Author's note: Okay, so here's chapter 6 :/ This one seems a little dull to me compared to the last one but oh well. Zitora confronts Roze in this chapter... For some reason I felt tremendous pressure to make this confrontation as perfect as possible so I hope you all like it ;) (I'd like to add that it still doesn't feel perfect but nothings perfect so I left it as is) Thanks for all the wonderful reviews and motivation to keep writing this :) Enjoy! UPDATE!: Okay so I just now realized that I didn't proof read this chapter very well O.O When Irys says (or rather thinks): "I'm your god damned possession!" to Roze it's supposed to say I'm NOT your god damned possession :( sorry for that I fixed it so that it makes a little more sense now.

With love,

HM

Chapter 6

Roze whistled long and loud for her horse, still straddling Irys and her hand now covering the Fourth Magician's mouth. The First Magician glanced down at her 'toy' with a raised eyebrow.

"You're not going to scream again are you," Roze asked, annoyed.

Irys shook her head.

Roze climbed off of Irys and watched her like a hawk as she redressed. Tears streamed down Irys's cheeks. Suddenly fatigue hit her like a ton of bricks and she fell, so tired that her legs wouldn't hold her. Roze caught her as she fell.

"Sorry, Irys. It'll be easier for both of us if you're unconscious as we return."

"R-Roze..."

Irys's emerald eyes rolled back and she went completely limp against Roze's chest.

"Did you have to kill him? I would have punished him severely for helping her escape," Nola said from the shadows of the trees.

"Yes, he touched something that didn't belong to him. As far as I'm concerned your sister is nothing more than a possession to me. And when people touch my possessions they get punished," Roze said, lifting Irys off the ground.

Her horse barreled through the trees and came to a stop in front of her.

"I just told you that I would have punished him."

"It would have meant nothing if you punished him. Irys isn't yours," the First Magician said as she lifted Irys up onto the saddle, then jumped on.

"In all honesty, I don't think she's yours either, Roze," Nola said darkly.

Roze laughed.

"You don't know what I have done to her, the things she's begged for me to do to her! I'm fairly sure I have her wrapped around my finger," Roze said, kicking her horse into a trot, not allowing for an argument.

The First Magician had her arms around Irys's waist, holding the reins while her arms held Irys in place. The Fourth Magician's head was leaned back against Roze's shoulder and when Roze glanced down she saw the hickie on Irys's neck. Her grip on the reins tightened.

She felt Nola pushing at the fringes of her mind.

What is it.

Are you planning to use my sister for a Kirakawa?

Roze thought for a moment, but kept the thoughts to herself.

Possibly. I haven't quite decided yet.

With that she knocked Nola from her mind. A few moments later she reached the village to find Willow deep in discussion with Rodor. Irys's mother's eyes widened when she saw her daughter's unconscious form in Roze's saddle. Willow rushed to over to Roze.

"What happened," she asked, genuinely concerned.

"Nicodemus was trying to rape her," Roze said quietly.

Roze lowered Irys from her saddle, handing her to Rodor. But once she was down from the saddle she carried Irys herself, bridal style. They went into the Council Hall where guest rooms had been built for visiting Council members. The First Magician carried Irys to one of the rooms and laid her down in the bed. When she walked out of the room Willow was waiting for her in the hallway.

"Is she alright," the concerned mother asked.

"She'll be fine. She's just exhausted," Roze replied.

"Ironus said that he found Nicodemus dead in the Moon Clearing."

"Killing him was the only way to keep him away from Master Jewelrose."

Roze tried to brush past Willow but the older magician stopped her.

"Thank you for saving my daughter, Master Featherstone. Ironus may still hold hatred for her but she's my daughter and I've always loved her."

Roze's amber eyes met Willow's green ones and they just stared at each other for a moment. The First Magician didn't respond, only turned and walked away. She felt the gentle tug of Zitora's mind and with a sigh she let her in.

Come to my room, Zitora thought.

Roze followed the directions Zitora gave her and when she entered the small room she found Zitora looking out the window with clouded eyes. Roze wrapped her arms around Zitora's waist, pressing her lips gingerly to the younger magician's neck.

"Roze," Zitora said softly.

"Hm," Roze mumbled as she worked to untie Zitora's pants.

"Why were you so worried about Irys today."

The First Magican froze.

"What?"

She turned Zitora so that they were facing each other.

"You were about to have a panic attack when we reached this village. Why were you so concerned about her," the Third Magician demanded.

"She's a Master Magician. She's needed right now, there are no other students that are ready to take the Master's Test so we need her," Roze said, sounding more sure of herself than she really was.

Zitora stared at her disbelievingly.

"Are you sleeping with her," Zitora whispered, afraid of the answer she was going to get.

"Zitora, listen to me," Roze began sternly, then her voice softened as she continued. "You're my only. You always will be."

To prove her point Roze flooded Zitora with pleasure as she kissed her deeply and passionately. Zitora pushed her away softly.

"Do you love me," she whispered.

Roze looked her in the eye.

"Of course I do."

Yelena sat by Irys's bedside waiting for her mentor to wake. It was early morning when Irys's emerald eyes flicked open and she slowly sat up. The Fourth Magician was holding her head and trying to remember what had happened. When it all came back she stared at her lap and her shoulders began to shudder as she fought back the tears.

"Irys."

The Fourth Magician jerked her head up and looked at her student, startled.

"What happened? Roze said that Nico was trying to rape you. Is that true," Yelena demanded, a hard look in her eyes.

Irys could only stare at the young Zaltana, not knowing what to say.

"I can't really see Roze killing someone to defend someone else, even for a reason like that. She doesn't seem like the kind of person who would care," Yelena said, folding her arms.

"I-I can't really remember what happened, Yelena. It's all a blur," Irys finally replied, staring at her lap again.

The Fourth Magician could tell by the look on Yelena's face that her student didn't believe her one bit. Just as Yelena opened her mouth to say something else the door opened. Ironus Jewelrose entered with a livid look on his aged face. Before Yelena could even try and stop him, he dragged his daughter from the bed by her hair. Irys let out a cry of pain as he threw her to the floor to block Yelena's lunge at him.

Being much bigger than Yelena he easily side stepped her and shot his foot out, faster than what she could react to, tripping her and sending her face first into the wall. Yelena turned to attack again but he was already dragging Irys out the door.

"What the hell are you doing," she yelled, going after him.

"Stay out of this Zaltana! This doesn't concern you," Ironus growled.

He had covered Irys's mouth, to quiet her screams as he carried her from the Council Hall.

Yelena immediately stopped and sat down against the wall, pushing her awareness towards Ironus. She tried to penetrate the walls of his mind but his defense was so difficult to pick through that Yelena opened her eyes, her head pounding and sweat rolling off her in beads.

She jumped to her feet and chased after Ironus on foot again. By the time she caught up to him he was already throwing Irys back into her prison cell.

"Let her out, you bastard!"

Roze woke slowly, her amber eyes fluttering open. The first thing she saw was Zitora curled up next to her, sound asleep and breathing steadily. But as she more fully awoke, she could sense that something was off... A split second later she heard Yelena yelling from the prison.

It took the First Magician a moment to make out what the Fourth Magician's student was yammering about.

"Let Irys go!"

Roze shot out of bed, so fast that Zitora never noticed and stayed asleep. The First Magician quickly dressed and flew out the door. When she reached the prison she found two Jewelrose guards trying to restrain Yelena, and not really succeeding.

"What's going on here," Roze demanded.

Everyone froze and stared at the First Magician. Ironus's frown deepened when he saw Master Featherstone. The fighting continued as if noting had happened. With a frown Roze raised her hand and Yelena and the two guards froze where they stood.

"Explain yourself," Roze growled at Ironus.

"I don't have to explain myself to you! Get out of my village!"

"What did you just say to me?"

The First Magician clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, glaring at Irys's father with fury blazing in her amber eyes.

"What's going on?"

Glancing to her left, Roze saw Councilman Rodor, Willow, Nola and Zitora walk out of the Council Hall towards them.

"He locked up the Fourth Magician again," Roze growled.

"Again?! You can be arrested for treason, Ironus!" Rodor exclaimed.

Willow stared at her husband, the hurt apparent in her eyes. Nola watched Roze closely, noticing how close the First Magician was to losing control but she wasn't the only one to notice. Zitora stared at her lover with concern filling her gaze.

Roze smirked at Rodor's comment.

Before Ironus even knew what hit him, Roze was in front of him, pulling a thread of power and slamming it into his broad chest. The huge man fell to the ground, on his back, gasping for breath. Nola tensed up slightly, ready for a fight, while Zitora, Willow, Rodor and Yelena blinked in startled bewilderment. None of them had even seen Roze move, except for Nola, who was set on edge at the First Magician's use of her enhanced power.

The First Magician grabbed a handful of the front of his shirt and pulled him close to her, their faces only inches apart. The deadly look in her amber eyes startled the man.

"When I'm done with you, you're going to wish you were never born," she hissed, then let him fall onto the ground, still gasping for breath.

"Ironus Jewelrose, you're under arrest for treason. The Sitian Council will decide your fate."

Roze released her hold on the two guards and Yelena, then she knocked Ironus out with a simple jab to the temple. She ordered Rodor to get Irys out of the prison cell and then she yelled at the two guards to get a cart and tie the Jewelrose Clan elder to it so he could be taken to the Citadel for a trial.

Rodor walked out with Irys following him. He was a good three inches shorter than Irys and his hair was beginning to gray. Irys looked exhausted and shaken, her emerald eyes still dull.

"Hurry up, we're leaving," Roze said to the guards preparing the cart.

She whistled for her horse and he came trotting into the center of town with the other three horses trailing behind him. Irys climbed up onto her horse, and Yelena, Roze and Zitora did the same.

"Rodor bring him to the Citadel with you. The trespasser problem has been dealt with so you are to return immediately," the First Magician said, staring the councilman in the face.

She kicked her horse into a trot but reined him to a stop when she heard Willow shout from behind them. Irys turned in her saddle to look at her mother.

"Irys, please let us go with you," Willow pleaded.

The Fourth Magician glanced at her younger sister, knowing that's who her mother meant by 'we'.

"It's Roze's decision to make," Irys muttered.

"They're your family Master Jewelrose, not mine."

After a moment of thought Irys only nodded and kicked her horse into a gallop, passing the rest in the group.

Irys, I do believe you owe me an explanation, Roze said in her thoughts.

What explanation do I owe you?! I think it's you that needs to tell me why you killed Nico!

Roze glared at Irys's back as she rode in front of them.

I told you. You're mine and mine only.

I'm not your god damned possession! I'm a human being for god sake!

Roze smirked.

That's where you're wrong, Master Jewelrose. You don't know how deep in you are.

Get the fuck out of my head! I want nothing to do with you!

I stand by what I said a few days ago... You'll come to me. It's only a matter of time.

Irys pushed Roze from her mind with a frustrated sigh. The Fourth Magician regretted letting her mother and sister come to the Keep. She had spent years of her life trying to put her past behind her and just when she thought she had succeeded in that it came back, clawing and biting, as if punishing her for trying to run away.

I'm sorry, Nico, Irys thought to herself, tears rolling down her cheeks as she rode far ahead of the others.

Author's note: I hope you all liked it :) Chapter 7 will be up soon.

With love,

HM