(A/N First week in school. Ugh. Tips; don't start fight with your teachers. It never turns out good... However, this chapter is mainly about families. It is also quite short (sorry 'bout that). No more spoilers.)

Chapter 33: Family Bonds

The funeral ceremony only took half an hour. Then it was over. Lorea's funeral. Cashmére and Joseph were left alone in the vault, to say their own goodbye- alone. Joseph wrapped his arms around Cashmére. The tears- she had thought that she had no more of these- came back. She undid her necklace, and put it by the portrait of her daughter that was standing there. Cashmére drew her fingers over the spot where her necklace had been. "She liked that necklace." Cashmére sobbed.

"I know." Joseph whispered. He ran his finger through her hair. "I know."

They stood there for a long, long time. Joseph pressed his lips against the top of her head a several times. He didn't know what else to do.

"Hi Rodrian!" Lorea giggled. Her unlce lifted her up.

"Hello, sweetheart." he said. He smiled at her, and hugged her tightly. This wasn't the first time he had visited her. He had visited her a sveral times, just to see if she was alright. And she was. She was clean and well-fed. He couldn't feel her ribs anymore when he hugged her. She was wearing a light-blue dress. Her shiny, golden hair was braided into a plait. Rodrian pinched her soft, rosy cheek and she giggled once again.

"Hey, I have a suggestion." said Rodrian. "What would you say about to come and live with me?"

"Can I come live with you?" Lore asked, excitedly.

"Of course." Rodrian answered. "I have just the perfect place for us two."

And it was just the perfect place for the two of them. Rodrian had neglected becoming the rebels leader, instead he had insisted in becoming a spy for them. He was just suppoused to live in Capriolium and report anti-rebels. The anti-rebels then got 'punished' by the rebels. It often involved in splitting the family in a way, like killing all the men, killing the mother, or taking their children away (the boys were raised to become soldiers, whilst the girls were raised to be wives or 'comfort-women'. Rodrian had left Runa at the rebels camp, with the excuse that he didn't find it suiting that she followed. They were still married and all that, and Runa was still taking care of Rodrians' tent, they just didn't live together anymore.

The house, however was a rather traditional Snowplainian house. It was, of course, white-washed. The frontdoor was green, and there were four windows at the front. Two on the second floor, and two on the first. The whole house had about nine rooms; a kitchen, a livingroom, a dining-room, two bedroom, two bathrooms and a study. On the outside, they had a tiny Greenhouse and a well. Wells were very luxorious in the Eastern Snowplains at the time. Drinkable water was hard to get hands on; of course you could melt the ice and drink it, but there could be a special kind of worm in it; the Magmask, a worm which lived in it's inhabition for months and consumed most of the food it's inhabition ate.

In which case, it was a nice house. Lorea really liked it. But... she missed her parents. Really, really much. Rodrian was nice and Lorea loved him, but he wasn't her Mum or her Dad. She never said it. Still, she had that odd feeling that Rodrian knew it. Which he, of cource, did.

(A/N Time to skip some time! Again...)

It had been months since Lorea's funeral. Joseph and Cashmére still woke some days, believeing that it all had been a horrable, horrable nightmare. But when they went into Lorea's room, just to check if she was alright, they always got as dissapointed. It was horrable.

Cashmére was staring into the mirror. It showed her entire body. She was watching herself from the side. Was her stomach pouting out slightly? It indeed was. Cashmére had to sit down. She wasn't ready for this. Deep, deep down in her mind she had known it since her period hadn't arrived. She hadn't told anyone, though. She had tried to deny it. Now, she couldn't do that anymore. "Jose?" she called out, "Joseph?"

"Yes, darling?" "I-" her words got stuck in her throat, "Jose, I..." "You?" "I think I'm... I think I'm pregnant."

"Oh." Joseph felt the same way as Cashmére did; he wasn't ready for another child. He didn't want to lose it. Neither did Cashmére.

Lucian hugged Colum tightly. Colum's father, Dextus, was dead, and so was his mother. Left was Colum, and his basically new-born brother, Davilius. Selene was holding Davilius. She was smiling. Her own little one had not survived, but to hold a child, which she more or less was related to, felt very nice.

Lucian couldn't smile. His brother was dead. Murdered. And so was Daira, Dextus wide. Either that, or she had comitted suicide. If she had comitted suicide, Lucian thought she was very egoistic. She left two children, both in need of parents, behind! How could anyone do that?

At least, Colum and Davilius had Lucian and Selene. So, they weren't all alone. Colum, just as Lorea, miles away from him, missed his parents horrably much. Davilius was both lucky and unlucky; he was two weeks old, and hadn't any memories of his parents. Colum was nine, and had loads of memories, good and bad. Lucian and Selene were both good parents. Sure, they hadn't had any practise, but some people are just good parents by nature.

Runa stared into the wall of the tent. She missed Rodrian. To be honest, she had kind of started to like him. When he had begun to be nice to her, she had suddenly noticed there was something about him. He wasn't like the other rebels. He didn't seem to think of her like some kind of slave; he saw him as another human being. And then; he was handsome. Like, really handsome. She wished he would come back. Soon. She also wished that he would either stay, or take her with him. The other rebels were starting to get a bit uncomfortable. They always turned out like that when another rebel left his wife. Runa found it disgusting.