Serran stood between her father and uncle, watching her mother's ship lift off, leaving her to her new life. When the craft was out of sight, they walked to where a stable hand was holding their horses, as well as Rom, hitched to the trap the man had driven up, with Cally and her baggage aboard. Avon paused with Serran, as the little girl patted the bay cob. Avon listened in mentally as she told the horse how brave he'd been when the scout took off, all the while patting his neck and rubbing his ears. Together, the pair mounted their horses, joining Vila who'd already mounted, and moved out downhill ahead of the trap.

"You'll be starting your regular lessons tomorrow with Vila," Avon said, watching her carefully as they rode toward the house. Her flaxen-maned chestnut pony, several hands shorter than his powerful black gelding, seemed to be behaving. She'd demonstrated a very quick grasp of the art of horseback riding so that, even without her mental rapport with the little mare, she wasn't in any danger. "This afternoon we're going to visit a very dear friend of ours named Lady Gwenneth. She helped me a few years ago when I was very ill."

"Is she a healer?"

"No, she's…well, I don't quite know what to call her, but she's looking forward to meeting you."

Serran's young face took on a pensive look as she considered Avon's words. "Is Uncle Vila coming with us?" she asked.

"No, he has other duties and I know he wants to get everything ready for tomorrow."

Vila joined the conversation then, coming up on Serran's other side on his own brown gelding. "You'll be attending class with the other children on the estate in the mornings. Afternoons, you'll be with your father, learning about Avilla and all the things we do here."

"Will I get to ride all the horses?" Her enthusiasm shone from her face. In the past few days, she'd proven how valuable she could be with various horses, even gentling Avon's newest purchase, Black Wind Off the Mountains, a magnificent, if uneven-tempered, black stallion he hoped to make the foundation sire for his breeding program. When Serran had ventured too close to the huge animal and Avon feared for her safety, instead of attacking, as the beast had earlier at several stable hands, the stallion had simply dropped his massive head, wuffling in her hair and gently lipping her outstretched hand, delicately taking the proffered vegetable stick. Avon, coming up silently behind the girl, had watched in silent amazement as she stroked the velvety black muzzle and flaring nostrils. When Black Wind caught Avon's scent, instead of rearing, he'd simply backed further into the stall, shaking his shaggy mane in annoyance.

"Of course," Avon answered for Vila, "but we'll have to pick out a few special ones just for you." The smile she gave her father told him all he needed to know. Whatever divine spirit there was in his universe had somehow found Avon a flame mate †, at least where love of horses was concerned.

They reached a fork in the road and Vila turned toward the house, waving his goodbyes, leaving Avon and Serran to continue their trek to the tower.

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"This is Serran, my daughter," Avon presented proudly. "Serran, I'd like you to meet the Lady Gwenneth."

Serran curtseyed as she'd been taught, then looked up at her father's friend, a tiny, lovely lady not much taller than she was. "Father said you helped him when he was ill, but then he said you're not a healer." A frown creased her forehead as she puzzled over this inconsistency.

The child's forthrightness impressed Gwenneth. "No, Serran, I work with mind hurts, and your father needed that kind of help. That was why he came here." She smiled up at Avon. "That was almost ten years ago. I took care of him and he liked it here, so he decided to stay on this world."

"I'm glad. I like it here, too." The little girl looked around the parlor they'd been shown to. Though the tower and keep were of stone, this room, hung with tapestries and draperies and hosting a cheerful fire, was calm and inviting and warm. The heavy overstuffed furniture, while worn and old-looking, to her eyes, was comfortable and, somehow, comforting.

*What do you think, Gwenneth?* Avon projected.

*I cannot broach her mind without her permission, Avon. You know that,* she returned, a note of reproach in her mental tone. Ever impatient, she thought.

Avon nodded and turned to his daughter. "You remember, Serran, when we spoke mentally the other day?"

She nodded.

"Well, Lady Gwenneth wishes to do so as well, but her own rules don't allow it, unless you give her permission. Will you do that for me?"

Serran nodded slowly. "You mean she can't send her thoughts to me if I don't want her to?"

"That's right, Serran," Gwenneth replied.

"It's all right if you talk inside my head."

Gwenneth accepted the girl's permission and reached out to her. What she found was very similar to what she'd come to know as Avon's subconscious, but with subtle differences. The child had inherited her natural telepathy from her mother, yet somehow it was not the usual Auronae ability, as she'd come to know from her session with Cally, but brighter, more open. Gwenneth wanted to know more.

*Do you hear me, Serran?*

"Yes.*

"Would you like to learn more about this kind of speaking?*

"More?*

Gwenneth switched to regular speech patterns so that Avon could be a part of the conversation and the discussion.

"There is much we can teach you, Serran."

"Did you teach my father?"

Gwenneth gave her an indulgent smile. "No, he was past the age for teaching when he came here, though I did help him learn to live with his ability."

"Can Uncle Vila do the mind speaking?"

Avon hid a smile behind his hand, wondering how the lady would answer.

"I believe he could if he wished, but it's his decision to not develop any powers he might have been born with. You will learn, if you study with us here, how to deal with that kind of situation."

"So I shouldn't try to talk to Uncle Vila's mind?"

"Well, I think you can send your thoughts to him, but he won't be able to return the sending." Gwenneth looked over at Avon. "She'll need further testing, of course, but the potential is there."

Avon nodded his understanding and acceptance. "What about her shielding?"

Gwenneth focused her mind back to Serran's. *Do you ever hear other minds that are speaking, not to you, but to each other?"

Serran tilted her head to one side. *I can hear noise, if I try to, but it hurts my head, so I don't listen. Then the noise goes away.*

*Can you keep someone from sending their thoughts to your mind, Serran?*

The young girl seemed to concentrate, then a defiant look came over her face.

Gwenneth attempted to touch the child's mind, but found she was prevented from doing so

*She has powerful shields for one so young," Gwenneth projected to Avon.

*I suspected so.*

"Thank you, Serran," the lady said aloud. "I am looking forward to getting to know you and teaching you." She placed a hand on Serran's shoulder. "And perhaps you can teach me something as well."

The child blinked, her eyebrows rising. "I can?" Serran asked in wonder.

"Oh, I'm sure of it."

"Thank you, Lady Gwenneth," Avon said, his tone more formal than before. "We'll formalize a schedule for training that can be worked into her regular schooling on the estate."

"Very good, Dom Avon," she returned, giving him his formal title as a courtesy, with a touch of a smile. The two of them seldom stood on courtesy when they were alone; it was hard to be formal when you'd seen into each other's minds. "We'll be in touch."

Avon and his daughter left the tower and grounds, riding leisurely back to Avilla.

"I'm hungry, Father."

Avon laughed, "So am I. Let's hope Uncle Vila has a special dinner planned for us."

"Can he cook?" Serran asked, interested in all things having to do with her new 'uncle' Vila.

Avon started to answer her, then thought a moment more. "Well, yes, he can, but usually he just makes sure the food is taken care of by the kitchen staff."

They rode the rest of the way in silence, each thinking of the changes that were sure to come. It would be an interesting future, of that there was no doubt.

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A/N: That ends AVON'S LITTLE GIRL. Next up is TREASURES. Vila comes back from a long business trip off-planet, to find that things have changed around Avilla during his absence, and not for the better.

† A flame mate is like a soul mate, but brought into one's life for a specific purpose.