Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they belong to Tamora Pierce The only thing I own is a stuffed penguin named Waddles, and he was a Christmas gift.

A/N: Beccause I missed last weekend I will be post chapters 7 and 8 tonight. The problem with my home computer should be fixed by next weekend or the weekend after for sure.

Thank you to my beta, pretty how town's, for correcting this chapter, with its many mistakes. You have become known to the kid in the library who reads everything I do over my shoulder as "My totally awesome, genius beta."

Mind speak is in Italiced text

Chapter 7

Tris seemed to snap back to reality as the meal progressed and was now paying attention to what Briar was saying. She nodded and looked down at her plate. Daja watched this interaction and turned to look at Briar who was eating his breakfast with great speed. She grinned at Sandry and Tris.

"Mila forbid that Thief-boy goes hungry. Briar, remember to breathe every once in a while."

Briar looked up, swallowed, and grinned at his sisters, but Briar heeded the advice as he sat back and ate slower. The rest of the meal went quietly. Tris was distracted and the other three let her think about what was to happen that day. In a matter of hours Tris would be going to see the parents who abandoned her, she had reason to be distracted.

After the siblings finished they brought they plates downstairs and went out to the stables. Tris was quiet and seemed to be focusing only on what was about to happen. Briar looked meaningfully at Daja, and she understood. While Daja distracted Tris, Briar quickly looked over the saddle, making sure that in Tris' distraction she had done the buckles up right. He looked back at Daja and nodded. She allowed Tris to go back to her horse. Sandry shook her head at the actions of the other two, but she understood. In Tris' current state she could forget to saddle up properly and get hurt. If she had seen Briar checking her work she would have hit him, either physically,or with her magic. Or she may just let him get wet next time they travled in the rain. It was safer to make her look the other way, she had a mean punch, Skyfire had taught them all very well.

"So where are we going?" Briar looked left and right, he wasn't sure where House Chandler was.

"They live maybe half an hour's ride from here, Briar," Tris' voice sounded strange; she wasn't looking at her siblings, yet wasn't answering through their link. The other three exchanged glances and seemed to mutually agree that Tris was nervous, and that she needed time to think. They could talk later, after their meeting with Tris' parents.

The entire ride was silent, despite none of them using the mind-link to speak to the others. A lot of the trip so far had seen all of the young mages being uncertain and awkward because none of them, not even Tris, knew what to expect. Finally Tris stopped her horse, looking at a house.

"We're here," as Tris spoke the door opened and a teenage girl walked out. Curly red hair and gray eyes that were calmer the Tris' but just as sharp. This would be Katia. Tris turned away. She didn't want the girl to see her.

"Tris?" Sandry asked. "Why are you turning away?"

"I would like to talk with my parents first. Before I pull her into this. Just let her go. When she leaves we will go to the house. OK?"

"Ok we can do that." Daja nodded, she wasn't sure what she would do if she was to meet any of her own family. Would she want her younger cousins to not see her? Or would she aviod them until they know she wasn't unlucky any more?

" BRIAR!"

"Oww, what was that for?" He whined, Tris' voice could get loud inside his head.

"Do not look at Katia that way. If you ever do that again you will never be found. Got it?"

"Calm down Coppercurls. I told you before that your sister is safe from me."

Once Katia had turned the corner they dismounted and walked to the door. When it became apparent to Daja that Tris wasn't going to knock, she knocked on the door for her. They all heard Tris' shrape intake of breath as the door opened.