Disclaimer: I own nothing!
This chapter is just drabble, I did it to explain different pieces of their lives since separating. Everyone you finally find out whom Tris is with. Yah! You also find out the twin's names, nicknames really. Sorry i haven't updated in awhile, we got a new computer, the old one was given to my aunt, i had play reheasals every night till late, and then it was stuck on a floppy disk and it only occured to me a few minutes ago that even though my new computer didn't have word i could easily download it from the floppy onto here, some honrroll student i am.
Need to know:
1)Aoorie- (a-oar-a) do not pronounce it as a-oar-e
2)Merri is Marabelle
3)Gwen is the leader of the Hopians
4)My best friend is ridiculous
5)(Any thing like this is an author's note)
Now on with the show!
Chapter Seven: Shifting Through
"We have a present for you." Gwen said stepping into the young mother's room. "Come with me."
Sandry looked up from where she was trying, and so far failing, to wrestle a diaper on the three month old Allah. Aoorie, her twin, lay in her crib not far away. "I don't have time to now." Gwen came over and took the impossible task off of the still inexperienced mother and got it down in a few seconds. "Thank-you, now, I just have to get her to take her nap."
"You'll have time for that later." Gwen said picking up little Allah and slipping her nightgown on. "Grab Aoorie and come on."
Sandry went over to the crib and looked at the quieter of her two daughters. The baby looked up at her through her gray-green eyes, her father's eyes, and cooed. Sandry lifted the baby out and followed Gwen out the door. She snuggled the baby closer to her when they left Gwen's overlarge house, even though it was pleasantly warm.
The woman led her down Market Street and across Baker Street and onto Gleeman Street. She led the young mother over to a three-story brick house with lavish gardens in the front. There was a swing out front and on the wrap around porches were rocking chairs, Sandry had often admired this house when she took walks with her daughters.
The owner, a middle-aged woman with blond hair, stepped off of the porch carrying a tray of lemonade. "Come sit on the porch." Sandry looked at Gwen suspiciously and then followed the two women back onto the porch. "Sit, Sit." The woman, who Sandry soon found out was called Jean, ushered her into a chair then started to gossip good-naturedly as she poured drinks. "I hear you love my house." Jean stated out of the blue causing Sandry to spill a bit of the lemonade onto Aoorie's face, who licked it up giggling. "My husband is dead, my son, Allan, has recently left home to travel with the merchant ships, and I have no use for all this space. I am giving it to you and am moving in with Gwen." Sandry opened her mouth to protest. "I don't need all this space. This house was made for a family and your family needs it more then mine. My son won't mind. He never even liked this house."
"Thank-you, but… but I can't just take it for free."
"I hear you are bloody wicked with a needle and a thread," the girl nodded, "sell your works here and by ship you can pay me back in a year flat." The woman sat heavily back into her chair and stared at Sandry. "There is one more thing, raise those girls to be as strong as their mama."
Sandry looked at her two daughters, Aoorie cooing peacefully in her arms and the rebellious Allah tugging on one of Gwen's curls. "I don't think I'll have to." She said sarcastically. "They already are."
There hadn't been a sign of her even after nine months. With each passing day, after the first month of frantic searching, Tris had to watch her brother Briar slip further and further into depression. Nothing she, Daja, or Rosethorn said could help him. He started to take his meals alone, would stay up on the deck for countless hour, and went days without sleep. It hurt that she could do nothing to help him. It hurt all of them.
She and Niko, who had joined them on the spur of the moment, had tried to scry her but to no avail. All they did was tire themselves out, landing them in bed for countless days of recovery and the rolling of the ship did nothing to help their recovery.
They were reentering Summersea harbor today. She would see him again and even through her own sadness she was excited.
Niko must have sensed her excitement for he stepped up to the rail by her. "You look happy today," he said. "Who is he?"
"Who's who?" she countered blushing despite herself.
"Last time you acted this… giddy there was a boy involved. I believe his name was…"
"Albert." She finished, sourly. "Then he and his friends dumped a vat of honey on me."
The man chuckled. Tris glared at her former teacher. "It still amazes me that you didn't kill them." He sobered up when a wind started to push him off the boat. "It was funny, but enough! Who is this boy?"
"It's just Keth," she said as uncaring as she could as the Summersea's harbor came into view. "He promised to visit with me when we got back." She looked down at the gray dress she was wearing then back towards the harbor. "Excuse me." And hurried off down the hatch, to get changed.
"It's silly." Briar said, coming to stand by Niko. "Just yesterday she was worried sick about San… about all this. Now she acts like she has no cares in the world."
The older man clapped the younger on the back. "She is getting on with her life, as will Daja, and as will you."
Briar pulled away from him as Tris ran back up from the hatch wearing a dark blue cotton gown. "Not without her." He promised, moving away from him and back into his own little world.
"Oh Briar that's not healthy." Niko said, as the gangplank attached the ship to the dock. All the tired sailors trudged out of the boat and towards their awaiting homes and families till the only people left were the excited Tris, sullen Briar, Daja, Rosethorn, and Niko. Briar glared in his direction before jumping onto the plank and walking, shoulders slouched, towards Cheeseman Street, towards the house he shared with his two foster sisters. Rosethorn sighed at his retreating back and started down the gangplank, heading into the rickety carriage Moonstream had sent for her. Niko and Daja left together heading towards the citadel to give His Grace their news and seeing, and praying, if any of the other ships had any luck.
Tris was the last to leave. She walked down the gangplank and walked down familiar streets till she was in front of the Dragonfly inn. She stepped up to the door and pushed it open. She looked around. Everything was just as she remembered it. There was their table in the right hand corner. Pictures of scenery was the same as were the ones of women and children, the ones they had used to joke about the possible different meanings they had. Exactly as it had been almost a year ago when Briar and Sandry had told them of their engagement.
She pushed those sad/happy moments away and looked around the room for the reason she was here. There he was, exactly as she remembered him. He still had that white patch in the center of his, otherwise, perfect blond hair. His blue eyes still held a little crackle of lightening.
He hadn't heard her come in, so she snuck up behind him, bent down, and whispered, "Anyone sitting here?"
"No there isn't Tris." He said without looking up at her. She sat across from him and the two old friends started to talk about their time together in Tharios and what each as been up to since they had last seen each other.
"Allah! Get back here!" she shouted chasing a naked one-year-old baby. She was trying to give Allah and her twin sister Aoorie a bath. Aoorie, the more peaceful of the two, sat on her bed wrapped up in a towel with the Sandry's former guard Oama watching over her, waiting to be dressed. Merri, the eight-year-old girl Sandry had adopted over a year ago sat in her room doing some of the complicated cat cradles Sandry had recently taught her, she had, quite accidentally, found out the girl had thread magic.
"Ivelane help you when I catch you!" Sandry scolded dashing quickly around the dining room table and scooping the child into her arms. Allah whimpered and put her arms around her mother. Sandry's anger at the little one faded as quickly as it came. "You have to obey," she told Allah leading the way back up into the room the two twins shared. "It's hard enough, even when you do," she snuggled the child closer to her, "you have to behave." she repeated.
Quite a few months ago, when they had first, meaning Allah, started sleeping through the night, Kwaben had moved the cribs into a room down the hall after painting the room in bright blues and yellows mixing in some places to make several different shades of green. Set in between the two cribs was a small table and on it, glowing all day and night, was her old nightlight, which for some reason she didn't need any more to sleep through the night, not even as a reminder for her old life.
Mother and daughter entered the bedroom; Sandry slipped her naked baby into the now cold water. "Told Mama, Told!"
Sandry smiled sadly at her daughter and said firmly, "It's your own fault, live with it. Maybe tomorrow it'll be warm." Sandry bent down and, as quickly as she could, scrubbed the baby and took her out of the cold water, when she would normally had allowed her to splash around. "Will you behave now?" She asked wrapping the shivering baby into a towel. Allah nodded. "Good. Now it's time to get dressed and go to bed." Sandry tried to not talk to her babies like they were, well, babies.
Allah had learned her lesson, at least for tonight, and she sat peacefully in the towel as her mama dressed Aoorie and tucked her into her crib and allowed Sandry to do the same to her with little struggle, the little struggle was when she tried to tuck her in blankets.
"Stoy?" Aoorie whispered hugging her blankets to herself. Sandry nodded after a moment's thought. "Gwacer?" Sandry knew instantly that her babies wanted to hear about how she met Glacier, it was something she told them every night since they were newborns and when they were in her womb. Sandry settled down into the rocking chair in the corner of the room and started the story quietly, her voice urging them to sleep. And they were even before the story was half over.
Sandry stood up and looked around, it seems Oama had slipped out of the room was she was talking with the girls. Sandry sighed and, not before kissing her daughters, left the room. It had been an exhausting day, between taking care of the twins and getting her orders ready she didn't have a second to herself. Sandry walked down the oak staircase and into the small kitchen, just as she thought, Oama was sitting at the counter making sandwiches.
"Have you picked a date?" Sandry asked, sitting down on the stool across from her. Oama and Kwaben had finally agreed to get married after they had agreed to stay here in Hope with her. The only problem was that they still couldn't agree on a date.
"He still insists on the day we came here." It was over a year away. "I want it in a month." That was way too soon.
"Ever here of compromising?" Sandry asked sarcastically earning a glare from the older woman. "Why not in five months time?"
The woman thought for a moment. "I'll run it by him tonight." Sandry took one of the two sandwiches and quickly stuffed it down her throat.
She yawned. "I think I'll go to bed now. Big day tomorrow."
She stood up and left, but not before catching Oama's parting words. "Every day is a big day for you with the twins." Smirking, Sandry went back upstairs and went into the master bedroom; thankful for the life she now led. Hectic as it was.
"Where is he?" she asked for the thousandth time pacing around the floor of the two-room suite, copper hair in curlers. "He promised to be back for my wedding!" Tris complained, stopping in front of the smiling Lark. "It's bad enough," she whispered, "that Sandry can't be here." Lark busied herself fixing the girl's simple white gown and pretended not to hear, any mention of Sandry was still a sore spot for the dedicate.
"He'll be here." Lark promised. "Come get into your dress." Tris stopped her pacing and stood still for Lark to put the dress into place even though she hated when she must get her dresses fitted or put on.
The door opened and in came Dedicate Rosethorn and behind her eleven-year-old Glaki. "Is he here yet?"
"Yes I am." Briar Moss, her foster brother, said sauntering into view from behind his teacher. Tris hurried forward and gave the boy a hug; he hugged her back tightly for a moment before holding her back at arm's length. "You look beautiful Copper Curls." She couldn't have looked better even if Sandry had made her dress, Briar admitted to himself. Her name didn't hurt as much as it had a year ago, but on some days it took all he had not to cry.
"Now, we can get her hair ready." Briar couldn't stop himself, he snorted. "Briar behave or you'll have to leave." Lark warned him.
"Who's walking you down the aisle?" Briar asked, watching as they turned Tris normally braided hair into a mass of springy curls at the top of her head. "I seriously doubt you invited dear Papa Chandler."
"Niko." She replied, glaring at him and patting her cheeks to bring more color into them. Tris continued toscowl at him, but then she suddenlysmiled. It was good he was getting some of his old sense of humor back, even if he was using it at her expense.
"No." Lark, Rosethorn, and the girl left the room to see how everything else was going. "Did you have any luck?"
"No," he said, slipping back into his old depression, "but I'm not ready to give up."
"Most men would have given up by now." She pointed out, standing. "It's been over a year."
"I love her." He said, also standing. "His Grace isn't ready to give up and neither am I."
"His Grace is being a fool," said a voice from the doorway. The two friends turned around to see Niko and Moonstream standing in the doorway. Moonstream was doing the talking. "His health worsens each and every day. If he keeps worrying so much about her he won't last another year. You're not doing so good yourself." She pointed out. It was true Briar looked like he hadn't eaten or slept for days. Tris knew if it weren't her wedding day he would be wearing rumpled clothing and would be unshaven. "It's time for the both of you to let her go."
Briar scowled at those in the room and left. Tris ran after him and caught him before he entered the wedding hall. "They're right. I hate to admit it, but their right. Only you can convince Duke Vedris to pronounce her dead." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "It kills you now, it'll kill me and Daja too, but if you wait, it'll be worse."
"What if she's alive and hurt and waiting for me to rescue her?"
If she was we would be able to feel her, Tris pointed out through their connection. "Her line to us is dead. We must accept the fact that she is as well."
"I'll talk to His Grace later." He promised moving away from her and into the hall, his voice ringing with pain and remorse and betrayal.
"Can I help you?" Sandry asked opening the door to a disheveled looking sailor. He had scraggly brown hair, a five-o'clock shadow, and wearing grubby sailor's clothes, a pack over his shoulder.
"You the maid?" he asked, pushing past Sandry and into the house.
Sandry propped her fists on her waist and glared at the man. "No! Who just are you?"
"Oh, then your visiting Ma then." He's Jean's son and she hadn't told him I bought the place. And she had, she paid off the last of her debt just a month ago.
"Your Jean's son?"
"No! I just barge into stranger's houses and demand to see my mother. Where is she?"
"She's at Gwen's."
The man dropped his pack in the middle of the walkway and sank into one of the chairs near the door. "I'll wait here then. Did the maid let you in?"
How could she tell him? He wasn't that much older then her, what if he had come home to start a family in his own home? "There is no maid."
"So, you broke in." He asked leaning back. Sandry shook her head. "Ma, ask you to watch the house?"
"Sort of." She answered throat tightening up. "You have to leave." She spat out.
The man looked at her from beneath raised eyebrows. "I have to leave my own home?"
"Jean obviously didn't tell you."
"Tell me what?" the man asked closing his eyes.
"I think it would be best if you went to Gwen's and asked her."
"Why don't you tell me?"
"It's none of my business." She insisted pulling him out of the chair. Though in some ways it was.
"It must be if you're trying to get rid of me." Allowing himself to be pulled out of the chair and to the door.
"Just GO!" She said, shoving him out of the still open door.
Sandry went to slam it, but the sailor, Jean's son, put his foot in the way, jamming the door. "Only if you tell me or you could give me a little kiss!"
Given the two choices Sandry decided to just tell him the truth and said, very tackily, "I bought this house off of your mother." She pushed his foot away and slammed the door in his face, feeling slightly guilty, and slightly proud of herself.
Breaking his own heart, not to mention His Grace's, Briar did what he promised and convinced the Duke to stop looking for Sandry. He knew he would too, no matter how much it hurts. Briar on the other hand, made no such promises and was on his way to see some people who he can pay to search for her secretly. In other words so his two meddling sisters won't know.
He entered the dingy looking inn and sat at the back table as planned. The two men would approach him in a few minutes and the plans and the money (half of it really.) will switch hands. He was giving them a gold agraib (sp?) now and another one each time they entered Summersea port, once or twice a year, and they were going to give him a detailed list of where they were going, which ports they'll be stopping at, and where they'll search for the pirate's ship.
"Ye Briar Moss?" a dirty man asked him. He nodded curtly at him, letting him know who the boss was. The man gave a jerk of his head and another, identical to the last dirt patch, came up. "Ye wanting to 'ire us?"
"I need to track someone."
"Who?" the second man asked.
"Names first." Briar demanded. "I need to know you're the men I asked for."
"Me name is Patrick and me brother is Robb." The first man said.
Briar nodded again. "She's my fiancée she was kidnapped a year ago."
"Aye, Lady Sandrilene. That'll be tough."
"Why?"
"We knows practically evebry pirate ship, never heard of that ships though. Aye, that'll be very though." Robb said, shaking his head, sadly.
"But, you'll still do it?"
"Is there still a gold agraib involved?" Briar nodded. "Aye, then, we'll do it." The two men handed Briar an envelope, and took the offered agraib and left on theirs and Briar's journey.
"Push!" The mid-wife shouted into Oama's ear. The woman gripped her husband's hand and one of Sandry's as she pushed out her first-born child. "Just a little more." The woman urged as Oama cursed at Kwaben. "I can see the head."
Sandry closed her eyes to stop herself from looking down there at the crowning head. She was curious but she knew she would faint if she dared to take a peek. (A/n: I saw my cousin give birth a few years back, and let me tell you it's the most amazing thing in the world, especially the crowning part. But Sandry seems like the type of person who wouldn't fully appreciate it.) So she sat by Oama with her eyes closed giving her her quiet support.
"It's almost out!" The mid-wife shouted. Seeing how much pain her friend was in, Sandry was glad that she had been unconscious for most of the twin's births. She had been lucky; she didn't have to experience all of this pain. Or give someone a lot of pain; Sandry grimaced as Oama squeezed her hand as she pushed again.
There were a few moments of quiet as they waited with battered breaths. Then the room was filled with the shrieking of healthy lungs as the mid-wife held up Oama and Kwaben's newborn, their first child. "It's a girl!" she proclaimed. "Name her, so we can all go home." Kwaben and Sandry snorted, they both knew it would take hours before Oama felt strong enough to stand, let alone walk.
The mid-wife lay the baby girl into Oama's arms and Sandry and her took a few steps back so the couple could decide on a name.
"We've decided." Kwaben said, ten minutes later, a small tremble of joy in his voice. "We're going to name her after our mothers."
"Sasha for mine and Elizabeth for his."
"Now Aoorie and Allah have a cousin to play with." Sandry said, smiling wickedly. The couple paled simultaneously like she knew they would. Allah had recently gotten into the habit of hitting everyone; including her twin and mother, and no matter how Sandry punished her she still continued to do it. "Calm down I was just joking. I seriously don't know what I'm going to do with her."
"She'll grow out of it. Hopefully." Kwaben said to the young mother, hugging his wife and daughter.
Yet another year had gone by and still there was no sign of Sandry or the pirate ship. It was like they had disappeared under the ocean. Today though wasn't about Sandry today was about Tris and Keith and their new born son Dijon. Briar and Daja were in a carriage and was on their way to visit them and see the little baby in Tris new home, a three-story white washed house down on New Man Street.
"Hello?" Daja called as she opened the front door.
"In here." Came Keth's voice from the living room. Keth popped his head out and smiled at the two friends. "You've got to see him, he's the most adorable thing ever."
"All parents think that." Daja said, following them into the next room.
"At least till they start shooting off lightning." Tris said sarcastically. "How are you two? You haven't visited me since a month ago."
"So, we're the only ones with legs now." Briar joked pulling up a seat and sitting by the bed.
"Well, I've been on bed rest so… yes!" she shot at him. "You want to hold him?"
"Babies… nah, not my thing." He said, jumping from his chair and backing to the other side of the room.
"Daja?" she asked, holding the baby out to the black woman.
"Unlike our boy, I like babies." She said, gently taking him from his mama.
"You would have been singing a different tune if he was your own." Keth told the younger man settling on the bed by his wife and putting his arm around her.
"But he's not." Briar said, bitterly, leaning against the wall, watching his two sisters oh and caw over the baby, wishing it was Sandry and him.
"Yes?"
"'Lo Sandry," the person greeted her from the doorway. She had answered from the screened in sunroom, where she was working on a nightgown for Allah. Allah had ripped her's last week when Oama and Kwaben were watching her, yet again. That girl didn't know how to care probably for her own clothes, even with an overbearing stitch-witch for a mother.
"Hey, Allan," she greeted him back. The last time he was here they hadn't been on good terms, but now they were becoming close friends and he was like a father figure, when he was in town, to the twins. "When did you get back?" He left last month with his ship; he had started his own business, in search of some rare spices.
"Yesterday," he said, stepping into the room and messing up the three-year-old Aoorie's hair before sitting across from her.
"Did ya get any boo-boos?" Aoorie asked good naturedly, leaving her little spindle on the ground and up-ing herself on the man's lap.
"Me? Nah! But Peter did." Peter was his first man and another "father" to the girls.
"Ma! Ma! Can me and Allah go down and help him heal the boo-boos?" She asked blue-green eyes wide with fear for her friend. Sandry nodded. And the girl ran out of the room screeching for Allah, who was making bread in the kitchen with "Grandma" Gwen, to come, Peter had boo-boos and they were going to take care of him.
"I didn't expect you back till another few months at least." She said, suspecting he needed her help with something or other when he told her daughter about Peter and, then, didn't accompany them, he adored both of her girls, treated them like her own.
"I found a boy."
"A boy?"
"In the sea. Almost engulfed. We barely got him in time."
"What has this got to do with me?"
"He has Ice Magic." Ice magic was Hope mage's specialty. They controlled ice and other cold objects in the artic and could write on the wind. "He can't train on my ship because a new ice mage is dangerous. I was wondering…"
"He'll stay here. What's his name?"
"Joseph."
"While you get Joseph, I'll set up his room."
"Thanks Sandrilene." He said, patting her foot and bounding out of the house.
"Uncle!" Clover's four-year old son Moline said, running forward and throwing himself at Briar. Clover and her son lived with Tris and Keth; Clover helped her care for her son while she was pregnant.
"Hey, buddy." Briar said, spinning him quickly around and setting the boy back on his feet. "How's your Mama?"
"Good," the boy said, running a few steps ahead. "Did ya see the new baby?"
Tris had given birth to her second child, Briar had just gotten the news at his house. This time it was a girl and they had no clue what to name her and wanted help. For some weird reason they called him and not Daja, who is working at her forge on Cheeseman Street.
Briar had gotten his own home several months ago, when, more then once, Patrick and his brother showed up demanding money, Briar still didn't want his sisters to know, especially since over four years as gone by. And yet he knew they had their suspicions, but they still hadn't confronted him about it. Which is always a good thing.
"No, I didn't. Come show me." He teased the boy. The boy grabbed his hand and pulled him into the house.
"Aunt Tris, he's here." Moline shouted rushing, pulling Briar with him, into the living room. Tris sat in her usual simple gray dress, the newborn cradled in her arms. Keth sat in a chair by the bed, holding the one-year old Dijon. Dijon smiled at his uncle and reached out for him.
Soon after the boy was born, Tris had gotten him over his reluctance to hold the baby and Dijon had become his favorite person in the whole world. It happened when Briar was named the godfather and was forced by the priests to hold him. Like Tris knew would happen.
"Hi Briar." Keth greeted him. He nodded to the older man and his brother-in-law.
"Wanna hold little Lene?" Tris asked, holding the baby out to him.
"Sure… you decided on a name."
"We decided when she was born, it's not official yet, but…um... I wanted your permission."
"You want to name her Sandrilene."
"It's my way of remembering her and my prayers that she will turn out half as kind and sweet."
"I… I like it." Briar came over and took the newborn from Tris's arms. She had her father's eyes in contrast to Dijon, who had Tris's. "She already has her eyes." The two old friends laughed and Briar passed back Lene to her. Briar sat at the edge of the bed and they talked about all manners of things and for a moment Briar was the same old Briar.
"Ex-excuse me," a scared looking maid asked edging into the room. "Is Master Moss here?"
"Hello, Mona." He greeted her, raising a hand in greeting. She had been Tris's maid since before Dijon was born and like all Tris's past maids, she was a fidgety woman.
"You got a message from your house, a man is there who wishes to speak to you, your manservant said it was about your ships."
Without a goodbye Briar ran out of the room and out of the house. He started to run towards his house.
Thanks to all who reviewed. Review again, I love reviews.
There are ten pages in this, don't know why i'm telling you, but i think you would like to know.