Rolan tossed his head and turned to walk a few feet away from the others. "You are hurt. You are stubborn. You stand at a crossroad."

"I...I don't understand."

Blue eyes with the knowledge of more years than she could count bored into hers. "Yes. I know. This is a problem."

In her lifetime, Treesa had been called many things. She was flighty, and she was silly and vain. But she believed she had grown out of a great deal, and she had certainly changed after her son had been killed and she realized that there were people who would hold his love against him even though he had literally died defending them. So, even though this Companion's mindvoice was stern, and somehow...unearthly, she rallied her courage and stood just a little straighter while she looked at him. Not fearless, no, but at least willing to hold her own. Tamping down on her impatience, and intimidation, she simply stood and waited for him to continue.

"The boy. He is special. Like the one you lost. He is also different. You will see similarities, but you cannot forget that he is not Vanyel."

Starting at his use of Van's name, she threw her head and got an almost imperious look on her face. "I KNOW that."

"Do you? If you treat him like he is Vanyel reincarnated, you will lose him. And your chance at redemption."

"You speak funny, and I believe I have had the point hammered into my head enough for today, thank you."

A whiff of something like embarrassment drifted across her mind and she got the impression he was trying harder. "My Chosen does not mindspeak, and I am not the most social of Companions. I suppose I am...out of practice."

She bowed her head. "I appreciate the warnings, I truly do. I know that I am hardly Companion material, when it comes down to it." She looked back up into his eyes. "But I want so badly to make it right. I know this boy needs help, and I believe I can be what he needs."

"I think you will do fine. As long as you remember that he is NOT your son."

Horses can't exactly cry, so even though she wanted to weep at the continual reminder that, though she had been given another chance, it was not with the one she owed so much to, she couldn't. All her body would do was shake.

"I am...sorry for causing you pain. So much rides on this that we were afraid to leave it entirely to chance. We understand that you want your son back, and we understand that you wish you could go back and fix things with him. We need you to understand that you cannot." He tilted his head sideways, in an odd imitation of a curious bird, and studied her for a moment. "I have a suggestion. I know you have not seen Vanyel's spirit. I know of one who has, who may be willing to share her experience with you."

"I really should be getting back to my chosen, and Sayvil just told me I had to let it all go, but oh, that sounds wonderful."

A dry chuckle teased the back of her mind. "He is fine. He is enjoying the attention being showered upon him by the Heralds. My chosen is watching after him, and she would not let anything harm any of those children. As for Sayvil..." Here he looked over at the other Companion. "She has the right idea, but I think you may need just a little more closure from someone you did not have a relationship with as a human."

Smiling at the pride and affection she could feel when he spoke of his Herald, she simply nodded. "I would appreciate any help you can give me. If you would direct me to the one who met Van, I would be in your debt."

He merely chuckled again. "As you wish. Follow me."

§ § §

They walked to a part of Companion's Field that she had never been in before, and as she walked she noticed that the area around them was filling with others. "What is going on, Rolan?"

"We are going to meet the Queen's daughter, Elspeth, and her Companion Gwena. She is currently enjoying a little recreation with her chosen mate and their friends who, I believe, have come back to visit."

"But why are we attracting a crowd? Surely these Companions have already met these people."

His dry chuckle echoed in her skull once again. "Oh yes, I am sure they have, but they hope it will be entertaining to watch you meet them."

Not stupid, Tera understood that there was something very special either about the Princess or her friends. While she wasn't exactly happy about being the entertainment, she knew she was being offered an opportunity that most didn't have, and that she would be best served by hanging onto her temper.

Turning her head, she realized that Sayvil and her Chosen...Kero, she thought, were pacing along beside her and Rolan. When she sent a gentle query to Sayvil, she received another dry chuckle and the woman warrior simply grinned; showing her teeth.

"We are here." Rolan announced before he snorted and, very deliberately, knocked his front hoof against a stone that was placed on the ground beside where he stood.

Freed from her contemplation for the moment, Tera took the opportunity to look around. She saw a ring of trees, with a space wide enough for a Companion to enter directly in front of Rolan. Anyone inside the trees would have privacy from prying eyes, though the laughter of humans, horses, and something Tera could not place rang out, along with what sounded like bird calls. It seemed that the rock had been intentionally placed as a way for the Companions to knock, since they WERE in the middle of their field.

"Come in!" A woman's voice rang out, and Rolan, trailing a curious Tera, complied.

As they slowly entered the clearing in the midst of the towering trees, it was hard to decide who was more astonished; Tera, for what she saw, or the handsome woman and her friends who were obviously flabbergasted at seeing Rolan, especially without his Chosen. Before Tera could even process what she was seeing, the other Companion bowed low to Rolan, and her Herald snickered at something nobody else heard before coming up to stand in front of the two newcomers.

"What have we here, Rolan?"

"Princess Elspeth, this is the Companion to the child we have been waiting for."

Her eyebrows rose and she simply nodded for him to continue.

He sighed, and seemed to make a decision. "You are aware that most of us Companions have been Heralds before we were born into this life, correct?"

"Yes, though I don't think many people know that."

"They are not supposed to, Princess. This one was Vanyel's mother in her previous incarnation."

Elspeth spluttered. "You have brought Vanyel's mother here to me? Why?" She looked around a little wildly, and seemed to calm when the striking male with her laid his hand on her shoulder.

"Perhaps he does not know, Ke'chara."

"You're a Hawkbrother! Two of your people saved my Vanyel when he was wounded by a magical blade. Also, one of them attempted to heal a rift that my husband and I had allowed to grow between us and our son."

He nodded and smiled. "Aye, Lady, I am." He reached up to stroke the breast of the bird sitting so calmly on his shoulder. "My friend and mentor's clan holds stories of Vanyel in high esteem. They are teaching tools as well as love stories."

Picking up on some tension he had not anticipated, Rolan inquired. "What do I not know?"

Kero stepped in, saving Elspeth from having to answer. "Van had children, Rolan, and one of them was an ancestor to Elspeth, here."

"Van had...Vanyel?" Tera looked like she was going to collapse from the shock before she swung her head around and speared Sayvil with a look that promised murder. "You didn't TELL me? He had...he had more than one child, and I never KNEW?" She was outraged, and horrified.

Sayvil's gaze stayed steady and calm. "Van wanted the children to be safe, so he didn't want anyone to know. You know, at the end, that anyone connected to him was a target. The children all knew who their father was, but when it came down to the progeny of the King, he couldn't let it be known or the whole kingdom would have suffered. Eventually, it was forgotten. Elspeth didn't know, herself, until she met another of his descendants who had a better knowledge of his past and shared it with her."

Rolan shook his head and stamped his foot. "That is neither here nor there, and while I understand it is a shock, it is not why we are here, away from your newly Chosen and the responsibility he represents."

One of the...creatures who had previously remained still so as not to startle Tera chose that moment to speak. "Yes...so why arrre you herrre, Rrrolan?"

The older Companion turned toward Gwena, who was still in a supplicating posture. "Do stand. I do not require supplication. Nor do I desire it, if I am being honest." He paced over to her and nudged her gently. "Tera needs a little closure so she can take on her new duties as a Companion with a clear heart and soul. She knows that Vanyel remains in a very real sense, but he has chosen to remain hidden from her, for some very good reasons. You, though," He looked around at all assembled "You have all met him, and even spoken with him if I remember the tale correctly. While I cannot compel you to share your experience, I would ask that you all tell her about it."

Elspeth looked around at her friends and her Companion, looking for a consensus. What she found, apparently made her smile as she turned back to Rolan. "We agree." She motioned for Tera and Rolan to follow her and smirked at Kero. "You may as well come too, I believe your Sayvil has an interest in the subject as well."