A/N: Now we find ourselves reaching the climax of the story. Prolly just a chapter two longer as far as I can tell. Hope you like this chapter- not quite as long as the last one, but just as entertaining. And we are closing in on B/S, don't worry! Oh and I realized last chapter that I made an age mistake. The way the story's going, I wanna keep them at 18 years old, so if we could all pretend they were 16 when they had the fight, that'd be great. Thank you!
Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue. I no own, so you no sue!
The sound of the kitchen door slamming echoed in the silence. Briar stared at the door, not quite comprehending what had happened. His ears buzzed, his mind was struggling with the fact that at long last, he had found her. Sandry, the girl who had been haunting his mind for years.
Not aware of the eyes glued to him, Briar stumbled back and collapsed in his abandoned chair. Slowly the buzzing died down and turned to roaring as he realized what Sandry had said. She wanted nothing to do with him! All that time on the road had given Briar chance to daydream of what would happen when he finally found Sandry.
Needless to say in those dreams he was always a bit more eloquent and she was definitely more… happy. But when the moment came, Briar froze. And now here he was, amidst the now whispering audience of the tavern, watching the door swing shut on his duchess.
Briar gave a strangled, hopeless laugh. Amazing.
A throat cleared behind him. Turning, Briar saw the girl who had dropped the platter standing behind him. A fresh tray was in her hands carrying two mugs of ale. Behind her, at the bar, Briar noticed a tall, sandy-haired man. He didn't take his eyes off Briar as he casually wiped a glass clean. Briar tensed a bit, not liking the kind of attention he was getting. He looked innocent enough, but the man seemed to be staring at him with a mix of intense suspicion and dislike that seemed to burn up the air between them.
The girl followed his gaze. "Um, that's Ben. He owns this place." Plunking her tray down, the girl took a seat across from Briar. "He's wondering what we all are. Who are you, and what have you done to upset our girl so much?" Briar looked up at her. She was a pretty thing, her chin rounded in mulish determination. She must have the boys scrambling after her, and her not a day older than his foster sisters. A flare of white in his mind brought him back to the questions. They had been happening a lot the past few days; he had wondered why, but now assumed it was because he was getting closer to Sandry. Their magical connection, so strong before, seemed to be fighting the wall now dividing the two of them.
Briar sighed and idly picked up the mug. Normally he would avoid spirits at all costs; they did funny things with his magic, but now… Briar just wanted to forget.
"Briar Moss," he muttered after a harsh mouth full of the ale. It was bitter, not easy on his throat, but warm. It made him feel a little better. The girl nodded.
"Ollie," she returned curtly. Briar waited a bit, then realized he still hadn't answered the second question. He took a third long swig, grimacing.
"I… know Sandry. She left while back. We had a fight." He gazed at the closed door opposite of him, marveling at the understatement of his words.
"Apparently she still holds a grudge," Ollie commented wryly.
Another swig, another grimace.
"You think?" Briar was beginning to feel light headed. So much more relaxed, loose. And beneath that, a crushing, overwhelming sadness. There was no more ale in his glass.
Startled, and more than a little drunk, Briar stared at the bottom of the glass which was not filled with any sort of liquid. "It- it's gone!" he said in wonder.
Ollie rolled her eyes and pushed the neglected mug towards him. He gave a gleeful laugh and began downing that one, babbling nonsense in between swallows. Ollie tried, without success, to get more information out of him, but it was useless. She had never seen a man get so drunk so quickly before. Unnoticed to her, or any other person in the room, the plants began to move. First, the old flower in the corner that Kellen had been nursing along bloomed full and youthful. Then the ivy climbing up the trellis crept in through the window. Pretty soon buds erupted across the wooden floorboards and began growing in earnest.
Darting through the kitchen, Sandry took the steps two at a time as she ran to her room. The tears she had managed to hold in till now began spilling down her cheeks. Once she reached her room, Sandry stopped just short of falling on her bed. No. Last time she had done that, she had run away from the only home she knew. Briar would not drive her away from this place. Instead, Sandry turned and sat primly on her bed, trying to calm herself down.
A quiet knock interrupted her efforts. Kellen walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Hastily Sandry wiped her tears away. It was no use. With Kellen's concerned, motherly gaze on her, Sandry broke down all over again.
Kellen sat next to Sandry and pull her into an embrace, rubbing her back and murmuring comforts. Finally, the flow ebbed; Sandry sat up and took Kellen's offered handkerchief.
"That boy hurt you?" Kellen asked as Sandry wiped her face clean.
"Yes," Sandry croaked, then sighed. "Well, a little. I suppose he doesn't know how much." Kellen nodded in understanding.
"He hurt you here." Kellen placed a hand over her own heart. After a moment, Sandry nodded. She wanted so bad to tell Kellen everything, to let it out. But what would she think, finding out Sandry was a noble? She remembered over the passed two years, how these people had welcomed her in, taken care of her, made her family. Sandry swallowed hard, knowing she was risking everything.
"Kellen there's something else…" And with that, Sandry began telling her story, starting back when, so long ago, Niko had found her in that dark locked room. Kellen listened, saying nothing, but gasping appropriately when Sandry told her of the earthquake, pirates, forest fires, and plague, and chuckling when Sandry reminisced of the amusing things Little Bear would do.
Finally, Sandry reached the weeks of suitors and balls when Briar grew distant, nasty, irritated. Emotions from that time clouded around Sandry once again, as she remembered how much his comments had stung.
"… so I got on Janah, and road away. Then I found this place." Sandry ended with a helpless shrug. Kellen remained silent, and Sandry panicked. "I'm really sorry, I know I shouldn't have lied to you, but you wouldn't have treated me the same! Please, please, don't send me away!" Kellen turned to Sandry, indignant shock on her face.
"Sandry, or whoever you are, you've been with us for two long years. If you hadn't learned by now that you're part of our family, then you must not know us as well as I thought!" In a gentler tone she went on, "Know this. As long you need us, we'll be right here for you." Sandry smiled weakly at her, happy beyond belief. Kellen clapped her hands, suddenly brisk. "Now as for this Briar Moss of yours, I might know why he turned so snappish on you. When these suitors came, I think he might have been a tad bit jeal-."
A crash and screaming interrupted her. Sandry and Kellen stared at each other a moment, then scrambled up and took off for the stairs. The kitchen was abandoned as they hurtled through and when Sandry yanked open the door to the main room, the two froze in their tracks.
"What on earth!"
A/N: teehee, what do you think happened? And, I know Briar got drunk REALLY fast, but he never had alcohol before and… well I just needed him drunk, so there. Heh, it was pretty fun writing that actually- hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Remember, I need your feedback. Comments, concerns, ideas… lay 'em on me! So that means review, review, review!
