorn pondered over a memory that she had almost forgotten about until now.

Flashback

A small, girl, with short, auburn hair, was playing in the front of a small cottage, surrounded by flowers and leaves from the nearby garden. Her name was Niva. A woman stood on the doorstep, watching the child laugh gaily when the flowers spiraled around her. She knew that Niva had powers, knew that one day that she would be great, her daughter was one with the plants.

"Niva, time to come in for supper."

"Yes, Mother." Niva stood up from her seat and dusted herself off. Then turning to the plants she whispered a quick good bye and said that she would be back tomorrow. Niva went inside and washed up for supper and then sat down to eat with her mother and father.

The next day, Niva woke up with what she described to her mother as, "My nose won't stop running, I think it's almost as fast as the river." Niva's mother assumed that her daughter was coming down with a cold from being outside too much, seeing as the weather was getting a tad cooler.

But day by day, Niva continued to get worse. The family had the doctor come and see what was wrong with their only child, why she wasn't getting better. The doctor didn't know what to do for the sickly child, nothing that he gave the family to cure her was working.

Niva, on the other hand, had an idea, but no one would listen to her. "Mother," she would whisper everyday, "please, let me go outside."

The doctor would hear none of that. "She will get even sicker, it is getting colder." Niva's father agreed. Her mother, wanted to believe her daughter, but she couldn't see how going outside in the cold could make Niva better.

"Mother, I don't like being inside," she said barely above a whisper when her mother came in to give her the non effective medicine. "I need to go outside, please, Mother."

Niva's mother, who had been steadily watching her daughter grow weaker, thinner, and paler by the day, decided then and there that Niva would go outside. After carefully wrapping Niva in thick blankets, her mother picked up her daughter's light form, and carried her outside.

"Bring me to my resting spot, please," Niva whispered. Niva's resting spot was under the large red oak tree, where she played as often as she could in the bright sunshine with her flowers and plants.

Niva was carefully placed on the ground, the flowers whose leaves had been closed, opened immediately, and began questioning the young girl to why she had not been outside for so long.

Her mother watched in amazement, as the flowers began to climb up her arms, and gradually, the color started to return to Niva's body, until she was glowing a rosy warm color, she was healed.

"Mother," Niva said smiling, "I feel all better now."

Niva's mother picked he up and hugged her close. "I knew you were close to the plants, my sweet Niva, but never this close. From now on, you can go outside whenever you want."

End Flashback

Rosethorn smiled to herself. Since that day, her mother had made certain that she had gotten outside to be among Mother Nature and all of her wonders. So this was how it was with Briar as well. He had probably never gone a day without being outside, seeing as he had lived on the streets. He needed the sunshine just as much as her.

The Earth Dedicate leaned across the table and took Briar's chin in her hands. He stared, his eyes now more of a lime green, back into her brown eyes. Rosethorn could see the fear that lingered in the green depths, but also something that spoke of the Earth. "You are one with the plants, Briar Moss," she said quietly. She then dropped his chin and stood up, heading to her garden.

The four students and Lark stared after her, all, even Lark, in shock. No punishment had been assigned, no threats, just a simple sentence, a compliment, something rarely heard from Rosethorn, had been given.

Sandry, Daja, and Tris all then turned their attention to their housemate, who seemed to be deep in thought. "Briar?" asked Sandry tentatively, "is everything all right?"

"One with the plants," murmured Briar to himself. "Oh, did you say something Sandry?" he asked, turning his attention to the girls.

"Yes. Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be on the roof." Briar stood up abruptly and disappeared up the staircase, headed for the trapdoor that would take him to the top of the cottage.

"Was it something I said?" asked Sandry worriedly.

"No, dear," responded Lark, "I think that Briar needs some time to sort his thoughts out." To herself, Lark thought, 'I did not see that coming from Rosethorn, of all people.'

Briar had not been expecting to here that either. And he did need some time to think. What had Rosethorn meant, that he was one with the plants? He knew he liked plants, he knew he felt safer when he was around them, he knew now that he had magic with plants, but to be one with the plants?

Rosethorn, he had assumed, became one with them after studying them, seeing as she had studied at Lightsbridge. But he was from the streets, a street rat. How was it possible for him to already be tied to the plants?

Was this why the shakken had picked him? Had it known about him? Had it sensed his unusual powers? It was exciting, and yet almost disturbing at the same time.

Briar crawled over to the edge of the roof and peered to the garden, where he was sure that he would find Rosethorn tending her garden. And sure enough, Rosethorn was kneeling between the many rows of green beans, coaxing them to climb up a long pole so that they could get the proper light that they needed to grow.

The young plant mage watched in awe as the plants began to twine themselves around the poles. Rosethorn was amazing. She had so much power and strong will inside of her. He wanted to be like her. Of course, not with the snappish attitude. But he admired that about her for some odd reason or another.

Rosethorn could feel someone watching her. Glancing up from her beans, she scanned the roof, but didn't see anyone, Briar had retreated to deeper part of the roof to stay out of sight.

"I know you are up there, boy. Come down here." Briar peeped around the corner and saw Rosethorn's piercing gaze staring straight at him. He walked to the edge of the roof, stared at the distance, shook his head, and went inside to emerge a few moments later from the back door.

Briar walked over to his teacher and stood in front of her; staring at his feet as he scuffed them in the grass. "You wanted me," he whispered, still a bit timid that she would decide to hit him.

"Look at people when you talk to them, boy. It makes you easier to understand. Now, come here. I am going to teach you how to take care of the tomato plants."

Briar looked up, partially in shock. Rosethorn prized her tomato plants and she was going to let him help. It was unthinkable. He glanced up to respond, but when he looked up, he locked eyes with Rosethorn's scrutinizing gaze. He quickly looked back down, most people never looked at him like that.

"Briar, look at me." Briar couldn't ignore the command in her voice and he looked at Rosethorn. "I am very disappointed in you, Briar. You deliberately disobeyed me. And you will be punished." Briar's eyes widened in shock, he knew it, Rosethorn was going to hit him.

Instead, Rosethorn took his hands in hers and studied them. She ran a thumb over each tattoo branded on his hands. Briar watched her fearfully waiting for something to happen. "I'm not going to punish you like other people would have," she said softly. "I would never intentionally hurt you, Briar."

"Then what are you going to do to me?"

"For punishment you will have no dessert, no visiting Dedicate Gorse or the kitchens, and no leaving the yard for the next week. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Rosethorn." Briar nodded.

"Good. No that that is settled, why don't we go take a look at those tomato plants?"

For the next hour, Rosethorn showed Briar how to tell when a tomato needed to be picked, how to get the tomatoes off the plant without injuring either, how to tie a plant up if it was leaning, how to tell if a plant was carrying too much fruit and needed to be harvested, and if the plant was dying or had dying parts, she taught him what mixtures you could give to it to cure it.

By the end of the lesson, Briar was feeling much better and proud of himself for learning. By this time, dusk had fallen and the garden was starting to become filled with shadows. "Come along, boy, time to go inside. You can come out again in the morning. And I'm sure that you want to check on your shakken?"

Briar leapt up from his position in the dirt. "My shakken! I completely forgot about it. I hop it isn't mad at me." With a hasty good bye to the tomatoes, Briar bolted inside past all the other occupants who stared at him as he ran past them and into his bedroom. Rosethorn followed at a more sedated pace.

"Whose after him?" questioned Daja. "He was acting like their was an evil spirit after him."

Rosethorn gave a small laugh. "Oh no, nothing like that. He afraid that his shakken is mad at him because he forgot about it."

"Oh is that all?" Tris shrugged and buried her nose back in the thick volume about wind currents she was studying.

"All right you three," said Lark. "I think that it is time you all went to bed. We have a lot to do tomorrow. Good night."

The girls stood up and said good night to the dedicates and disappeared into their respective rooms. Rosethorn looked at her long time friend. "Yes?"

"You know me too well, Rosethorn," Lark said smiling. "I wanted to ask, why did you say what you did to Briar?"

"Because he is one with them Lark. He might not know it yet, but I certainly do. I can see it as all the plants come out to greet him, the way they all seem to be more alive when he is around, how he seems more alive when he is with them. But most importantly how he reminds me of me."

Author's Notes: Took me six months to update, but I am alive! -cheers- Hopefully the next chapter will not take six months to put up - I'm out of school as of today, and since I never got a summer job, don't have to worry about that, but my mom has long lists of stuff for me to do! I would like to give a big thank you to all of those who reviewed! Even though I wasn't updating, you guys kept reviewing and that made me make time to write this! Thank you for all sticking by me!

If this chapter has extra errors, I apologize. I wanted to get it up ASAP and didn't want to have to wait for my beta.

Some of you may have noticed that I took part of a chapter out. That was because I mixed up the first two books. So you will see thar part again in further chapters!

Reviewer's Comments:

TamiaEternity: I'm glad that you are glad. Hope this update made you even happier!

Lady Light: Thankies very much.

Sorceress Sakura: -hands new Briar plushie- Don't kill this one! xD

yoyogirl: Thank you very much! Drama queens just love the torture!

Queen of ditz world: Yep, that was only chapter two! Hope you finished reading!

Writermage: Thanks a bunch for the correct information! I don't care if the reviews are signed in or not, cause just like you there are other people who aren't old enough for an account, but that shouldn't stop them from reviewing!

Padfoot: I'm working on both n.n

FabeleiNormanSugar: LOL if Rosethorn did hear you say that! I would love to go into the books, it would be so much fun! Wonder what power I would have?

Leira925: Muchas Gracias! I know a little espanol tambien! Glad you like it!

Anonymouse: Seeing as they are only 10 I can't do the romance yet, but we are going to get there n.n