Have you ever met one of those weird people that eats their own hair? Yeah. That just happened to me.

Song for this Chapter: A Storm is Going to Come → Piers Faccini

Chapter 18: Sister Time

"Romeli?" gasped Laloria, Romeli's older sister, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

Romeli didn't bother answering, but instead ran up to her sister and embraced her tightly. "Gods I haven't seen you in—um—a really long time!"

"I know!" Laloria replied, equally as excited. She was beaming cheekily. Even though Laloria was the adult age of twenty-three, she was a child at heart just like her father. Romeli's head cold and over all bitterness towards the weather was soon forgot.

"Gods—you sure have changed a lot," Romeli said amazed, as she looked her older sister over. Laloria had long ebony hair that was cut down to below her shoulders. It was wavy and curled gently around her face. She had also acquired bangs that sweeped to the side that complimented her face nicely. Her dark brown eyes were full of pride and strength, most likely from her experiences in commanding her rider group, but they still held the old cleverness in them. She had collected a few more scars on her face, one on her cheekbone, accenting her complexion and another on her jawbone. She had the same big nose and soft lips, but she had grown much taller.

"You've changed too I see," Laloria said tapping her finger on her chin as she studied Romeli. "I think you're eyes are changing color faster."

Romeli pushed Laloria playfully. "Yeah right."

Laloria laughed. "How would you know? You can't see your eyes."

The green haired girl opened her mouth to retort, but closed it again, silent.

"Well come on, lead me to mom and dad," Laloria insisted with another giggle.

Romeli nodded. "This way," she told her as she led Laloria away from the other bustling riders and soldiers.

Romeli knocked on her parent's door, but didn't bother to wait for an approval to enter. Instead she barged in, tugging Laloria with her.

Daine and Numair looked shocked as they stared at the couple in front of them. They immediately rose to their feet and abruptly ran over to their eldest daughter, embracing her lovingly.

Once everyone had calmed down enough to speak in more than two word sentences, they sat down.

"Where have you been, and why didn't you ever visit us?" Daine demanded in a mother like way. Laloria smiled in quiet laughter before speaking.

"Well I have been commanding my rider group around Tuisane, where we are picking off bandit camps and such. Then we went to go and remap the land by Queenscove after that mudslide. And we also were looking for survivors and getting them out. After the war was declared, we went to the Scanran border for a while then came back to the palace for a little break and to talk with the king. The court kept on talking about a mysterious girl with forest hair...I assumed they were probably talking about that one over there." Romeli blushed as Laloria jerked her thumb at her sister. "When I heard that you guys visited, I felt really bad that I couldn't see you. And the King said that Romeli left the day before I came. He was keeping something from me, but before I could demand questions from him, we were ordered to leave as quickly as possible to help the siege at Northwatch. And well...I couldn't visit because I didn't know where you were, and I was busy."

"How in the Goddess's name did you get here in a week then?" Daine asked. "Doesn't it take at least two weeks to get here?"

Laloria smiled her mischievous grin. "Ah, but you forget mother, I'm a rider. I know this land like the back of my hand. We have strong horses and stronger instincts when it came to taking shortcuts." Daine mouthed the word 'Oh' as she nodded in understanding. "So what's been going on with you guys?" Laloria asked.

Romeli smiled. "A lot actually. I got another tattoo, got shot by this hunter guy, met some friends, used my plant magic a lot, went mad, couldn't use my Gift, transformed into a dragon."

"Wow slow down there, Skippy," Laloria insisted using her usual phrase when people spoke too fast. "What?"

Romeli sighed and began tp tell her everything that had happened since she left about half a year ago, stopping every once in a while to blow her nose. She told her about her two Guardians, her Chaos Thoughts, her duels, new friends, the incident with her inner evil, and the siege at Northwatch.

It was a lot for Laloria to take in at once. She leaned back in her chair and stared at her little sister amazed. "I see you've been busy Romy dearest."

Romeli rolled her eyes from her sister's nickname for her and sniffed. Laloria laughed.

"But seriously, what are you guys keeping from me?" she asked as she stared at their welcoming yet held back faces.

Daine smiled weakly before explaining, hesitating slightly. "Well, during the siege Numair used too much of his Gift—the siege had completely drained him to the point of fatality... so Romeli came over as fast as she could in dragon shape, but it was...too late. She brought him back with the Phoenix Spell."

"Um…wow," Laloria said, her words limited. She rushed over to Numair and gave him a big hug and a kiss on his cheek. "Well I guess our little Romy saved the day again!"

"Stop calling me that," Romeli grumbled as she sulked in her chair. She never favored her sister's nicknames for her. Romy happened to be her least favorite.

Numair broke the awkward silence that followed after that. "Aren't any of you hungry? I could eat a bear, I'm so starved!"

"NUMAIR!" cried out Romeli and Daine at the same time. "Respect the People!" They both smiled at each other.

Numair looked taken aback and Laloria was having a tough time trying to fight down uprising giggles.

"I'm so glad I don't have as much Wild Magic as you guys," Laloria pointed out amused. Daine and Romeli laughed (well actually, Daine laughed and Romeli just sneezed), as they headed out the door and towards the mess hall.

OOO

Romeli spent the rest of the day showing Laloria around the fort and telling her about the dreadful weather. The clouds Romeli had spotted in the distance no more than two days ago were now right over Northwatch, casting eery shadows on the ground. Romeli made sure the glower at the clouds whenever she had a chance. Laloria laughed at Romeli and her inability to ever be happy with the weather.

Laloria would sleep with the other riders that came in her command in the guest wing where Daine and Numair were staying. Romeli was so happy that her sister had come, that she forgot about the coming storm. Her head cold was not as easily shaken, and it proved to be both annoying and disgusting. She couldn't think, couldn't move without being dizzy. She feared that if she transformed into an animal, all of the congestion would make her head explode.

"Romeli you look horrible," Laloria pointed out bluntly as they sat in the mess hall and chewed on their food.

Romeli looked up with sunken eyes and a pale face. Her hair was messier then usual. She was too weak and lazy to keep it under control. "Tanks bor poitink dat oubt," she said with a clogged nose. She took out a hankie and blew into it, feeling much better.

"Maybe you should go to the infirmary?" Laloria recommended with an amused face. She swallowed a piece of chicken.

"I would be wastingk resourbses," Romeli replied as she breathed through her mouth uncomfortably.

"No you wouldn't. The potions are there to help people who are sick to get better," Laloria argued to her younger sister. When Romeli didn't answer, Laloria glared and sighed. "You never were one to take my advice were you." Laloria stood up and took Romeli's hand, dragging her up to her feet. "As your older sister, I am ordering you to get better."

And Laloria dragged her out of the door and towards the infirmary.

OOO

The next day, Romeli and Laloria sat in the warm stables talking. Romeli felt much better now that the potion had started to work. Her head began to clear, and the pressure on her nose subsided.

"So," Laloria started with an evil grin. "Anyone special in you life?"

Romeli took the point of what she was saying easily. She smiled. "No."

"Not even a crush?"

"Not even a crush."

"Do you have any friends who are just guys?"

Romeli leaned back on the side of her stall. "A few, why?"

"Oh, just wondering," Laloria said maybe a little too innocently.

Romeli stared at her sister, not falling for her usual tricks. She had been fooled too much when she was little, and had adapted to her tricks. "Tell me the truth."

"But alas the truth is yet to be told," Laloria said like a priest saying a proverb to his people. Romeli sighed; her sister hadn't changed at all since she last saw her. "And anyway Romy, you wouldn't understand."

"Don't call me that Lally dearest."

Laloria shuddered at her own nickname. "I'll stop if you promise to never ever say that again."

Romeli smiled wickedly. "Deal."

"So mote it be."

"Oh please!"

Laloria only shrugged.

"What about you?" Romeli asked. "Do you have a crush?"

"I'm not the romantic type," Laloria stated emotionlessly. "And I'm not allowed to court anyway. It's against rider code."

"Oh. I guess you learn something new everyday." Laloria smiled and they talked until the sun fell and the cloudy sky grew dark.

OOO

Two days later, what everyone had been dreading for, happened. The storm had struck at dusk, pouring buckets and sheets of hail and ice cold rain on the ground. The piercing rain only made it worse.

Romeli sat in her parent's bedroom huddled in a corner clutching her knees to her chest. Her teeth chattered in coldness and goose bumps ran up and down her arms under her coat.

Laloria, Daine, and Numair sat in chairs chatting quietly, every once in a while stealing a look at Romeli, cuddled up in a ball. They knew that out of all of her fears, storms were the worst.

It all started when she was about eight years old. There was a gigantic hurricane along the coast with high winds, rain, and large waves. The storm hit the worst at Pirate's Swoop, but weather was still quite bad at The Tower. The rain flooded the dining room and some of the lower parts of the house; the winds tore at the roof. Romeli was terrified the whole time the storm was there, in fear that the house would be destroyed or the People would get hurt. Ever since then, she had never liked storms and feared them greatly no matter how big they were.

When a flash of light and a roar from above them erupted, Romeli hid her head on her knees and covered her ears with her hands. All you could see was a mess of green hair on top of a shivering ball.

"Romeli are you going to be okay?" asked Laloria worried, yet somewhat amused.

"What do you think?" Romeli replied icily, her voice muffled by her knees.

Another boom and a flash of light made her huddle closer to the wall as she tried to eliminate herself from existence and become one with the floor.

"Romeli you're going to need to get over it someday," Numair pointed out in a matter of fact way.

"No I don't," was the only reply that came from his daughter.

Numair sighed and stood up from his chair to crouch by Romeli. Gently he pulled her hands away from her ears and made her look up into his dark eyes.

"Have I ever told you about the story of Lightning and Thunder?" he asked gently, leaning against the wall as he sat.

Romeli leaned her head on her knees so that she faced Numair. "No."

"Well it goes like this: When you see a flash from Lightning count the seconds until Thunder comes, the number that you counted is how many miles away Lightning's strike is. Go on, try it."

Romeli sighed, not really wanting to do this. When the next flash came she counted. One…two…three…four…five… all the way to ten until the crack of thunder came form the raining sky.

"Ten miles," Romeli informed at her father's questioning stare. Numair smiled seeing that his daughter was beginning to calm down. Though her natural fear still shown in her eyes and pale face, she wasn't completely decapitated either. At another flash of lightning, Numair motioned for her to do it again.

Romeli closed her eyes and silently counted the seconds with moving lips.

Four…five…six…boom!

Romeli opened her eyes wide not expecting the crack of thunder. She felt the strong winds pick up speed and hammer on the walls and roof as the storm grew closer. Hail started to come down like heavy rubber, as they would land and bounce off of the wooden roof and onto the dirt—or more like mud—ground.

Waves of fear overcame her body as thoughts rushed through her mind. What if the roof came off? What if the stables flooded? What if Northwatch flooded?

Another flash interrupted her thoughts and made her temporarily blinded. She immediately began to count.

One…boom!

Romeli whimpered. What if the thunder hit them? What if something caught afire? What if the People got hurt?

"Shh…calm down," Daine cooed as she came over to her. She stared straight into Romeli's eyes, willing her to mellow out.

"But what if—."

Daine put a finger to Romeli's crimson lips to silence her. "Don't think of what ifs. What ifs rarely happen. There is no use to waste your thoughts on uneducated predictions when at odds they won't even happen."

Romeli clenched her jaw, trying not to debate over the issue. Instead she looked down and nodded as she stared at her fingers. She wiped sweat from her forehead and tried not to think about the storm.

A knock on the door made the four of them turn their heads towards it. Another flash and boom clattered above them. Romeli paled, but the other three just ignored it. Daine rose from her place and went to get the door as the rest of them stood up as well, wondering who it could be.

Daine opened the door to admit Dom and Roaul. Both of them were soaked to the bone in icy rain.

"Sergeant, Roaul," Numair greeted with a hint of confusion in his voice. He sat them down in two empty chairs next to a pile of heat rocks. It would give them at least some heat after walking through the dreadful storm. "What brings you here?"

"The storm," Roaul said flatly in an icy mood. "It's bad Numair. Real bad."

Romeli's face paled in worry as she thought of the worst. Nobody noticed her sink back to the wall.

"What about the storm?" Laloria asked, her voice no longer soft. It was full of authority—like the voice of a commander.

"The rain. It's starting to flood. It's already a couple centimeters high, and the grounds are soggy," the sergeant informed in a matter of fact way.

"You didn't just come here for a weather report, Roaul," Daine observed. "What do you really want?"

Roaul stared at them uncertainly before speaking. "We want Romeli to stop it."

Daine, Numair, and Laloria all turned their heads to Romeli who was standing in the corner. Her face was pale and clammy, and her eyes were wide when she heard her name. She had tried not to listen.

"Me?" she asked with a raspy voice. At Roaul's nod she walked over to them. "I can't. I don't do weather."

"Yes you can," Dom said in an annoyingly confident tone.

Romeli closed her as another flash and boom came. She tried to erase her fear and anger at Dom from her mind. "No I can't, Domitan. Of all people I think I would know my own limits." She tried to be as calm as possible, but her voice was still ragged and her ears were red.

"But can't you though?" Numair asked confused. "What about during Chaos Thoughts?"

Romeli sighed. "I drained everyone's Gift to do that, I can't control weather with only my Gift."

Everyone stared at her with drooped shoulders. What were they supposed to do now?

Roaul screwed up his face, wondering what these Chaos Thoughts were. He turned to Romeli again. "You should be able to control weather. Your Gift is powerful enough. Why can't you?"

Romeli wove her fingers together to fight off her anger, fear, and frustration. "I don't know!" she cried flustered. "All I know is that I can't control weather, and there is a storm outside that's going to destroy us!"

Laloria went next to Romeli and put her arm around her. She stared at her through dark eyes. "Shush, that isn't true," she said in a gentile voice. "The storm can not destroy the fort."

Roaul and Dom stared at them confused as Romeli buried her head in Laloria's shoulder. What was wrong with her? Her eyes were glazed over as if seeing something that she didn't want to see. Her face barely had any color, her mouth was set in a grim line. She couldn't be afraid could she?

Roaul sighed. "Listen, can't you just try? You're our only hope."

Romeli shuddered in Laloria's hold. Lately she had been everyone's only hope and she was getting sick of it.

Another flash and boom erupted from the sky, and Romeli shivered and closed her eyes shut. Daine looked at Roaul and Dom startled. Her eyes were cold.

"What do you not understand about the fact that she can't control weather?" She asked. Her voice shook with anger—an emotion rarely displayed in her. "She has no power over the weather and that is something that you have to accept. Look at her. Does it look like she has control over this? You're scaring her to death! You're throwing her all of your worries and problems, and what do you think she can do about them? Just because she's different, doesn't mean she is the answer to all of your problems! She's terrified of storms, and here you are making her worse. I hate to be so frank, but please leave."

Silence followed Daine's speech as everyone stared at her. Romeli felt uncomfortable being the topic of Dain's outburst, and unhooked herself out of her sister's arms. Roaul and Dom stood up and stared at Daine and Romeli. Neither of them had even considered that perhaps Romeli couldn't fix their problem. Romeli just seemed so perfect—of course she would be able to take care of it.

Both Dom and Roaul nodded and mumbled and apology as they trudged out of the room, their heads hanging.

"You didn't have to say that you know," Romeli informed her mother, feeling like a baby—not able to defend for herself.

"Yes I did dear," Daine said. "They don't understand that you're not always the solution to their problems. And you should know yourself that you aren't either."

Romeli looked down as she settled back down on the floor. "I know. It's just that when someone tells me a problem, I feel like it's my fault and that I should fix it."

Numair smiled as he too sat. "And that would be people influencing you into someone you're not. You should know your own limits, and even though it's good to sometimes push yourself, don't always be the one who can do everything."

Romeli rolled her eyes. They've had a talk like this a million times. "I know, Da."

"Good," he said.

There was a silence for a few minutes before Romeli noticed something that apparently the others hadn't.

"Where's the thunder and lightning?" she asked. All they could hear was the soft patter of rain on the roof and ground. There was no more whistle of the wind, or the loud hammering of the hail.

"The storm is clearing up," Laloria said in her observant way.

Romeli leaned her head on the wall that she sat against. "Thank the Gods."

"So mote it be," Laloria said tired of Romeli's complaints and whimpering.

"Oh be quiet," her sister complained exasperated, throwing a pillow at her.

OOO

The storm came and went over the night leaving gigantic puddles of mud everywhere on the dirt ground. The infirmary had flooded, though it wasn't bad, and Romeli was overjoyed to find that the field that she had worked on so hard wasn't ruined. If anything, the plants that were growing there had flourished from the storm.

The days had grown boring, frustrating, and tiring. Everyday she did the same thing. She woke up, took care of the horses, helped clear the mud, visit the infirmary, and went to bed again. Most of the time she slept, she had class with her two Guardians, and even though she feared the evil less, it was as tedious as ever. The boring cold days put her in a sour mood, and even though she tried to be nice, she always ended up having an attitude.

Another problem in her life were the soldiers and people around her. By now they were semi used to her presence in the fort, but most didn't like such a strange person with them. Rumors had spread about her saying that she was one of Uosae's evil demons, and that if they stared into her eyes, they too would be controlled by Uosae's wrath. Laundry maids called her a slut and a whore, thought luckily most of the fort knew that was a lie straight from the beginning. Basically nearly everyone ignored her and avoided her. The only people who even talked to her were the People, her family, Roaul, Dom, and a couple of healers and cooks. She didn't like to be treated like such an outcast. It made her feel like a loser, a monster, and a person who was different from the rest. Another part of her, the optimistic part, was actually thankful to not have so much attention. The less two-legger strangers she met, the better.

Romeli sat in the corner of her stall, hugging her knees to her chest thinking. It would only be a matter of days before she would get to see her things and her friends again. She couldn't wait to see Shadowdancer and Sharpfang. Even though her sister talked to her a lot, nothing could replace her two friends' understanding and knowledge.

The sound of boots against dirt and hay on the ground made her raise her head to a shocking sight.

Replies:

Dream Dragon: Have I really? Wow thanx. Well she is supposed to be perfect with an unperfectness to her (you'll see why in a while), no I'm not at all confused! Thank you for such a kind review! I loved it!

Wingedrider: Thanx! I'm glad you like my story! It makes me happy to have happy reviewers! You'll have to get used to the cliffies, there's going to be a whole lot…yes. I'll try to update faster for your liking…I've been really lazy and stuff lately. But who isn't? lol.

FirstlyDeprived: I'm sorry I made you cry:gives you a big hug: all better? Jonathan is very much an arse, and I'm not telling you if I kill him or not. Lol. :grins evilly: have someone important to her die? Wow…how cruel of u! You'll have to wait and see! Yes I know my grammar is horrible…I'm working on it…and to think I got into honors English:hits self on head: how very silly of me! Well all I can tell u is that James and Romeli are going to be all romantic and stuff, but I'm not saying anymore! Eww…u little pervert u! Actually that would be really funny…yet nasty…but still. About the King Maggur thing…I'm not saying…maybe…maybe not…:shrugs: I have it all planned out perfectly!

Kuyaga: Are u sure it's Raoul, because when I looked it up I swear it was Roaul, but I'm not too sure. That name is just way too hard to spell. Go to the roof of the world? How very evil of u! She's going somewhere very cold in the sequel, but it isn't the roof. Meet an ice princess/queen/king/realm/person? Interesting species u have there! How creative! Maybe…:thinks:

Pourtourjourmort: ur name is very hard to spell now…silly u! So what language is it now…still French? Sorry for the cliffie! Romeli will be forever mary-sue because she is a g……not saying anything! Lol. My disjointedness is very hard to get rid of…I swear that when they come back tot he palace for midwinter it should be better. It's just that I have nothing planned for the two or so months that she's going to be at the fort. Any ideas? Anyone I can kill? Anything? I'm thinking of a goal, but I can't come up with anything. She has a big goal of trying to find out who she is, but it really isn't showing right now. Her quest is the sequel, and she has a goal during the war, but I'm not saying anything. Yes so like Numair doing things to Romeli! Silly mage. I'm sorry for the cliffie, and the other cliffie. That cliffie also has King Maggur in it also, and lot's of crying. Great huh?

HyperLittleCat: Yea I know what is up with the reviews? Weirdness…I was like…wait. What? Yea. Yea Romeli has a sister…she's in chapter one. RJ fic…RJ fic… how cute! They're gonna get together! yes! I am very evil…evil moose! Yes uthing. U GOT OUT OF ALCATRAZ! How in the world did u get out of there! I'm still stuck IN there! Can u get me out? Pleeze? And there is a dementor guarding my door. Don't ask how it got there…or even why…but it is really annoying me. :kicks the dementor: idiot thing u! Not u the dementor. :dementor squeals like a girl: lol. I'm on sugar…u?

Lalahatesperkyppl444: Oh…my mistake. :hands u a penguin and chocolate: I'm glad u love my story! I like it too! I guess…actually it's annoying me right now…but w/e. I'll never let u die! That would be so mean of me…killing innocent ppl. Silly. Yea and the sister is Daine's and Numair's actual daughter.

Goddess of the shadows: Dude her family tree is ghetto…actually not really. I would love to tell u what it is right now, but that would give something away that I can't give away until I can give it away. But still…I love your enthusiasm!

QueenThayet12990: Sorry about the cliffie! I'm sorry I updated slow…:dies of shame: I had writer's block and it hurt. Not to mention pounds of homework and dance class. Yea she has a sister…she's in the first chapter if you want to read it again. OMG u are really close with the chaos being thing but not quite. U are really close…keep thinking…:does a thinking dance:

Alyios: he does a roger? Scary moose…yay for moose!

Ephona: Yay I'm back! Wait…where did I go:looks for self: Yay ur nocturnal again:does a nocturnal dance:. Never heard of the queen of the damned. What channel? Consider the deal approved. Don't worry! No killing…my April fools moose are excellent at doing those types of things.

Hey has anyone seen Wild Wizard Women:hunts in the bushes: