Anyone who happened to walk into Ardaine of Masbolle's bedroom in the early hours of the morning, would see a girl of fourteen with shoulder length brown hair, and fair skin lying on the bed, sleeping deeply. Her chin revealed that she was stubborn, and her long nose went perfectly with her high arched brows.

Suddenly, her hazel eyes popped open, and she began looking around her room. She had the gift of Hearing, or the ability to hear practically anything if she set her mind to it. She sat up, her hair falling into her face. Brushing it away with her hand, she walked over to her window. Andi, as nearly everyone called Ardaine, looked out the smallest of the three windows in her room. With her magically accurate ears, she could hear a horse galloping along the rode just outside her room. In a moment, a man on a gray horse rode into view. Andi's eyes, though not nearly as accurate as her ears, saw that he had dark hair that came back from a widows peek. Andi clapped her hands. It was Sir Nealan of Queenscove, her father's cousin.

Throwing a robe over her shoulders, Andi excited her tower bedroom, and ran down fourteen flights of winding stairs. When she reached the bottom, she continued to run until she reached the stables. Nealan looked up and smiled saying. "Ah, hello. I don't believe we have met. You look almost like my little cousin, but she is only about this high." Neal bent down, waving his hand in about the same area as his knee. "With the eyes and hair of her mother, maybe you have seen her."

A voice from one of the stalls said, "Neal, don't tease her, she is way to young for an old man like you." Keladry of Mesbolle, Andi's mother, walked into view.

"You're right." Neal said mournfully She did have the beautiful eyes and hair of her mother, but her nose and eyebrows looked disgustingly like her fathers..." he let his voice trail off as Andi allowed herself a small giggle.

"Andi, what are you doing out of bed?" Keladry-or as we all know her, Kel- asked, a slight frown on her face. "You should really be in bed."

"Oh, come on Mama. I'm not a little girl any more. I'm fourteen if you have not forgotten." Andi said, slightly stubborn.

"Fourteen or not, you should still be in bed."

Andi fought to keep her face impassive. This was an old argument with her mother. In fact, there were a lot of old arguments between Andi and Kel. Kel seemed reluctant to let Andi grow up, and they did not get along well anyway.

Neal looked from Kel to Andi, uncomfortable. After a moment watching his best friend and her daughter glaring at each other, Neal said, "So, anyone going to show me where I can rest my weary old bones?"

With a sigh, Kel said, "Andi, show Cousin Neal to his room. The one at the foot of your tower should do quite nicely."

For but a moment more, Andi glared at her mother. Then she turned on her heal and walked out of the stables. Neal followed, clearly shocked.

As they left the stables, a young man of about Andi's age walked up to them. "I'll take him to his room Miss."

"That's okay Brian, it's the one just below my tower bedroom. I can take him there then go back to sleep."

"I heard you fighting with your mother Andi." Brian said letting his voice drop in the hope Neal would not hear him. There concern in his eyes. Put together with the whispering, this really confused Neal, because this boy looked like he must be a servant, not a boy who was allowed to talk to a noble so openly. Yet, this particular noble was Kel's daughter, and Kel had always been friendly to servants.

"Yes, I was." Andi sighed in response to Brian's statement. "But I really don't want to talk about it. And yes, I know I should but I'm not really up to it at this late hour. I'll see you in the morning, we can talk then."

Brian nodded, but continued walking with them. Neal, walking slightly behind the two teens, examined Brian very closely. He was an inch or two taller than Andi, who was about five four. Andi had inherited a lot from her mother, but her hight was not part of it. Brian had sandy blond hair falling into his sky blue eyes. He was thin, but muscled. His skin was the deep tan color that came from working in the sun. His dark skin was almost shocking next to Andi's extremely pale skin. Brian was easily attractive, and Neal could not help feeling slightly protective of his young cousin while she was in this boys presence.

They did not speak to each other for a while, and Neal was slightly uncomfortable with these two silent teens. Finally, at the base of a winding staircase, Andi stopped. Upon closer inspection, Neal noticed that there was a door next to the foot of the staircase.

"This is your room Sir Nealan. I hope it is quite comfortable." Andi said. Her voice was cold, almost distant, yet still polite. She said the words as if they were memorized, so she did not really have to think about them. "Good night Sir Nealan, good night Brian." And with that, she started climbing the stairs back to her room.

"Good night Miss Ardaine." Brian called after her. Then he turned to Neal and said. "I'm Brian, I am a servant here in the Mesbolle castle, as are my mother and father. Please ignore Lady Ardaine's slightly rude behavior. Her room is at the top of the tower, but she will not disturb your rest, as she is fourteen stories up. I hope your room is comfortable. Good night Sir."

Neal, slightly shocked by Brian's abrupt, yet polite manner, simply said, "I'm sure it will be, good night," before he, too, went into his bedroom.

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The next morning at breakfast, Andi hardly looked at her mother, and did not speak to her. For the first five minutes after Neal walked in, he was terribly uncomfortable. Something he was feeling more often in this house then he had in his life. Soon though, Andi's father walked in. "Hello Papa." Said Andi, voice, like her face, impassive.

"Hello Andi." Sir Domitan of Mesbolle answered with a yawn. He looked around the table, and upon seeing Neal said, "Hello Meathead, when did you get in?"

"Last night around one, I think. You were the only one of your small family who did not come to meet me in the stables."

Dom looked at his wife and child, really looking at each other for the first time that morning. He sighed heavily, "Not another fight."

"Yes, another fight." Kel answered, looking up at Dom. "Come eat Luv. You have a busy day today."

"Yes, I guess I do."Dom said, sitting down. "So how was your journey Meathead."

"Fine, actually. My horse was rather cooperative, of course that is not very surprising considering I borrowed him from the palace."

"Where have you been Neal, I haven't seen you in three years?" Andi asked, suddenly.

"Well, I've been here and there. Mostly there. How have you been Andi?" Neal responded.

"Fine, I guess." Andi said, her voice suddenly returning to it's cold, impassive tone. By Neal's voice, and the way he worded his answer Andi knew that he, very much like her mother, thought she was too young too be told anything. She finished her breakfast, listening to her father's voice rambling on, as usual. When she had finished, Andi stood to leave, but Kel stopped her.

"Andi, you know better than that. When you leave the table you always..."

"Ask to be excused, then wait for the answer before leaving the table." Andi finished for her mother. "Look, Mom, I'm not a little girl anymore. I am fourteen, I know my manners. Just that, right now I don't feel like saying excuse me. I'm leaving, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it." With that, Andi left the room, head held high. Neal noticed that the servant named Brian slipped out soon afterward.

"So, Dom, you wanted me to come discuss something with you..." Neal let his voice trail off.

Dom seemed to snap out of some kind of stupor that had overtaken him when his daughter so rudely left the room. "Oh yes. Neal, have you ever heard of a gift with which the holder can feel and project feelings?"

Neal thought for a moment. "Yes, I have. It's called Empathy. But before I go into explaining it, does Andi have a Gift?"

"Yes." Dom answered looking rather surprised. "She has the gift of Hearing, just like my mother."

"Ah, this explains a lot. I'm guessing you are asking about Empathy because you think your daughter may have it?"

Dom said nothing, just shook nodded. Kel did nothing, she seemed to be in the same kind of stupor her husband had been in.

Neal nodded. "As we both know, Hearing itself is an odd and rare gift. Most who have it do not speak of it, for fear of being thought mad. Hearing, or the gift of being able to magically sharpen one's hearing to extraordinary levels, is not very well known. But an even lesser known Gift is that of Empathy. It normally comes along with Hearing, like a package deal. One hardly ever hears of a situation when an Empath does not also have the gift of Hearing.

"But what is Empathy,one might ask?" Neal continued, "Simple. Empathy is the ability to feel others emotions. They can not read thoughts, just feel emotions. For example, an Empath comes across someone who is angry. They can feel that anger, but they can not read the persons thoughts and therefore why they are angry. They can also project feelings. Projection is the ability to make some one feel what the Empath feels.

"If your beautiful daughter is an Empath, she must be sent to the palace immediately. She must learn how to control her Gift, or it might get away from her and..."

At this point Kel interrupted. "Out of the question. she can be trained here can't she. She can not leave home yet."

"Keladry, who do you think you are kidding?" Neal asked, voice slightly cold.

"What are you talking about?" Kel asked, startled.

"What I mean is, you treat the girl like she is four. Remind me Kel, how old were you when you left home?"

"Ten, but that has nothing to do with..."

Neal interrupted again, "How old is Andi?"

"Fourteen, but..."

"Keladry, your daughter is not a child anymore. She must go to the palace because of the Empath who lives there, and who can train her. You have to let Andi grow up. If you don't you will just keep on arguing with her, and I know you don't want that."

Dom spoke for the first time in quite a while. "Neal is right Luv. Can you imagine what would happen if you got in a fight with Andi, and she projected her anger on you, which would double with your anger and..." he let the sentence hang."

Kel shuddered. She could control her daughter with almost everyone she met, but her own daughter seemed to be able to release the worst of all her anger. If that were double, the results would be disastrous. "Fine, she can go. But with one condition, I go with her. I do not want her to be all alone."

"Kel, I need you here, you know that." Dom told her, covering her hand with his own.

"Only until I am sure she is happy and safe."Kel told him, extracting her hand from under his. She stood up. "I think I will go pack. Dom, you can inform Andi, though give her a little bit, she will be talking to Brian now. We leave the day after tomorrow, with Neal."

Dom nodded, watching his wife leave the room, then he turned to Neal. "You will need to be a peace maker Neal. They do not get along, they are too much a like."

"I'll try. How hard can it be, I know Kel, I should be able to handle this." Neal said, more confidant then he felt.

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Andi walked swiftly away from the dinning room, fighting back tears. Soon she heard footsteps behind her. Regardless, she did not slow down. If anything, she speed up. The footsteps were running toward her now, and it wasn't long before Brian grabbed her arm to stop her.

Andi turned, fury in her hazel eyes. "Leave me alone Brian. I just want to be alone."

Brian's sky blue eyes showed nothing but understanding as he said, "No Andi, you need to talk. You know what happens when you keep things bottled up inside. Is that not what I am here for?"

"I don't care what you are here for Brian. I want to be alone. I don't care anymore, I just don't care." Andi sank to her knees, tears in her eyes. She covered her face with her hands, shaking her head as she let the tears out.

Brian sank to the floor next to her, taking her in his arms and rubbing her back. He didn't say anything, just sat with her.

After a moment, Andi regained her composure. "Brian, it happened again. At breakfast, I felt love and anger that were not my own. I am some kind of freak, I know it."

"You are not a freak Andi. This ability to feel others emotions and make them feel yours has to be some kind of magic, I know that." Brian smoothed some hair out of her face, then whipped the tears from her eyes.

"If it is magic, why can we not find it any books." Together, Andi and Brian had looked through every book on magic they could find. In her parents library, her friend's parent's library, and any where else they could hope to find books. Yet there was nothing about being able to feel another's emotions.

Brian said nothing, for he had nothing to say. Also, Neal walked around the corner into that particular hallway at that moment. Brian pulled his arms away from Andi and jumped up. He bowed to Neal, then helped Andi to her feet. He bowed to her, winking. "Feel better Miss." He said curtly, then turned on his heals and walked away.

"Thank you Brian, I needed that." Andi called after him, then turned to Neal, who had one of his eyebrows raised. Andi laughed. "Think nothing of it Cousin, nothing that shouldn't is going on between me and Brian. We are just friends, and he was comforting a friend in need. Speaking of need, what can I do for you?"

"Well, you can walk with me. You seem to be in a much better mood than this morning, and I need help finding my room." Neal said, eyebrow lowering slowly.

Andi bowed, signaling him to go before him. "After you, Sir Knight."

Now it was Neal's turn to laugh. "What kind of knight would I be if I did not let the beautiful maiden go before me? After you, young maiden."

"Why don't we just go together then." Andi suggested, as she began to walk. "I must beg you to excuse my rude behavior at breakfast this morning. It was unacceptable, and I apologize."

"You are forgiven. I am pleased to see that you do have some manners, even if you do not always feel like using them."

Andi laughed. "Yes well, you know my mother."

"I do. You look and act so much like her, I'm surprised you have a father. You are practically all Kel."

Andi felt a small part of her go cold. She was often told she was like her mother, and that was why they fought, but she could feel no pride in it. Neal continued, "I'm surprised you didn't go for knight yourself."

Andi recovered herself enough to say, "I did not want to be a knight. I want to be a mage, but Hearing is not big enough to be a skill you can make money off of. Here is your room. I think I will retire to mine."

Neal was slightly confused. He could tell he had said something to insult Andi, but did not know what. He went quietly into his bedroom, and Andi went quietly up to hers.

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Author's note this is the second story i have written. the first being one much like this, that i deleted. i could really use some suggestions on how to write this story.-eab4ever