A/N: Sometimes I just don't understand. Though I guess I did warn you that it wouldn't be as good as SotNS.

Chapter 4: View From Home

Lana sat straight backed with her hands placed on crossed legs. She breathed deeply. Her Gift—the color of a peridot—swirled in her mind's eye. The flame rose, curled and turned this way and that. Lana brought it back down. She was the one in control here, not the other way around.

Her Gift settled and her mind was clear. She took in and released one last breath before opening her eyes. Lana liked to meditate in the mornings; it cleared her head for the day to come.

Lana walked downstairs with all of her packed bags slung over one shoulder where her brothers were waiting. In the Silver Crest family, having the Gift meant being born with early Awareness, but the special Gift only came to the females in the family. While neither of her brothers had the Gift they had been born with Awareness like her because they had been held in the same womb. She gave them a small smile.

The three of them walked out back to the stables together. Damien broke the silence first.

"How are they going to know we're leaving today?" He asked.

Lana shrugged. "If we leave without them it won't be on purpose," She patted his cheek. "I thought you didn't want them coming with us anyways, little brother."

He scowled. Both Vincent and Damien hated it when she brought the fact that she was older than them to attention.

"Hello, beauty," Lana cooed a greeting to her mount. He was a mahogany colored bay, his nose gently fading into white, his tale and mane cream colored. She had named him Flash for his quickness to learn as well as his swiftness. When she walked up to his stall, He turned his head away. He was mad at not being ridden for so long. First on the boat and then when they'd finally reached land.

Lana fished an apple she'd stolen from the common room of the inn and offered it to the stallion. He sniffed it momentarily before taking it quickly off of her hands. She smiled. After that he butted her face and was in light spirits which made it hard when trying to get a horse ready to ride.

Damien brought out a dapple grey mare. Everyone had been surprised that these two got along at all. His mare, Skyprancer or Sky for short, was an energetic horse. Their dispositions should have clashed but Damien loved the horse like none other.

Vincent had in tow a dark creme stallion named Moonbeam. Moonbeam was a calm a horse as they come. He was calm but alert. He also had pink skin and blue eyes. All three were trained warhorses and they would have gotten no less from their mother.

Lana strapped her bags to Flash, making sure her unstrung bow was tied on very well, and led him out of the stable. The whole way out he pressed his long snout to her cheek. She got the idea. She mounted and trotted around. She could feel his joy in his muscles under her. Riding for a few moments before her brothers exited the stable Lana smiled. None of them had picked up their mother's way of riding without a bridle though the Karucian calvary was better for learning it.

The three of them set out. Being on one of the smaller islands the port city was not that big but that had only gone through half of it when a brown and white painted mare blocked their path.

Lana looked up to find Zain, a whisper of a smile on his face. Leon came out from the other side of him grinning wide and not hiding it.

"And here we thought we'd be lucky enough to leave without the two of you." Vincent muttered from somewhere behind Lana. Lana's mouth twitched into a smile. Damien pulled up beside Lana and eyed the both of them.

"Zain and Leon," She pointed to each in turn, "This is my brother Damien."

Zain inclined his head in greeting while Leon looked at Damien full on. It was like that for a few moments before Lana laughed suddenly. All the men looked at her and she shook her head, "I'm sorry to break this stare-contest but I'd like to be in a new town by sunset."

She steered Flash around the painted mare and around Leon's dark gelding. She rode forward and didn't look back, clearly expecting those who were coming, to follow.

Zain blinked and Leon commented, "She sure is odd. I rather like that."

Damien's light blue eyes flashed. "My sister is off limits to the likes of you."

"We'll s—"

"Well!" Vincent interjected with a smile. "We better catch her or she'll be in the next town over while the two of you are still here bickering." With that he followed the same path Lana had used to get through the small crowding of horses.

She was already reaching the end of the city by the time they had become a full group again. All of a sudden, Lana stopped. "Which way are we headed?"

Vincent too stopped, "You mean you don't know?"

"I would've thought, considering," Leon put in motioning back towards the city. "You seemed to know where you were going."

Lana laughed again. "All that proves is I would have made a grand Player."

Lana heard a muffled sound to her right. She looked over to find Zain covering his mouth and looking away. Was he . . . laughing? She smiled. Zain forced himself to calm down before saying, "This is one of the small islands, not many people live on it, there won't be a city for a while considering we're going southeast."

"This should be fun then. And Damien don't give me that look. " Lana said.

Liam took the plate of food from the maid giving her permission to leave. When he walked into one of the small (well smaller) dining areas Arra was already there and seated as he had requested of her. His footsteps were silent. When he got closer he set the food down in front of his wife and sat in the chair to the left of her.

"Eat." He ordered.

"I'm not hungry, Liam," Arra replied evenly.

He fixed his eyes on her, "Maybe you don't feel hungry but what had your body got to work with?" He paused to let it sink in. "What has got you off of your meals this time? Is it the triplets? You--"

"I know!" She snapped. She took a deep breath. "I know, I'm the one that didn't want to go and snatch them back. I know. But its not only that. There's the flooding down by the southwestern cape and the revolts breaking out in the northern areas. And . . ." She stopped.

"And?" He pushed.

"And Joel's coming." Arra finished with a grimace.

"Why is he coming?" Liam asked rather calmly, grabbing an orange from a bowl in the middle of the table and peeling it. Well, he looked calm enough.

"Have you not heard the rumors?" She asked. "From Tusaine?"

Liam's dark eyebrows rose. "I did not know our ears stretched that far."

Arra shrugged, a shrug that answered as much as it didn't. "I have caught wind of certain matters."

"And they have to do with Joel?" Liam finished peeling the orange and broke it in half. She had hoped that he had heard before now, that she wouldn't have to be the one to tell him.

"Lianne married the present King of Tusaine, didn't she?" Arra started slowly. Liam, who had just put a slice of the orange in his mouth, chewed slowly, nodding. His eyebrows were knit together, wondering what she was getting at. "Well, ah, Joel's been spending a lot of time in Tusaine . . ."

Liam's hazel eyes flashed. He seemed to have caught her implied meaning.

"Lianne," He groaned. "What stupid thing have you done now?"

Arra sighed and reached for his hand, putting her two smaller ones around it. "We don't know she's done anything yet, and I pray what the rumors say has been happening really isn't."

He fixed his eyes on her again. She had tried to comfort him now it was time for the roles to switch. "The flooding and revolts are not directly your problem, not yet. It'll be alright. I'll see to it. And the children?"

"I've scryed for them." She nodded. Liam knew, he always knew when she worked magic thanks to a wound he'd gotten years ago on the back of his head. "Their in the Yamani Isles, but thats all I can tell. You know my scrying has never been my strong point."

"Can't you get someone else to—" But he stopped when Arra shook her head and gave him a look.

"Liam, you should know better than that by now. This Gift is undetectable by anyone who doesn't share it it, meaning anyone who isn't in the direct line." She said.

Liam nodded solemnly. "It was just a father's hope for his stray children, I guess."

"Speaking of children, where's Emereth?" Liam shrugged. "I'll find him, his studies aren't done for the day just yet."

Liam watched Arra leave the room, placing another piece of the orange into his mouth. It wasn't until a few moments later that he realized she hadn't eaten any of the food he had brought her.

Lana rolled her eyes. Men, she thought disgustedly, always have to make things more confusing. They had stopped for the night, they had gone to far south on the island so that when they had voted to go to the next nearest town, they became stuck between them.

Zain and Leon had separated into a smaller camp away from the triad. Lana closed her eyes to calm herself. It had rained lightly the day before and she knew they would have trouble starting a fire. She also wanted to put up a shield, and if she was going to put one up, she'd rather put it up around them all.

"Are you two in or out?" She called over the small distance between them. If she alerted bandits, let them come. She would only blame it on Leon and Zain.

Zain gave her and questioning look.

"I'm going to set up a shield, you two will either be inside of it or outside of it, decide now." She stood and walked over to Flash who was tethered with Sky and Moonbeam. She searched for her magic working tools. Lana was glad to hear the two had moved closer.

She searched the ground and looking for some good sized stones. When she found five she eyed the place they would be making camp and made a fine perimeter around it. Lana placed the stones a good, equal distance from each other. The second time around she made connections between the stones with water, the third time with some crushed herbs and the final time she used her Gift to create the final shield, murmuring the spells for it all the while.

When it was all done she took a seat with the rest of them.

"How strong is your shield?" Leon asked.

Lana thought for a moment. Considering the properties of her family inherited Gift—it couldn't be detected—it was very good for making shields. She shrugged, "Anyone passing will not see us or anything out of the ordinary, all they will see is a normal part of the forest. If they come too close they will have the sudden thought to turn away."

Leon raised his brows, "I see we have a mage among us. I did not know you had the Gift."

Lana shrugged again. "Its not something people usually say when they introduce themselves. Does it bother you?"

Leon shook his head.

Vincent was the first one to turn in for the night's rest. Leon came next. Damien seemed like he wanted to go to sleep but stayed up to watch the two still looking wide awake. Lana decided to say nothing and wait it out. Finally with one last glare towards Zain, he went to his bedroll.

Zain looked up to catch the end of Damien's glare. It would be just the two of them then. He didn't much feel like sleeping. Dreams often brought visions of things that weren't pleasant. He looked over at Lana. She didn't look tired in the least. She must have lived off an endless store of energy.

Her hazel eyes were fixed on the embers that still gave off heat and burned a low, barely blue fire.

It was she who spoke first, "Do you have family on the Isles?"

Zain blinked. He had not expected that question. He had thought maybe she stayed up long enough to catch him alone to ask about his . . . obscure message on their first meeting. At his prolonged silence she looked up at him. He cleared his throat, "No, the only family I had, my mother, died years ago." After a moment he felt he should add (and did), "I never knew my father."

Lana gave him a gentle smile, "You talk like it matters whether or not you knew your father."

He cocked his head to one side ever so slightly. She was an odd creature. "And your family?"

At that she grinned. "I have three brothers, counting those two, and no sisters. My parents--" Suddenly she stopped. "I'm sorry."

"For?"

"Me, rattling on about my family." She said.

"Well, I did ask." He put in. She was obviously ashamed that it seemed she had been flaunting her finely equipped family against his non-existent one. But, oddly enough, he hadn't minded listening. She radiated her joy like the sun radiated light and heat. It was nice. A slow smile spread over her face. Zain found he liked it when she smiled.

Look at me, He scolded himself silently, acting like a love-struck child. Zain noticed she fingered something that hung on a leather thong around her neck. Before he could stop himself he found himself asking, "What's that?"

She motioned what was in her hand and he nodded. She slipped it off over her head and handed it to him. He took it gently, carefully. It looked like a piece of white colored glass. On it in precise black, engraved letters read, THREE.

"Years, years ago my family and I visited the ocean. Damien, Vincent and I found a piece of—well we never really found out what it was but we thought it was interesting so we kept it. We cut it into three parts using my Gift and each of us has one." Lana explained.

"Not one for your third brother?"

Lana shook her head. "There are things that go on between triplets that no one else can understand or join in, this was one of them."

Zain nodded. He hadn't known they were triplets, but it seemed to fit considering he could almost feel the bond they shared. He traced his finger over the word, the one word carved into the stone like piece. "Three." He read aloud.

"Its something between us. The beginning of a saying of ours." She smiled a soft smile of remembering.

Zain handed the token back. It was hanging around her neck almost at once. Silence followed as Lana brought her focus back to the dying fire. Her voice still came even as her eyes never left the embers, "I suppose you knew I would ask."

"Hm?"

Lana turned to him again. "Back at the inn. You said something about knowing what brought me herer."

"I did." He said and sighed. Yes, he had known she would ask. At the sound of his sigh, Lana's hazel eyes snapped to him.

"Never say anything you don't want to, to me." She said. There was no commanding or snapping tone in her voice. Once again Zain found himself baffled. First she inquires, then tells him not to say anything.

"You look tired." She stated.

Zain shook his head. "I'm fine. And what about you?"

She smiled. "If I go to sleep now I'll still be awake before the others so it doesn't matter to me really. I only need a few hours of sleep to be fully rested."

They talked for an hour more before she decided it was about time to catch some sleep of her own and she strongly suggested he sleep to. Just as she laid down in her bedroll--which was near her two brothers--Zain realized how comforting it had been having another being with him into the late hours of the night.

Sleep would be comforting too, a part of his mind reminded him. Not likely. Sleep brought dreams and dreams often held pictures and futures and lives he had never wanted to know.

A/N: There we are. The fourth chapter. I put it out because I had it. I'm considering just deleting the story but . . . I don't know.

Please review.