Lady Tonks of Wolf's Rock: You're first again! I'm caught between a rock and a hard place with regards to drama. With it being set in Tortall, it's never quiet, and if I keep it serene, then some people suggest that it's too slow. I have taken your point, so expect a relatively peaceful Ostara. Bitterosemary: I hope you like this. Your information was very useful, I may have some weblinks that you might find interesting, so I'll send them on to you if you want. I am including another old character in Ostara. As these are only three chapter stories I can't over do the plot, so I'm finding one of the most interesting things is to develop on certain characters. Jade-Viper08: I struggled with Aly's age. At first I was thinking there was about ten years between her and Daine as Aly's 16 in TC and Daine is 26 when she has Sarralyn in the same book. I don't think that I was accurate on this. According to a Tortall timeline, Kally was 4 when Aly was born, so that would make Aly around 7 years old, still young enough to get covered in chocolate spread (the kids in my class manage it wonderfully). I also think that being the only girl, she might have been slightly babied, but hey, it's all people's own interpretations of it. I think someone needs to have a go at doing another timeline! Celuna Cirrus: Thank you. Dolphin Dreamer: You spelt vulnerability right, btw! With the speech spell, Numair did use one to talk to Daine in RotG, when he sent her a kiss as well. Thank you as always! Fayrey: Your comments are really useful, please review more! Dialogue is my weak point (among others!). When I first posted Interlude, one of my friends who writes had a read (he was in Oz at the time!) and said that he found my speech wooden. I have probably been over compensating for that remark ever since. I need to revert back a tad I think. Why are you not supposed to want more DN fluff, btw? Aravilui: Me recapture Tammy's magic? That's a wonderful compliment, thank you! Neals Chick: Some of the research I did for Imbolc, suggested it was a little bit like Valentine's day, so I will have some fluff in this story, probably in Part III! Lime 63: Thank you for your reviews! I'm glad you're liking each one more – I hope my writing is improving. Jess: That is what I was aiming for! Thank you! Goldeneyedwildmage: I was worried when you didn't review! Sonnet gets sneak preview of these chapters, she usually checks for typos and other error that I am so good at making! Make sure you review this soon, else I will be concerned that you've been kidnapped! Sonnet Lacewing: Sarge will be in this one as well, being all hard and manly. I'm not impressing myself with these stories. After this I may do something on a different genre to freshen up, possibly a Bones fic. I've changed which book I'm going to write first, so that will help me prepare. Myrtle Riddle: Thank you! Daine's Daughter: Thank you. I hope they were sweet and not corny!

A/N: The rituals have been taken from a superb website – tryskelion , if you put the three www before it and dotcom at the end you will find them there. I have adapted them somewhat to suit the purpose, but this was a really useful source of information. I hope it's okay to use the proper wording rather than make up my own, i am disclaiming it below.

Disclaimer: The characters and setting all belong to Tamora Pierce, as always. The words in the Imbolc ritual have been discovered on a website offering suggestions for Inbolc ceremonies. To my knowledge they are used by Wiccans or people who want to offer their respect to the Goddessand have been reproduced here with good intentions - to inform readers and myself of these practices and to show respect for the tradition by keeping to what would actually be said at such a ceremony. IfI have misinterpreted anything, it is entirely my own fault.

Imbolc Part I

The Tower

Daine looked round at the place that she referred to as home and smiled, taking in the grand brickwork, old but sturdily constructed, with the ivy creeping up right to the top of the tall tower. She took a key from her pocket and inserted it into the lock, hearing it creak as it turned, not having been opened for several weeks. Bracing herself, as it was as cold inside as it was out, she entered, running straight for the fire in the large ground floor room, pleased that she and Numair had thought on to rebuild it before they left so that all she had to do now was light it.

It was the eve of Imbolc, and Daine had left Pirate's Swoop early to warm the Tower before the rest of the women got their. It had been Alanna's suggestion that they celebrated Imbolc traditionally and having Thayet lead the rituals, with the men being invited to the ceremony later on. Daine had offered the use of the Tower for the occasion, hers and Numair's home, although she had felt obligated to check with him first.

"Magelet," he had responded. "It's your home too. You don't need to ask me if you can go there. You live there." He had kissed her curls quickly and returned to his experiment which she had interrupted momentarily.

Now she was there for the first time on her own and beginning to feel as if it was really her home, not needing Numair to let her in or show her where things were. She had left her bags at the door, when she went rushing in to get the fire blazing. She now returned for them, taking them up the stairs to their bedroom. She hadn't needed to bring much in the way of clothing or toiletries, having a lot of things there already, but she had brought some of the items that they would need for Imbolc, and hopefully Alanna would remember to pick up the bags with the rest of the essentials in them.

Daine went into each room in the Tower, lighting each of the fires so that it wouldn't be too cold when the other women got there. She was always amazed by the size of the building; it seemed as if many large rooms had been neatly fitted into what looked like a small tower. Each floor had three rooms, except the ground one, which was a huge main room and a kitchen, with a long banqueting table down the middle. There were twelve floors in total, including a deep cellar, which also had a tunnel that led out under the ground into the nearby forest. The Tower had stood for over four hundred years, and Numair had not really explained how he had come by it, merely smiling whenever Daine had inquired as to when he had bought it, or who had owned it before.

She quickly made up four other beds beside her own, making a mental note to persuade Numair to hire a maid to get things like this ready before they arrived in future. Daine was not lazy or afraid of hard work, but almost four years of living at the palace had tarnished her housekeeping skills, and she knew that she would not always have time to prepare the place for guests in the future. It would make sense to employ a maid, although preferably one who would know not to disturb Numair in the middle of an experiment, as the previous one had done and had subsequently been dismissed – and had she not been dismissed she certainly would not have even considered continuing to work for the mage.

She expected Alanna, Thayet, Onua and Buri to arrive shortly as they had been planning to leave roughly an hour after her in order to be there with time enough to prepare for the festival; making candles, grain dollies, dreams pillows and the food that they would eat when celebrating Imbolc that evening and on the morrow. For now, though, she needed to ride out to the local farm and buy milk to use in their cook and in the various rituals that they would carry out.

She mounted Cloud, who was already tacked up, and headed off to the farm. As she rode she noticed the crocuses that were poking their heads up through the ground, illustrating the beginning of spring. Patches of snow lay scattered around, winter not having been totally eradicated by the growing sun. Imbolc was her favourite festival as it showed that spring was almost there, being the celebration of growth and renewal, the earth's belly beginning to stir after the darkened rest of winter.

Daine rode quickly to the farm, not wishing to be absent when the rest arrived. She was known to the farmer's wife, having spent time in Numair's tower with him before they became lovers. Brielyn was pleased to see the young women dismount her horse and come running to the farm, opening up her arms to embrace the girl as she came flying down the path.

"Goddess bless!" She smiled. "Ye look all grown up. I suppose ye'd be after some milk for the sabbat, now?"

Daine smiled, returning Brielyn's friendly hug. "I have come for milk. I don't suppose you know of someone who'd be willing to look after the Tower while me and Numair are away in future?" Daine asked as the elder woman bent down to pick up a pair of pitchers with lids. "We could do with someone to air the place, making the beds up and such before we get here. It's been such a rush today."

"Ye've got company, then?" Brielyn asked, leading Daine over to the cows and passing her a pitcher. "Here y'are, lass. Ye know what te do."

Daine began to milk the heifer, the act bringing back memories from when she was a child. She could see Brielyn thinking as she filled the other pitcher.

"I've a daughter who would be willin' to help," she answered eventually. "She's only a little 'un – fourteen, but she's hard workin'. If you could get word to us when ye are comin' up, she'll sort t'house out for ye. She could bob in on a day and tidy up an' th'like, see to it that ye 'ave fresh milk an' bread."

"That would be exactly what we'd need," Daine replied enthusiastically. "She needn't deal with Numair," she reassured. "I'd see that she would be paid and let her know what chores she needed to do."

Brielyn nodded. "That would be what she'd 'ave worried about, Master Numair isn't the easiest goin' of people when e's occupied, is he?"

Daine laughed, wondering if Numair realised the reputation he had created for himself. Then she saw Brielyn redden.

"I'm sorry, Daine. I forgot ye was with him. I know 'e's a good man, 'e were very good with th'old man who used te have the Tower, I didn't mean to offend ye," the woman apologised.

"Don't be silly!" Daine replied. "Numair can be a real dolt sometimes, especially when he's busy with his work. Who had the Tower before Numair?"

Brielyn took a deep inhalation of breath before she began. "He were an ol' man, a bachelor, an' he didn't 'ave the Tower for too long before 'e died. Master Numair used te come up most weeks an' check on 'im, get 'im 'is food in and leave us money to take 'im fresh milk up every day. I don't know 'ow 'e knew 'im, but 'e cared fer 'im like 'e were 'is own father. When the ol' man died, it were Master Numair who took care o' the funeral an' the estate. The Tower were empty fer a while, then Master Numair bought it. Turns out tha' the ol' man 'ad a widow who 'e were separated from, back in another country an' the money went te 'er. 'E paid a lot fer it, didn't get it cheap, like."

A thought crossed Daine's mind briefly, before she realised that her pail was almost full.

She stood up, thanking the heifer using mind speak.

"How much do I owe you?" She asked the woman, who had finished at more or less the same time.

Brielyn shook her head. "Tisn't necessary," she said. "Ye are givin' our Raelyn a job, tha's more than enough."

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Daine arrived back at the Tower as the other four women got there, dismounting and leading their horses into the stables. Although one of them was royalty, and one of them the King's Champion there were no complaints about having to see to their own mounts, a fact that still surprised Daine even now.

They had brought Mangle with them to carry their packs and the extra bags that were full of what they needed for the various activities they planned to do to celebrate Imbolc. Daine took those bags and the milk and led the way into the tower, feeling rather like a pack horse herself.

She felt an overwhelming sense of pride as they entered. She had been in their accommodation many times, and envied them for having a place that they could call home. Now she had a proper home of her own, where she could bring her friends and welcome them. Thayet saw the young woman's face light up as they entered and guessed the thought behind the expression.

"You've really made this place much more homey," she told Daine, admiring the little ornaments, some that she and Jonathan had given as gifts. "When it was just Numair was living here it was purely a place for him to sleep and work, he gave no thoughts to little comforts."

"That surprised me when I first came here," Daine told her as she led the way up the spiralling staircase to take them to their bed chambers. "He has lots of nice things at the palace, but had very little here. It was the basics."

Alanna laughed. "Numair didn't do any entertaining here, that might be why," she chuckled.

Daine forced a smile, not really liking Alanna's reference to Numair's chequered love life.

"He came here to get away from court life," Thayet said gently, putting her bags down on the bed that Daine ushered her to. "As much as Numair used to be a flirt and a socialite at the palace, his real joy was his work, he's an academic. It's been obvious how he's felt about you for a long time, Daine. Do you know that you were the first woman he asked back here – when you were his student. Except Alanna and me, of course, he couldn't have gotten away with not asking us!"

"I had a feeling I was. I knew he'd never brought any of the ladies he'd courted here," Daine felt better, which was what Thayet had been aiming for. "What do you know about the man who lived here before?" She looked to Alanna; as Pirate's Swoop was close she would have the greater chance of having some information.

"Very little. He didn't live here long and no body really saw anything of him. Numair seemed to know him from before he moved into the Tower. He actually moved here not long after Numair was employed by Jonathan," Alanna explained as they moved into the room that she would be occupying for the duration of her stay.

Once Onua and Buri had settle into their rooms the five returned downstairs to the large kitchen where Thayet proceeded to unpack the bags that contained the equipment for their activities with Alanna peering over her shoulder.

"We need to organise who's doing what," Alanna began to boss. Thayet passed a look to Buri, who smothered a smile.

"You're not out on duty now, remember," Onua grinned. Alanna looked flustered. "Oh, don't be silly! We can be a bit more relaxed. I suggest we start with candle making, as that will take the longest, and we do need some candles for tomorrow."

Thayet smiled at Alanna's silence. Sometimes it did her good to be reminded that she wasn't in charge of her friends. It was rare that she became overly assertive with them and Thayet could tell from her silence that she felt guilty for trying to order them about. Thayet gently jabbed her in the ribs and provoked a smile from the Lioness.

They made the candles until mid afternoon, by which time they had created enough to possibly see them through another two cycles of the wheel. Most of them had been made in white, pink and yellow, the colours of the festival. They had also made two candle wheels, Thayet having brought evergreen including ivy to make the crown. Daine rushed around, putting a candle in each of the windows, intending to light them once dusk began to fall to welcome the rebirth of the sun.

Alanna and Onua made the corn dollies which represented the Great Mother Goddess in her maiden aspect. Kally, Alianne and Lianne would take the figures with them tomorrow to each house in the nearby village. People would then bestow gifts on the dolly, as offering to the Goddess. For the time being though, they placed the dolls around the walls to decorate the rooms. Although Thayet kept five on one side.

They prepared dinner together, using most of the milk that Daine had brought back from the farm. The name of the sabbat – Imbolc – actually referred to the cow's milk, so many of the dished they made were based on the dairy product. Daine almost laughed out loud when she saw Onua showing Thayet how to make bread from scratch, the queen looked so disarrayed with flour up the front of her apron and her face taut with concentration. Alanna had made a cake from a recipe that George had given her, and looked most proud of her results.

Daine had recalled what her mother had used to make at Imbolc, a very plain bread and butter pudding. It was a simple recipe and she could remember easily how to make it, having helped her ma many times before. At previous Imbolcs she had grown teary at the memory, but this year was different. She had seen her ma, and finally met her da. She had her own home and the beginning of a family. For the first time since the bandits had robbed her of everything she had had at the time she felt content, although she smiled as she realised that she missed Numair not being with her, even if he would have caused more trouble in the kitchen than he would have solved.

Buri had made a large pot of a spiced dish that she had learnt from one of the riders who had moved to Tortall from Carthak and had produced enough of it to serve a whole rider company for at least a week.

They expected the men and children to join them in the last afternoon, when they would celebrate Imbolc together. Before that they would perform one of the rituals together, that only women were meant to attend.

As the sun began to set, they lit each of the candles, intending to keep the small flame glowing through until the next evening. Some people would light bon fires, but Daine had put Thayet off this idea by suggesting that the smaller flame was more symbolic of the waxing sun. Alanna hung ribbons to each of the downstairs doors and some of the larger windows in the hope that the goddess would bless them, and Daine left small bowls of the bread and butter pudding inside the Tower of the faerie folk that were reported to accompany the maiden goddess.

They settled down by the glowing fire, lounging in the soft, comfortable chairs that Numair had recently purchased after Daine had complained about the hard wooden ones that were previously there.

Thayet sighed out of pure relaxation, her legs tucked under her, her long, black hair unleashed from its usual intricate style and hanging down her back.

"It's not often I get to do this," she sighed again. "Just sit down and not have to worry about how I look or what I'm saying. This is bliss."

Alanna laughed softly. "That's what happens when you're queen," she said, her red hair falling down past her chin, the longest that Daine had ever seen it.

"Hmmm, I know," Thayet murmured thoughtfully. "You're all alright. Buri has the sense to not get involved with a man, and the rest of you are with men who are so blinded by love that they wouldn't notice whether you had a great big boil on the side of your head the size of a small child! I have to at least try to look at my most pristine whenever I'm with Jonathan!"

"I'm sure if I did have a boil like that George would notice and waste no time at all in making fun of it," Alanna reassured.

"And Numair would want to examine it and check with his books," Daine added, knowing the truth in her words.

The four looked at Onua, who smiled smugly.

"Sarge is still totally besotted," Thayet said for her.

"I don't know why you're complaining," Alanna directed at the queen. "Jonathan was smitten by you the first time he saw you. He had flies buzzing round his mouth his jaw had dropped that far, and it's still the same now!"

Thayet smiled. "I suppose," she admitted, twisting a piece of hair around her finger. "I wonder what they are doing now, without any sensible people there." She referred to the men folk who were at Pirate's Swoop for the night.

"Sampling some of that awful concoction that George has made," Alanna said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "I hope that Numair had some of his hangover remedy available for the morning because they'll definitely need it!"

"Whatever has possessed us to leave them alone for the night?" Thayet gloomed. "They're bad enough when we're there. They are going to be incorrigible left alone. I'm glad Maud is taking charge of the children."

"Well, it'll serve them right if they have sore heads tomorrow," Alanna lay back in the chair, her eyes half closed with the heat from the fire. "We mustn't forget to leave a bowl of grain and milk outside for the goddess," she reminded them. "Don't leave it to me, I'll most probably forget."

Daine found her eyelids dropping as Alanna's were, tired with the long ride from Pirate's Swoop and the busy afternoon preparing for Imbolc. She stood up to place the food and drink for the goddess outside on the doorstep of the Tower and to make sure that the door was bolted securely, before leaving the other to continue dozing in front of the fire and retire to her own room.

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Daine woke as the sun did, automatically kicking her feet out to the other side of the bed, expecting to find Numair there, lying sprawled out as usual, making her glad that they had the largest bed she'd ever seen. The lack of his presence woke her properly, reminding her of why she was in a bed on her own and what the day was. She swiftly got out of the bed, pulling the covers up and tidying the sheets, knowing that she wouldn't have time later if she left it to air. She pulled on breeches and a shirt, and a warmer jumper over as the days were still chilly enough to warrant the extra layers and would be for some time, at least for another six weeks until the next festival of Ostara.

She went down the spiral staircase into the kitchen and began to boil the water to make hot drinks for everyone as they rose. Already she could hear Thayet and Onua stirring, brief comment being called to each other as they dressed in opposing rooms, although Onua's comments were far shorter than Thayet's, as she had an extreme dislike of mornings which Daine had found out after her first night of working for her.

After breakfast they would begin to prepare for the rites that would celebrate Imbolc. Daine noticed through the window of the kitchen that one of the oak tables had been moved outside to be used as an alter. Thankfully the night had been dry; else the table would have been useless until it had dried out.

Thayet was first to arrive downstairs, dressed in white breeches and a simple white shirt, her hair gathered up in braids around her head like a crown, as it had been when Daine had first met her.

"Is that bacon I can smell?" She inquired, sniffing like Tahoi. "I'm rather hungry." She moved over to the stove that Daine was using and began to add some eggs to the pan.

"Onua is on her way down. Alanna is still asleep, and even though we have been clanging about she's not woken," Thayet informed Daine. "Buri has just woken as well."

Daine nodded and began to ask Thayet some questions about the ritual they were about to perform, as she left Thayet to finish the cooking and collected in the bowls that had been left the night before for the maiden goddess and the faerie folk. Although the bowls were still full, it was believed that it was the essence of the food that had been taken, although the common sensical part of Daine's brain told her to leave the food on the old stone table outside for any wildlife that may fancy a snack.

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It was early afternoon by the time they were ready, the midday bell having just been chimed in the nearby village. Many of the candles that they had made had been blessed by Thayet or Alanna that morning, chanting the words that Daine had heard her mother use at this time of year since she was a small child.

The alter had been draped with a white sheet, one of the candle wheels with thirteen candles had been placed in the centre. Buri placed vanilla incense on either side of the alter, which would begin to give off a rather soothing scent once it was lit in the ceremony. A besom had been put in front of the table, a sign of sweeping out the old in preparation for the rebirth of the sun. Evergreen from the Midwinter decorations had been used to decorate the table, and it would later be burnt, symbolic of sending winter on its way. A chalice of snow that Daine had only just collected was next to the candle wheel and a dish of earth on the other. Five of the corn dolls, one for each person, were also present on the alter, as was a black scarf that Daine had managed to hunt out from Numair's draws as it was the one thing they had forgotten to pack, a bunch of freshly picked flowers and a white tapered candle. These final three items represented the three aspects of the Great Mother Goddess; the crone, the maiden and the mother. There was also a black ribbon, an item that Daine was unfamiliar with and she felt a little shy to ask what it would be used for.

The ceremony began with Thayet using white chalk to draw a circle around the alter. Alanna followed her, scattering salt over the chalk and chanting soft words, evoking the presence of the Goddess.

Standing at the alter, Thayet lit two of the white candles, the rest of them were silent as she spoke the words to match her actions;

"O fire Goddess of spring, I offer to thee, This symbol of fire, So Mote it be." She then lit the incense that Buri had organised. "O fire Goddess of Spring, I offer to thee, This symbol of Air, so Mote it be." Taking a pinch of the earth she walked slowly once more around the circle, letting it escape from her fingers, "O fire Goddess of Spring, I offer to thee, This symbol of Earth, So mote it be." Finally, she picked up the chalice of the snow which had now melted into water and began to return it to the ground, letting droplet of the water spill out onto the ground inside the circle, "O fire Goddess of Spring, I offer to thee, This symbol of Water, So Mote it be," she said in a soft voice, her expression serious. Onua had told Daine the previous morning that it was the first time that Thayet had led the rituals for Imbolc, as previously it had been done by the king's aunt when they had been at the palace or George's mother, Eleni.

Thayet came back to the alter and took the evergreen from it. She held a candle to the greenery and allowed it to catch fire. Once it had lit she dropped it to the ground, letting it burn into ash. "As this symbol of winter is consumed by the fire so is the darkness consumed by the light. So mote it be," she whispered, just loud enough so that the rest of them could hear.

She then returned to the table and handed each of them a corn doll that they had made yesterday from last year's harvested corn. Looking at Daine's face she smiled for the first time since the ceremony had begun. "Tell the doll all the negative thoughts and habits you have; they will then be burned away with winter," she explained.

The group fell silent for a moment while they passed those thoughts onto the dolls. Alanna then collected then in and tied them together with the black ribbon, placing them down on the floor in front of the alter and lighting them with another candle. They burned quickly, giving off little smoke. When they had been turned to ash Thayet rather nervously began to close the ceremony. These words Daine did recognise, her ma having ended each of the Imbolc rituals with them

"Praise and thanks to the Great Mother Goddess,

Maiden, Mother and Crone.

She is one, yet she is three,

Together and Alone.

Summer can come not without spring

Without summer comes no winter chill,

Without the Winter, spring can't be born

The Three, life's cycles, fulfil."

Thayet stood still for a while, looking around at the others in the group, a peaceful silence encompassing them. "Was that alright?" She asked, worriedly. Onua went to her, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"You did really well," she told her. "It was lovely to do that with a small group, instead of a huge one at the palace, and you remembered every detail."

Thayet smiled. "I've been really worried about it. I'm just glad I didn't trip up or set fire to anything!"

"I remember that happening one year to Maud when I was a kid," Alanna laughed. "It was raining so she did it indoors and set fire to one of the curtains. If father had come out of his study for long enough to notice I imagine he would have tried to ban any further Imbolc ceremonies!"

Thayet laughed. "I'm glad that didn't happen today. It was a nice change form having one at the palace. The Imbolc ceremony I've most enjoyed was the one led by George's mother," she nodded to Alanna.

"That's Eleni's focus in life," Alanna answered. "She's studied all the sabbats in detail. Her mother was a High Priestess and she has continued that tradition. While she's at the palace you should ask her to talk you through some more of the ceremonies – she knows different variations. She would love to impart her knowledge on someone."

Thayet laughed as they walked back into the kitchen, about to indulge in some of the traditional food before the men arrived with the children. They would, or should have, performed their own celebrations that morning.

The day wore on, and mid afternoon had arrived before Thayet realised that the men and children had not yet turned up. She looked around the group, who were all now engaged in discussing either battle strategies or palace gossip.

"I'm not keen on how long it's taking them to get here," she announced in her clear voice. "I suggest that we head of and see if we meet them half way. They should have set off at midday or sooner and should have been here well before now."

"Wouldn't Numair have sent a message if there was a problem?" Alanna asked.

Daine shook her head. "Thayet has a point. I've been clock watching for the past hour and a half, wondering when they were going to show up. If they were occupied with any trouble, then Numair may not have been able to get a message to us."

"I think we should head to the Swoop," Onua agreed.

Daine quickly scampered around the Tower, blowing out the candles and making sure that everything was safe, leaving Onua to ready Cloud for the trip. No one had packed anything, they needed to travel light to get there as quickly as possible, and Alanna was now chomping at the bit to get back to her house in case something had happened so there was no way she would have let anyone have any time to pack.

They set off at speed, wondering what they were going to find.

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