#afislash

One: We’re just the empty set floating through, wrapped in skin

Violet eyes were eerily calm, unfeeling, unperturbed, even though their owner, a tall lissome woman, was surrounded by over a dozen well armored men. Her arms, which were clad in by pliant leather guards and soft black fabric, were crossed over her small bust, accentuating the cockiness of her stance, one hip jutting out to the left. Her face was expressionless, but the twist of her frame said everything that needed to be said to the men. She was ready for them.

"Well," she said, a sneer playing upon her coral lips as she looked at the men. "Come on. I haven't got all day."

There was a second of silence before one of the men, younger, more brash, by the looks of him, unsheathed his sword and charged her with an almost cliche little roar. She almost laughed outright at that, she just loved the young ones, they were deliciously over sure of themselves and it was all the more fun to deflate their egos.

In one graceful motion, so fluid there appeared to be no bones in her body, the woman had unsheathed her own blades from their scabbards strapped to her back. Slender, curving, like a wicked smile, they fit into her hands like she'd been born with them there. A very believable notion when she arced the blades against her attacker, blocking his downward swing with one blade, while the other slammed into the belly of his armor. He stumbled back few feet, and might have attempted a second run at her, had she not spun on the heel of her boot and slammed her other foot into his rib cage. He fell, sure not to be getting up for a few minutes. He was out in any case.

The first attacker's brethren awoke with his charge and they, together started toward her, the woman smiled in an almost feral way as they did. If nothing else, this would be fun.

Her body was like a ribbon of muscle, interweaving nearly like a dancer in between the weapons of her opponents. Delivering blows with her swords, her elbows, and her legs, the entirety of her figure was as deadly as the blades she carried. In less than four minutes all but five of the thirteen men that had come at her had backed away, defeated, some of them unconscious. To their credit the five who remained were far more experienced with this woman and her fighting style, so they could hold out against her fairly well. Apparently though, experience was not enough, and those five too were soon part of the circle of defeated that surrounded her.

"I expected more from you all," the woman said, shaking back her violet and jet tail of hair. She wrinkled her nose as she felt sweat tricking down her forehead. "Really, that was barely an improvement at all from last time. How do any of you expect to protect the Chancellors from hordes of enemy soldiers if you can't at least take me out?"

"With all due, respect, Lady Kali, no one can take you out," one of the more experienced group said with a smile.

Kali threw her head back and laughed at that one.

"Flattery gets you no where, Ashneil," she told him, crossing her arms again. "Though it is appreciated. Now, come on, on your feet, all of you. You're in training for the Chancellors' guard, you don't get to rest. And you'd better shape up or you'll be eating nothing but bread and the Cook's secret stew until you do."

A loud groan came from the men making Kali chuckle.

"Now none of that, you big bunch of babies!" she tried to reprove without smiling. "Come on, come on!" She clapped her hands. "And Morgan, work on your footing, boy! You tripped yourself up on that butterfly arc, I barely had to swing to push you off balance."

Grumbles continued to issue from the men's throats but Kali paid it no mind, smiling at them. This afternoon was going to be a good one, she could tell. Or at least that was the plan until a young boy dressed in the black and white livery of a castle page, came running through the entrance to the practice yard, to kneel before Kali. Kali frowned down at his prostrated blonde head, she didn't like this very much.

"Yes?" she barked her permission for the boy to speak.

"L-lady Kali a messenger has just entered the castle from Letor province," the boy stammered, a slight tremble to his slender frame, not daring to look her in the eyes. Almost everyone outside of the Chancellors and the men she trained to protect them acted in such away before her. Perhaps it was the fire that flickered in her violet eyes, or her reputation as a merciless killer in the Chancellors' names. Most likely it was the latter, but Kali hardly cared. Letor had been mentioned, that was all that mattered at the moment.

"And?" Kali prompted, a little more gently, though she had a feeling of what was going to be said already.

"And he requested an audience with the Chancellors," the boy said. "Lord Cormac said you should be sent for as well, he-he said you would want to be there with them."

Kali's eyes darkened, she definitely didn't like this. "All right I'm coming, they'll be seeing him in the planning room, will they not?"

"Y-yes ma'am," he said.

Kali nodded. "You're dismissed then." She watched as the boy stood and practically ran for the doors, chuckling just a bit before turning to her men. "All right, you pansies are lucky, I doubt we'll get to practice anymore today. You're free. But if I were you all I'd spend every free second practicing, if you don't do better next time you are getting put on that diet." The men let out a loud groan again and Kali didn't hide her laughter as she started out of the practice yard. She was well suited to this life with the sword.

In the fields adjacent to the castle stables, another man was sitting calmly on black horse, looking over the landscape before him. No snow had fallen in the capital yet, despite December being only days away from its start, so the weather was still good for riding. Cold as the seventh hell, but it was riding weather nonetheless, and until snow covered the ground, interceding his mount's hooves for a gallop, ride he would.

He pushed back his leftward hanging shock of hair, black colored with strips of blonde, patting the neck of his horse idly. Beneath him the animal shifted, scratching a hoof against the brown winter grass. The rider smiled, his steed was as ready for this little jaunt as he was, and he wasn't one for holding back.

"Yah!" he shouted giving the horse a quick nudge in the side with his heels. At once the gelding was moving, its muscles rippling beneath him as they worked from a trot to a full fledged gallop. The rider grinned and leaned forward against the saddle, his face resting close to his horse's neck. This was bliss.

Rider and horse were one as hooves kicked up dirt through the fields, the rider's body moving in tune with each motion the animal made. It was artistic, the way they melded together, becoming one solid blur as the horse propelled them across the grass. When they came to a series of fences it was not just the horse that jumped, the rider leapt with it, standing partway out of his stirrups as they cleared the wooden frames. So at ease and well trained was the rider that he thought nothing of closing his eyes after the fences had been cleared and they were circling rapidly about the field.

There was nothing so liberating as riding, nothing in the world. It was another plane of existence compared to the life that the rider lead, composed of the earth and pure, untamed, movement. There was only himself, his steed, the earth below, and the sky above. Nothing else, no one else, the rest of the universe was muted out by the rapid hooves pounding the earth in tune with his heartbeat. The rider released the horse's reigns, curling his fingers into it's mane. This was true freedom.

All to soon the animal began to slow, weary from the jaunt. The rider frowned, but allowed it to happen, patting it's neck and pulling the reigns to slow the horse himself. There was no sense in trying to push his mount beyond it's limits, he was not a cruel trainer, after all, just a man who enjoyed the pace. Easing the horse into a stop he slid from the saddle, deciding to make things even easier on the animal, and lead it by the reigns back toward the stables, where a small audience had gathered.

"You flew out there today, Chancellor David," a man grizzled and muscled from ages of work in both the stables and in the fields said as the rider and his horse approached. "Your Lyell barely had to bunch his muscles to clear the fences this time about. You've quite the hand at riding. If you ever get tired of those fancy political things you do, you might take my job."

David chuckled at that comment and patted the horses flanks. "Don't praise me so much, Jereth, I've just got a good partner to work with," he said. "If you want to be saying such nice things, they'd be better going to him."

It was Jereth's turn to chuckle as he opened the gate to the inner stable for the Chancellor. "Yes, a good horse makes quite a bit of difference, milord, I won't argue that with you," he replied. But I have to say a good trainer makes an even bigger one. Any horse can be taught to trot, teaching them well is a gift."

"Well, we both thank you for the compliment, then," David said, smiling as he guided Lyell to his pen.

Next to the actual ride, caring for the horse was David's favorite part about being in the stables. There was something very gratifying about it, the quietness of the stables as he curry combed the animal, watered it, and made sure it had clean dry hay to eat. There was no thank you in the work, not besides knowing his horse was being cared for, but that feeling was worth it all.

He had just taken Lyell's saddle off, and was removing his bit, when his plans for tending the stallion, were interrupted by the appearance of Jereth, unexpectedly, at the stall door a page at his side. David's stomach sank at the appearance of the boy. He didn't often make use of the castle pages, preferring to deliver messages in person to his co-councils, and their showing up before him always meant bad news.

"Yes?" David asked as the boy dropped to one knee and bowed his head to him, his tone taking on a distant quality.

"Chancellor David, a messenger has just arrived from Letor, he's requested an audience with yourself, Chancellor Adam, Chancellor Jade, and Chancellor Hunter," the boy said. "Lord Cormac sent him to the planning room. Will you see him, milord?"

"Yes, of course," David said with a confident nod, though his stomach began to feel a bit uneasy. "Go to my chambers and have a maid set out new clothes for me and tell Cormac I'll be there shortly. Hurry."

"Yes, milord," the boy said rising to his feet, bowing politely at the waist, and sprinting off, evidently eager for his task. With the boy gone David turned to Jereth, who was watching with wise eyes and gave a sheepish smile, holding up the curry comb.

"Is there any way you could take care of him for me?" he asked, nodding to Lyell.

"Of course, milord," Jereth said, moving without hesitation to take the comb from his master. "Don't worry about a thing. I'll take good care of him, you don't pay me to be the stable master for nothing."

"I know," David said, smiling again, as he patted his horse goodbye on his velvety nose, sparring a moment to pull a cube of sugar from his pocket for the animal. The young Chancellor wiped his hand off on his worn riding breeches and turned away, the smile dissipating from his features as he did. So much for an afternoon of freedom.

Sawdust filled the small room, filling the cool air with a scent that had always reminded him of home. There was something safe, something comforting about the smell. If he dared to let himself dwell on it, he would admit it brought back memories of his father. Memories of the life he still missed acutely.

With each piece he carved, he felt connected to who he was. To what he could have been had the attack on his village never come. It was bittersweet, the longing he had for that life, and he struggled with it daily. But as well as reminding him, each piece he through himself into allowed him to forget. It allowed him to escape and that escape was what he longed for most of all.

He sat, hunched over the small work bench carefully carving each intricate detail into the wooden box sitting before him. Long flowing lines mixed with sharp angles. He had no plan in mind, simply letting his fingers and the piece itself lead the way. It was something his father had taught him. The best work didn’t come from detailed planning but from your heart. And it was something he cherished.

The sun hung low in the sky behind him, casting faint orange light across the table. How long he’d spent locked inside the room, he couldn’t quite say. And somehow it didn’t seem to matter to him. In the back of his mind the thought that his absence from his duties was probably noticed, but it did not hold enough precedence to pull him from the room. They would simply have to make do without him.

It had been a while since he’d allowed himself to be pulled in like this. Too long, he reasoned. But the duty he held to the men he counted as brothers, the people he considered family, and those he helped to lead, called for the vast majority of his time and his energy. On more than one occasion he’d found himself overwhelmed and wanting to run, but he knew that would solve nothing. Hiding from your problems would not make them vanish. And who was he to cast more burden on those he knew shouldered more than their share.

He shook the thought from his mind, focusing instead on the smooth feel of the wood beneath his fingers and the contrast of the rough pieces of shaved wood left behind by his chisel. He breathed deeply, taking in the strong scent left by the carved wood. It was oddly comforting and he allowed the feel and the scent to ground him.

A soft knock residing on the door shook him from his trance, forcing him back into reality. He stood, rasing his arms above his head in a vain attempt to ease the stiffness in his back. He had let himself grow far too involved in his work.

Slowly, he made his way to the door, pulling it open with ease. He was greeted with the stoic gaze of one of the many attendants of the citadel. Nodding at the boy, he allowed his eyes to wander down the empty hallway. Torches burned in their holders, casting an eery glow over the stone around them.

“Chancellor Hunter, I apologize for disturbing your work, but a messenger of Letor has arrived requesting an audience with you and the other chancellors,” the boy spoke, handing him a small piece of parchment.

Hunter quickly read over the letter, nodding. “Tell the others I shall be there shortly.” With a curt nod, the boy turned and hurried down the hall. Closing the door once more, Hunter sighed. His duties called for him once more.

Brushing the saw dust from his clothing, Hunter took one last slow glance around the small room, not quite knowing when he would have the chance to return again.

The earth was the most important thing, it was warm and cool, soft and hard, all at once, it was everything. Life began with the ground, life ended with the ground. Like life, it could be rough, filled with stones and other hard bumps, and at the same time it could be easy, rich with rewards that far surpassed any others in existence.

These were the thoughts that ran through a young man's head as he knelt in the middle of a little garden encased my thick glass walls, his rough hands digging straight into the cushy soil while planting several bulbs and seeds set upon a small tray beside him. A startling contrast to the outside December air, the atmosphere in the glass room was sweltering like mid-June, thick and sticky. So much so that sweat matted down the gardener's oddly cut auburn and blonde hair, trickling down his face and bare back; he'd removed his shirt almost at once after entering the place. Dirt was streaked upon his forehead and nose from the many times he had wiped his brow since coming to there to work.

Memories lay in the dirt, memories unreachable, unwanted in any other places. Working the ground and raising greens, gave a sense of the world being unchanged. If he closed his eyes and tried hard enough, he could become lost in those gentle, unbidden, recesses of his mind. That's where his truest passion lay, a fantasy world that was nary ever touched.

He would see her first, in this little world set in his head. Hazel eyes and auburn hair, smiling and waving him on as she worked in front of the oven. A blonde man would be next, tall with a deep laugh that rumbled past his lips like thunder. Next would be two teenage boys, almost men, with a slight stubble on their chins, teasing him as they always tended to do. It was only because they cared, though, he knew now. A girl, little younger than the boys, would be sitting in a corner, rocking a baby in her arms, giving him a warm smile as he passed. Then, already at the table, making a copious amount of noise, would be...

"Chancellor Jade?" a small voice cut into his reflection just before he could grasp hold of that one memory that meant the most to him. Almost angry, he stood and turned toward the room's entrance, his one visible hazel eye snapping. The boy at the door dressed in a page's livery nearly curled into a ball from the look on his face. He ducked his head, taking a few steps backward, not daring to look up into his liege's face again.

"What?" Jade's voice was a cold monotone, void of any sort of feeling. It matched the look on his face perfectly.

The boy jumped, shaking and scrabbling for the reason he had come here, the last place any of the pages would want to be.

"I-I-Um-Letor!" he almost shouted the last word as he felt Jade's eyes boring into him. "L-Letor my lord, a-a messenger?"

Jade quirked an eyebrow at that, the only emotion he really ever showed, intrigue. "I understand," he cut the still stammering boy off, turning around to find the shirt he'd discarded somewhere nearby. "Go and inform Cormac I will be in the planning room shortly. Now." He added the last word when he sensed the boy still frozen in place. He melted immediately and the sound of footsteps running down the hall greeted Jade's ears.

Jade looked down and eyed the bulbs he had left lying on the ground, biting his lower lip. He hated to leave work undone but still, more important matters needed his attention. He sighed but gathered up the plants he'd left lying to the side, taking them to a sunlit corner of the room to wait his return before striding out the door.

The soft ruffle of bed clothes filled the small room. It was growing colder, December coming just around the corner. A young man tugged the sheet higher up on his naked form, running his hand slowly through his shaggy dark hair. His eyes were half lidded, his face holding the last traces of color and warmth that had been caused by the activities he had engaged himself in only a few minutes prior.

With wide, warm eyes, the young chamber maid smiled at the him, hoping he could see the hope in her eyes. It was the first time they had coupled and she hoped it would not be the last. Oh she knew it wouldn’t move far beyond that, she wasn’t completely naive, but she hoped that they would at least have more time together.

He returned her smile softly, reading her intention, and shook his head. She was lovely, that he would not deny. Her bright green eyes and soft golden hair had been what captured his eye in the first place. She was quiet, shy almost, but sweet. To say he didn’t enjoy the coupling would be a bold faced lie, but he simply was not the one to tie himself to another, physically or otherwise. Attachment was not something he needed, a release was. As cruel and cold as that fact was, it was what he knew, how he lived. And he refused to change for anyone.

The subtle change in his eyes told her all she needed to know. This was all that would come to pass between them, a quick roll in the sheets. That fact stung, but she fought to keep her face calm, expressionless. She refused to show him her pain, refused to allow herself to be made vunerable again.

Silence filled the room, as the chamber maid pulled her simple dress over her head. The young man watched her move then turned his attention to the ceiling, stretching his arms above his head. He heard the wooden door slowly open followed by a rustle of fabric before it closed once again.

Alone with his thoughts, the man allowed his mind to clear, taking in the soft sounds filtering around him. He could hear the soft roar of the fire, the scurry of feet along the stoned hallway just beyond his door. They were familiar sounds. Small things. Simple things.

Perhaps it was selfish and cold, the way he took women to his bed. But he made them no promises, he told them no lies. He made sure they knew it was only sex. Only physical release he sought. Commitment, love, these were things he had little time for. Things he had no need for. His life was simply not built for them. It was something he’d come to accept long ago.

A soldier’s life had no room for anything more than battle and loyalty to the land and the people he called home. Not to say he was cold hearted. No. He loved in his own way. The people he kept close to him were the people he cherished. The people he would give his life for; Kal, Davey, Hunter, Jade. They were his family.

The sharp knock resounding from outside his door, pulled him from his thoughts. Grumbling, he stood, pulling his robe from the chair beside his bed and fastening it around himself. He made his way to the door, pulling it open, the displeasure he felt from being disturbed marring his face.

Wide green eyes stared back at him. “Sir,” the page began, lowering his eyes immediately.

“Yes?” he nodded, waiting for the boy to continue.

“Chancellor Adam,” the page began once more, “I apologize for disturbing you, milord, but a messenger has arrived from Letor requesting an audience with you and the other Chancellors.”

Adam nodded at the boy. “Tell him that I will be down shortly.”

With a nod, the page turned and made his way quickly down the darkened hallway. Once he had disappeared from sight, Adam pushed the door closed and made his way towards the small wooden wardrobe in the far corner of the room. With a sigh, he grabbed his tunic and robes, donning them slowly.

Prelude 21

Jade was frozen, out of his body, as he watched the horses mercilessly pound his six year old brother into the ground. He couldn't think or speak, he could just watch, watch as Smith was murdered. It was as if the soul in him had been ripped out, like there was nothing left, just his sight and the disbelief that it was really happening and that the riders, while they could only see but five yet, were drawing closer.

"Jade!" he heard his friends shout his name, felt Hunter tug on his arm, but still, he was numb.

"Jade!" Davey was screaming, "Jade we have to get out of the way!"

"Grab his arm!" Kali shouted to Hunter, already throwing one of Jade's limbs up and over her shoulders. "Come on, we need to climb! Move! Move!"

Hunter reacted without thinking, locking his hands around Jade's small arm, helping Kali tug him out of the path of the horsemen who showed no sign of stopping. His heart pounded wildly in his chest as his mind fought to understand what was happening around him.

Adam quickly jumped in, helping his friends pull the frozen boy back towards the woods from which they came. He'd never run so fast nor hard in his entire life. His chest burned and his sides ached, but he knew he had to keep going, they all did. They had to get back to the village, the soldier's fort. They had to warn them.

The pounding of hooves on the earth echoed behind them as they ran. Every time he shut his eyes, Hunter could see Smith's helpless and terrified face as the horses plowed over him. It turned his stomach and twisted him about.

Smith had never been the easiest of children, he'd heard and witnessed countless times when the boy had gotten himself tangled in one chaotic mess or another. But this, this was something Hunter couldn't compute. His eyes cut to the boy beside him. Jade hadn't stopped screaming his brother's name the entire time, the word tearing from his throat, ringing in Hunter's ears. He'd never seen his friend so broken.

"We can't outrun them!" Davey panted, glancing over his shoulder, where the riders were weaving through the thicker entanglements of trees and brush, a force that were mercifully slowing them down and keeping them from the children's presence still.

"Well we can't bloody well stop either!" Kali replied, a little more angrily than she meant to. She was not a slight child, in fact, at this stage of pre-teen puberty, she was the tallest of her friends, even if it wasn't by much, but Jade was still a bit of a burden. She and Hunter were doing well to carry him but they were still just children.

"We have to warn the village!" Adam shouted. "The—the fort! The soldiers, they'll know what to do."

"I think there are more of them though than the soldiers," Hunter said, almost meekly, barely heard above the ruckus of pants, grunts, horse whinnies, hoof steps, and metal.

"We—we'll take the shortcut!" Davey finally said after a few more seconds of stumbling/sprinting through the brush. "That cuts right by Jade's. If—if we get there fast enough his parents—Jade's father will know what to do!"

"Smith!" Jade cried out for his brother one last time, before hanging his head to weep in quiet, his whole figure going limp.

"Dammit!" Kali swore at this.

"Jade!" Hunter screamed, "Jade come on. We have to go. We need you to work with us. Please." With Jade now dead weight between them, Hunter knew that they would never make it to Jade's farm.

The pounding grew louder as the horsemen drew ever closer. Davey's dark eyes widened as he stared at his friends. Panic hung acutely in the air. "We can't stop," he pleaded, "They're gaining on us." If they didn't move they would surely suffer the same fate as Jade's brother.

"Jade isn't moving and we can't leave him here!" Hunter snapped, his voice wavering as the gravity of the situation sunk in around him. They could die here. Like Smith.

"Well we can't stay here either!" Adam shouted. He didn't know what to do. They had to get help. Had to warn someone. "Split up," he murmured, "We have to spilt up. It's our best shot."

"Who—who goes where?" Kali asked, her amethyst eyes wide and glittering with fear just as the stone. She clutched Jade's arm, afraid to just leave him, even for a moment.

"You and Adam are the fastest," Davey said, locking eyes with Kali. "If you can get to the fort, Hunter and I--we can hide with Jade til they’re gone then head for the farm."

"You—you want us to just leave you?!" the girl cried incredulously. She began to shake her violet and jet head. "No—no—we stay together we—"

"Kali, Smith just died!" Hunter bellowed, a strange and very out of place fury ringing in his blue eyes. "He's dead! Those men just ran him over without a thought! They'll do it to us all, to the whole village! You have to go!"

Kali whimpered at the anger Hunter had thrown at her. Not once, in lifetime she'd known him, had the younger boy yelled at her. Never. Hunter was too lighthearted and bright to come to anger, he became annoyed, never angry, and it hurt to feel such rage directed to her, even if it wasn't mean spirited.

"Come on, Kal," Adam said, knowing that the argument in his friend had been snuffed out after that. He put a hand on her arm, pulling her away from Jade. The auburn haired boy fell limply, Davey quickly taking Kali's place as a support.

"Be careful," Davey said, nodding to the two of them.

"And you," Adam returned, he gave Kali's wrist a tug and turned, at first dragging her into the east, towards the shortcut home, praying this would not be the last time he would see the three other boys alive.

Kali stumbled along behind Adam, angry at the fact that her opinion in the matter was completely overlooked. Adam paid the annoyance and fear rolling off of his friend little mind. He focused solely on getting to the fort as fast as his legs could carry him. They had little time to waste and the devil on their heels.

"Kali, come on!" he snapped, his voice ragged and harder than it had ever been.

Behind them, the pounding of hooves echoed but slowly grew softer. Fear pierced both of their hearts. Their friends were back there, possibly trampled to death by the mad men rampaging behind them. Please let them be alright, Adam pleaded. Please.

Hunter and Davey watched them go, wondering just what to do now, Jade hanging between them half dead with shock.

"Come on," Davey finally growled looking upwards. "We'll climb and hide, then follow after them once they've cleared off."

"You sure?" Hunter asked, a little surprised and slightly frightened, more for Davey than himself. Davey didn't climb often, he had a slight fear of heights and preferred the ground. He didn't doubt that he could put his hand at it, and probably manage to shimmy up, but that was on his own, and now they had Jade to worry about.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Davey snapped, though he spoke more confidently than he actually felt. He gave Jade's torso a jerk towards the nearest tree, a very sturdy looking oak with low hanging branches. "You go first, I'll push him up to you."

"You—" Hunter started to ask, but the flash in Davey's eyes stopped that question before it could fully roll from his tongue. "Right, me first." And he let Jade's weight fall completely onto Davey, the black haired boy sagging a bit under his weight, before taking firm hold of a branch and pulling himself up.

"Okay, hurry hand him up, they're starting to get used to brush riding," Hunter said when he had a good foothold against the tree branch.

Davey grunted inaudibly and did as he was asked, using all his meager muscle power to heft Jade up. Hunter did his best to take the weight from Davey quickly, knowing that the smaller boy couldn't hold for too long, and pulled as Davey lifted. Grasping at the tree bark, the blonde boy steadied himself as Jade's figure landed against him, the momentum of his pull nearly setting him off balance.

"Got him?" Davey panted from below.

"Got him," Hunter replied, voice slightly muffled by Jade's hair, as his friend's head was lying heavily upon his shoulder and lulling towards his mouth. "Your turn, hurry it up."

"Right," Davey said with a nod. Again it was a task easier said than carried out. The boy still standing on the ground looked at the tree branch then back at the quickly riding up troupe, then to the branch that seemed so far out of the way now. He licked his lips. Definitely easier said than done.

"Come on!" Hunter hissed frantically as Davey began to scramble for a good hold on the bark and one of the lower branches. "Davey hurry!"

The riders were closing in.

"I'm trying!" Davey hissed, now panicking himself.

Hoof beats sounded closer and closer, voices were mixing into the noise as well.

"Davey, they'll see you!" Hunter shrieked, he adjusted Jade's weight, wishing desperately now that he'd forced Davey to go up first.

Closer.

"Davey!" Hunter was screaming now as the boy below jumped feebly for the branch. Tears started to form in the youngest of the five's eyes. "Davey no, no, no! Not like Smith!"

It was if those words were a magic spell, the dead weight of Jade's body once so lumpishly held to him was gone, as the redhead crouched, reaching down just as Davey gave one last feeble leap upwards, hands closing around the black haired boys' wrist, jerking him upward.

Hunter stared for just a second amazed, before his wits returned, and he too crouched, grabbing Davey's free wrist. Together Jade and Hunter pulled Davey upward, catching him and themselves against the roughness of the tree trunk, where they clutched at one another, panting, crying, and praying for dear life as below the murderous horsemen passed.

Kali yanked her hand free of Adam's as she worked to match her pace with his. There was nothing she could do now but take the path they were on. With each second that passed, she prayed Davey, Hunter and Jade were still breathing. Her legs burned and fear threatened to consume her. This wasn't happening. This had to be some sort of nightmare.

Adam noted Kali's forceful tug and did not challenge it, knowing his friend hated being pushed into anything. His heart pounded wildly in his chest as he forced himself on. Kali passed him, sprinting ahead, as if she'd hit her second wind.

They ran for what felt like hours, their sides screaming in agony, but they never faltered in their pace. They couldn’t. Not now. Every once in a while, Adam would allow himself to glance behind them. He could still hear the faint pounding of hooves, though he noted it grew softer and softer with each moment. Fear gripped his heart and he shot his eyes to Kali, who wore an equally fearful look in her eyes.

Glancing back ahead he could just see the faint tip of the observation tower of the stone soldier’s fort. There were still much more ground to cover, but they were growing closer. Both of their tired limbs ached as fatigue slowly began to set it. But they refused to slow, refused to stop. They couldn’t. Their friend’s lives depended on them. The fate of all they loved depended on them. They couldn’t stop.

The two skidded to the crest of the hill, Adam just barely remembering to stop before he tumbled head over heels down the grassy face. Kali, however, didn't remember, and would have done just that, had her companion not reached out to grasp her arm. She gave him a quick look of thanks before they began to jog, carefully down the sharp and pitted incline.

Once they'd hit the bottom of the hill, they were once again running, and now waving their arms and shouting as well, as they caught sight of several watchmen standing guard just above the gates.

"Open up!" Adam shouted, knowing the two of them would get attention quickly enough. Both he and Kali practically lived here some summers.

"Call Sergeant Fergus!" Kali yelled, catching one guardsman's eye, undoubtedly with her strange mop of hair. "Raiders are riding towards the cove!"

Even though they were so far off, both Adam and Kali saw the men who were staring at their display tense, and at once the gates started to open. Both children jogged inside at once.

"Adam, Kali, what the bloody hell are you two raising such a fuss over?!" a booming voice greeted them as soon as they had run into the great stone courtyard of the fort. Lungs burning from their run, both girl and boy looked up to find Sergeant Gamail Fergus, head of the Mendel Cove Fort, and one of Adam's father's good friends, glaring at them, his bulging arms crossed over the barrel he called a chest. Behind him were the lean staff of soldiers stationed at the cove, many out of armor, all looking as surprised as their commander.

"R—raiders!" Kali managed to spit out, clutching her knees, she was so out of breath. "They—They—"

"They ran over Smith Puget," Adam finished for her, unsure if Kali just couldn't say it or was simply out of breath. "They—they're heading towards the cove, Sergeant."

Fergus' big bushy brows went up and the children could hear the breath hitch in the chests of his men. This was a very unpleasant, and more than unexpected, surprise, to their outpost, probably more than either Kali or Adam, or Fergus, cared to think about.

"You—you're sure?!" Fergus boomed after a few moments. Despite their fatigue both Adam and Kali managed to screw their faces up, the girl getting ready to let loose a blast. Fergus, however, recovered from his folly, shaking his head. "Never mind, there's no one who'd lie about something like that, especially you two. Sergeant Connel!" He roared the last two words, bringing his second in command, a leaner fellow, and the only other soldier besides the commander with his armor on.

"Sir?" he questioned with a salute, his jaw clenched as he stood before his leader.

"Gather the fort," Fergus ordered. "Tell the stable hands to ready the horses. We're marching to protect the cove. Now." He didn't really yell, but everyone within the fort had to have heard that command. At once the Connel was barking orders to the subordinates just beneath him and each and every man was in movement as Kali and Adam watched with wide eyes.

"You two," Fergus barked, catching the children's attention as they surveyed the now chaotic fort. They jumped at his voice, looking up to meet blazing amber eyes. "Come with me." And he turned on the heel of his boot, already starting off, knowing they wouldn't disobey.

"Where to?" Kali spoke up first, her violet eyes flashing with urgency and annoyance. She knew was Fergus had in mind and she refused to be treated like a child. Refused to be pushed aside when she knew there was something she could do to help. This was her home, how could she not defend it?

"You two can't stay here. Not now. It's far too dangerous." Both Kali and Adam opened their mouths to protest but Fergus quickly cut them off, "Not a word. This is something we need to handle, not something either of you should be a part of."

"But this is our home!" Kali forced out, her voice filling with frustration. Adam nodded, anger shining along with fear in his blue eyes.

Fergus understood, but stood firm in his statement. These children had seen enough. "Do not question me. You will stay here and we will handle it." His tone left little room for argument, though Kali certainly seemed ready to challenge him with everything she had.

"No—No I won't—my Mother—!" Kali started to protest, amethyst eyes ablaze, but her protests were cut off as Fergus gave a wave of his hand, and the girl felt herself being grabbed up by a pair of arms far too strong for her to fight against. To her side, Adam was given the same treatment, though he was slung, like a bag, over his captor's shoulder.

"Take them to my quarters and lock them in," Fergus ordered the two men who had taken the children up, taking the punches, kicks, and occasional bites the youngsters dealt without so much as flinch. The men nodded and set out on their orders immediately, passing by the sergeant as they did

"I'm sorry," Fergus said barely loud enough for them to hear as the shrieked and struggled. "I'd dearly love to have two with your spitfire fighting for me." And he was walking away, roaring orders for a horse as Adam and Kali were unceremoniously hauled up the stairs and dumped inside of the sergeant’s spacious quarters.

"No!" Adam shouted, both he and Kali running for the heavy door after they'd been thrown into the room. He only succeeded in crashing against it with enough force to bruise, and heard a bar lock slid into place on the other side.

"Let us the bloody hell out of here!" Kali shrieked, slamming her balled fists against the oaken slab, Adam joining her after a moment. The two of them pounded, yelled, and cursed, stopping what seemed to be an eternity later, when they realized that the sound of men beyond the door had faded away. They looked at each other, Adam swallowing hard, Kali biting on her lower lip until blood trickled down it. Their home was under attack and they had been left behind. Hunter, Davey, and Jade were still out there and had no one to protect them.

Davey, Jade, and Hunter waited in their tree for what felt like forever, holding tight to one another, eyes shut tight as the marauders below galloped on, as if maybe by not seeing it would make it go away. They continued to wait there ages after the last horseman had passed them by, frozen in place, afraid that even a breath might bring them back.

"I—I think they're gone," Davey croaked, his voice slightly muffled by Jade's shoulder and Hunter's crown, as the three of them huddled together closely in their shelter. His heart thudded maniacally against his rib cage, as if it was trying to break out of his body and run free. "We--we could go now."

Hunter looked at his friend uncertainly, the fear still pumping through his veins. True, they could no longer hear or see the horsemen, but that didn't guarantee that they were safe. They had come out of nowhere, who was to say that wouldn't return from it as well?

Jade trembled against his friends, his mind swimming in maddening thought. This had to be a nightmare. It couldn't be real. None of this was real. He just needed to wake up. Why couldn't he wake up?

"What if they aren't..." Hunter's soft voice trailed off, his question hanging in the air around them. For a few moments, none of the boys uttered a word.

"We—we can't just stay here. We need to get somewhere safe..." Davey paused for a moment, closing his eyes. They couldn't stay in the tree forever, especially if the horsemen returned.

Hunter raised an eyebrow, "Where then?"

"Jade's," Davey said. "Like we told Adam and Kali. We'll take the short cut there. It's—the farm was probably passed by, it's so out of the way of the path to the cove."

Between his friends Jade tensed. Home? His home? He couldn't go there. Not after what... The images of Smith's last few moments of life passed before his eyes and he trembled, his insides rolling.

"No," he whimpered, clutching the material of his friend's shirts.

The two other boys looked at him in complete surprise, more because he'd spoken than what he'd actually said. Neither Hunter nor Davey were sure he'd even be able to talk for sometime.

"What, Jade?" Hunter spoke after several seconds of wordless staring at the slighter boy.

"I can't go home," Jade said tears rolling down his cheeks, ducking his head down in an attempt to hid them. "I—Not after—Mama wanted me to bring him home. I was supposed to—I can't go back."

"This isn't your fault, Jade," Davey spoke softly, seeing the pain, confusion and guilt swirling in his friend's eyes. Jade merely shook his head. It was his fault, all of it. If he hadn't have been so angry at his brother. If he had started searching for him sooner. If he had just gotten there sooner, Smith would be alive. He did this. "No, Jade. Look at me. Listen to me. You didn't do this. You couldn't have done anything to stop it. None of us could have."

Hunter nodded, holding his broken friend closer, wishing he could help take away the guilt eating Jade alive. "Davey's right. You aren't to blame. You mother and father will know that. They'll understand."

"No!" Jade hissed, pulling away from Hunter, "They won't. I did this! Me! It's my fault he's dead and you all know it!"

Both boys stared at their friend in disbelief. They had never seen Jade this way. The pure venom pouring from his lips startled them, though both knew and understood where it was coming from. But this was not their friend. This wasn't Jade.

Davey sighed, hating the fact that he knew nothing either of them said would sway Jade's thinking. He raised his gaze to Hunter for a brief moment, recognizing the fear and uncertainty in the boy's gaze. An understanding passed between them. They couldn't risk staying here any longer. Jade's farm was the only smart move they could make. Adam and Kali had headed for the fort--he prayed they had made it there alive, he doubted any of them could handle losing anyone else—it would be silly to head in the same direction. The farm was safe, out of the way. Surely the men had passed it by without so much as a care. They would be safe there. They had to be.

"Jade," Davey spoke calmly after a brief pause to swallow and search for the right words. "Jade, we--we don't have a choice. There's no where else. The cove will be under attack by now." He licked his very dry lips, trying to block out the thoughts he was now having of his mother, still in the town. Beside him, Hunter was pushing down similar upsurges of remembrance. "Please, we---"

"No!" Jade shrieked, nearly knocking himself and the other two boys from the tree as he pushed at them. Hunter and Davey, however, had a sturdy grip in their hold, hand despite Jade's attempt, kept their fingers hooked into his shirt, though they almost let go for the look in their friend's eyes. Jade's hazel eyes, normally so soft, full of heart and light, had been replaced with something....something maddening .

And this frightened both Davey and Hunter.

"I can't go back!" Jade continued to yell, that altogether lost, sorrowful, and hateful, gleam in his eyes made all the more terrifying as there were tears pouring from them. "I can't! I won't! Not without--"

"Jade," Hunter said sharply, just loud enough to be heard, but the way he rolled his friends name across his tongue, his tone, it elevated the syllables far more than yelling ever could have, and Jade stopped his tirade to just look at him. His blue eyes were oddly calm, more so than he actually could have felt, but appearance was the most important thing for now, especially since it seemed to be holding Jade's attention and nervousness in check.

Hunter gave a swallow as Davey had and moved his hand upwards from clutching at his friend's shirt to his shoulder, keeping eye contact with Jade all the while. He held the auburn haired boy's gaze for a few moments, willing the calm he was showing to somehow seep into his friend.

"You won't be alone," Hunter said finally, squeezing Jade's shoulder in that comforting way his father would sometimes do to him. "I'm going to be right beside you, I promise. So is Davey. We're not going to leave you, and--and if they do get mad at you...well, they--they'll have to be mad at all of us. We were with you then and will be with you now. I'll never leave you alone with anything, I swear."

There were another few moments of silence, filled with such a tension, that Davey, who was watching this deep exchange with wide, wondering, eyes, could hardly breathe. His eyes flicked from Jade's face, which had become unreadable, a strange new sort of flicker in his eyes, and Hunter's, who kept himself calm. Finally Jade lifted his arm and for a few seconds both of the other boys were sure he was going to hit his friend, but that, amazingly didn't happen. Instead, that arm was flung around Hunter's shoulders, as Jade let his head fall beside it, silently crying.

Stricken with surprise for a moment, Hunter looked from Davey to Jade, finding enough of his wits after a few seconds to begin awkwardly patting his back. Davey almost sighted with relief, the hardest part of their battle, seemed to be over.

"Come on," Hunter said, continuing to pat Jade's back. "Let's get down from here and go. Adam and Kali will come looking for us. We should try to be where we told them we were going to be before we get there. The last thing they need is to worry about us anymore than they already have."

Davey smiled softly and nodded as the boys climbed down from the large oak. The tension that had filled the air had dispersed greatly and for that he was thankful. Jade nodded silently as well, allowing Hunter to lead them on towards his family's farm. He shut off his mind, forcing all thought but the will to just keep moving from his mind. He couldn't let himself think of anything else, if he did there was no way he would make it.

Hunter allowed his hand to continue to rest softly on Jade's back; a small, unconscious gesture. He could sense the change in his friend, the withdrawal. But he did not speak on it. Now was not the time, nor was this the place. Later. There would be time for all of that later.

The air around them was still as they silently made their way through the woods, each lost in their own thoughts. Davey ran a shaky hand through his thick, dark hair, willing away the fear clawing at his chest. His mother, his home, everything he cared for, was in danger and there was little he could do to stop it. Silently, he prayed that Adam and Kali had made it to the fort in time. That the soldiers could fight the horsemen back. But it was difficult to ignore the small voice in the back of his mind screaming that it was hopeless, the town was out-numbered, they stood little chance. No, he could not think that way. He refused to.

Hunter’s eyes flitted between the path before him and Jade, who still remained at his side. He could see the way his friend seemingly shut off the world around him, the way he shut down, and a part of Hunter wanted to shut down with him. To forget everything he had seen. To forget the fact that his mother and his father were still in the cove, in danger. Forget that the last thing he had seen, had felt towards them, was uncertainty and the need to run. He might never see them again.

Mentally, he shook himself. No, he had to stay strong. Jade needed him to be. His friends needed him. Silently, he pressed his hand firmer into Jade’s back. He could feel the boy tense slightly then relax, though never fully, and he too relaxed. He needed to keep Jade calm. Needed to be strong for him. Even if strong was the last thing he felt.

They were silent the entire journey through the brush and stone strewn path that was the shortcut to Jade's family home. It was a tense quiet, prickly, but in a way it was a comfort. Quiet meant that the horsemen were still far away, that somewhere, somehow, in their little world, things stood a chance of being alright. It was proven to be an evanescent comfort at best, foolhardy at it's worst.

The quiet as they recognized the path taking them mercifully close to their destination, remained. Jade's family's farm was a very peaceful place, rural and soft, but one thing the fields ever were not, was quiet. There was always a buzz in the air, the yells of Bryant to his sons to help in the fields, the laughter and jeers of the twins, the cries of the younger children, Livia's voice as she called her family to the supper table, the bays of the livestock. It was always busy, always full of life, but not then. As the three boys came closer to the edge of the woods, where they opened onto the farm orchard they, Adam, and Kali, had spent many falls helping to gather apples and pears, and the unnatural serenity stayed in place, they all knew that nothing was right there.

They stood on the orchard's edge for a few moments, frozen, uncertain, knowing that the chances that what lay before them was something they didn't want to see, and staying their feet to avoid the harshness of reality. Then, very suddenly, like in the tree when Davey had been threatened with death, Jade was ignited with the spark of life.

"Mama! Papa!" he screamed right before taking off through the orchard at a run.

"Jade, no!" both Davey and Hunter yelled, grabbing for him but missing narrowly. Only a second's hesitation and they were following right behind him.

"Jade, stop!" Hunter continued to shout as he and Davey sprinted after him through the trees. "You—you don't know what's—" Hunter stopped speaking, as Jade made it out of the orchard, just past the final row of trees and stopped, skidding to a halt. Vaguely, Hunter recalled seeing what lay before them before he stumbled to Jade's side.

The twins were the first ones that they could see, Corbin lying only a few feet away from Cullen, or the pieces of him. His head had been sloppily dismantled from his shoulders. His twin, it appeared, had been running for him, when an axe buried itself in his back. Both bodies were studded with the broken shafts of arrows, telling they'd been run over as soon as they'd been dispatched.

Farther away was Bryant, close to the barn. He had probably heard the shouts of his oldest children and run out to assist them. An arrow was sticking out from his eye, and another from his mid–section.

They boy's eyes wandered mechanically, along with their feet, to the cottage, or what was left of it, seeing as it was now up in flames. Livia lay in a crumpled heap on the threshold of her burning home, her clothes were bloody and torn, suggesting a sword had cut her down. Not too far from his mother was Myra, a broken spear jutting out from her back.

The worst of all the sights lay just a few feet from the teenage girl, a bloody mess of rags that not one of them could doubt had been little Wynne. It seemed that Myra had attempted to run with her youngest sibling, but was brutally stopped from doing such, Wynne being thrust from her arms as the spear tore into her, leaving the infant to the dirt and the nonexistent mercy of the horses hooves. Just like Smith.

They stared for what had to have been at least five minutes, numb, not even blinking, the little bubble cracking as Jade simply fell to his knees, though this time he didn't sob. He had been broken too much, there was nothing left in him, just like there was nothing left in his family.

Hunter felt the bile rising in his throat. The stench of blood and death overpowered him. He placed his hand, shakily, on Jade’s shoulder, not knowing what else to do. What else to say. There was nothing he could say. Everything Jade knew, everything he loved, was gone, slaughtered, and he had been powerless to stop it. Jade didn’t respond to Hunter’s touch at all, kneeling there, frozen, eyes wide and unseeing, his mind blank.

Davey slowly approached from behind, barely fighting the urge to be ill. This couldn’t be real. These were people he knew, people he considered family. This couldn’t be real. His eyes flitted down to Jade’s unmoving form. He had never seen his friend like this and he hadn’t the first idea what to say. Guilt washed over him. He’d brought them here. He’d insisted they come to the farm. He brought Jade to this. Oh Gods.

The door refused to budge, even as Kali pressed all her weight against it. They were well and truly trapped in there. "Damn Fergus," Kali hissed, "Damn him to hell."

Adam’s frustration mirrored her own, his blue eyes fixed in a determined stare. They had to get out of there. Had to get to Davey, Jade and Hunter. Had to make sure they were alright. They had to do something. "Move, Kal," he breathed. Merely pushing on the door was doing them little good. Maybe if he ran into it, using all of his strength, he could get it to move, to open.

"Oh, what are you going to do? Play battering ram?" Kali demanded, her frustration getting the better of her. She put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes at her friend. "For the gods' sake, look at you! You'll break your shoulder before you so much as dent that door!"

"Well what do you suggest?!" he snapped, also a little less than tolerant at the moment. "Do you want to just sit here while the village is sacked?!" His mind flashed to his father, and he felt his heart clench and unclench within his chest. Garret would be all right, he had to be, his father was the strongest, bravest man in the world, he could probably take on ten of those murderers all by himself. Or so he very much wanted to believe.

"Of course not!" Kali replied. "We--we just have to find a better way than what involves you being stupid and breaking something."

"Well I suggest we find that better way fast," Adam grumbled, knowing very well Kali was right, but arguing made him feel better.

"I know," Kali said, her tones dropping to a soft quality. She bit her lip and surveyed the stone room. It was a windowless place, it had a pot bellied stove in the corner for heat, so climbing up the chimney flue was out of the question. The girl stepped back, taking a breath as she tried to clear her head, there had to be a way out, something they were missing. She was about to just let Adam knock himself silly against the door when she took a good look at it again.

Kali was a clever girl, and there was nothing vain or pompous in the statement, it was simple fact. She had to be to be accepted amongst her friends and run out of her mother's watchful eyes so often. And Kali, as she looked the door over and found her eyes focusing on it, was about to prove once more why she was a master of escape.

"Put me on your shoulders," Kali ordered Adam, her voice soft as she unsheathed her dagger. She looked the blade over, it had never failed her before and she prayed that it wouldn't start know.

"Heh?" he said, wanting to know what in the hell his friend had in mind.

"Now, Addy," she said, eyes still locked on the hinges. "I can't reach the top."

Adam followed her gaze, cerulean eyes widening as her plan clicked into place in his head.

"You think it'll work?" he asked, trying to hide the fact he was now very excited. He knew there was a reason he was friends with this crazy girl.

"It has to," she replied. "Now hurry it up."

Adam said nothing more, he simply knelt down so Kali could straddle his back. Kali climbed up, being as careful as she could, though she did accidently pull Adam's hair as he grunted and struggled to his feet with her on his shoulders.

"Ow!" he exclaimed as she tugged.

"Sorry!" she said, though she didn't let go. He was still wobbling too much for her comfort.

"Dammit, watch what you're doing, Kal!" he grumbled, needing to vent despite the fact he knew she wasn't doing it on purpose.

"Sorry, just, hold onto the wall beside the door, kay?" she said. "You're not steady and you're hair's the only thing I've got to hold onto, Ads."

"Just pop the bloody hinges, girl!" he snapped, doing as she directed, laying his palms flat on the stone wall. Kali made no reply and simply leaned forward a little more, one of her hands pressed to steady on the wall as she felt the hinge out, and slid the edge of her dagger into it, levering upon it.

"Hurry up!" Adam hissed after a few moments of Kali grunting and jerking on his shoulders. He was no weakling but Kali wasn't a small girl, she wasn't fat but she was going to be a tall thing, and her twisting and pumping her arm was not helping him to keep her up in the slightest.

"I'm...working...on it!" she grunted, pressing all of her weight into the levering end of her blade. She almost had it, she could feel the metal giving way, getting ready to burst apart. Seconds later her intuitions proved true as the topmost hinge flew apart and Kali shrieked as the broken pieces flew at her.

"Kal--ah!" Adam exclaimed flailing uselessly as Kali's jerking sent him toppling backwards to land on his rump. Kali tumbled from his shoulders and he heard her yelp as she fell, groaning a bit as she did. Looking up, slightly dazed, and ready to give her an earful for squirming, those intentions faded as he found his friend's lucky dagger had, during the fall, become embedded in her arm.

"Kal!" he exclaimed, running over to where she was sitting up, already pulling the blade from her forearm. "Kal, are you—"

"I'll be fine," she murmured, pressing her fingers to the wound, which was a little leaky. "It'll—it'll stop soon enough. Here." She wiped the blood on her dagger's edge off on her breeches. "You do the bottom hinges."

Adam nodded, though he had a difficult time tearing his eyes away from the bloody wound on Kali’s arm. Kneeling before the wooden door, he struggled, grunting and cursing, with the hinge. He could feel it loosening, but he just couldn’t seem to get it to loosen enough to pop it. "Damnation," he growled under his breath as the dagger slipped in his hand.

Kali winced, certain her friend had injured himself. That was the last thing they needed. Her forearm burned as the flesh began to heal itself, Kali merely gritted her teeth slightly and continued to watch Adam. "Come on Ads, you’ve almost got it. Just don’t slice your hand off in the process. You need both of them you know."

"If I weren’t so keen on getting us out of here, Kal, I’d hit you for that," he grumbled, his annoyance and frustration shining through.

"Such a gentlemen," she teased him back, knowing now was probably not the best time for humor of any kind, but knowing that they both needed something to keep their fear from completely overtaking them. Adam merely grumbled, returning his attention to the hinge. After several curses and slips of his hand, the hinge popped loose.

"Finally!" Adam panted, falling back onto his rear as the hinge came apart. Unlike Kali he managed to keep a hold on the knife, and he didn't injure himself by accident, something, if under normal circumstances, he would tease his friend about. These however, were not normal circumstances, so instead he jumped to his feet, and walked back over to Kali.

"Is it—?" he started to ask, looking at her bloody sleeve. It always unnerved him, the way she could heal, even though he would rather see her skin sewing itself back together than her continued bleeding.

"Fine," she said, flashing him what was now scar tissue, it would be healed within moments. The violet eyed girl took back her dagger, sheathing it in one fluid slip of her arm. She nodded to the door. "Come on."

Adam nodded in return, and together they moved for the door. It didn't take much, the slab just creaked away, hanging crookedly as they pushed. They looked at one another again, before slipping under the lock bar and out, rushing down the stairwell.

"What now?" Adam asked as they ran into training yard, the emptiness of it sending chills through them.

"They said they would go to Jade's didn't they?" Kali asked, continuing to trot along, as if she had a plan in mind. Adam was grateful for this, it was quite the reassurance amidst the turmoil.

"Yeah," he replied.

"Well, then that's where we go," she said, Adam noticed they were standing in front of the stables before Kali threw the doors open.

Inside there were several spare horses. The only problem with this was that neither of them were yet very experienced in the cavalry part of combat. It was one of the things Fergus and Garret promised they would learn this summer, both Kali and Adam had only the minimal equestrian skills.

"Kal..." Adam began.

"We don't have any other choice, Addy," she said softly, he noted she bit her lip, a nervous habit. It made him all the more unsure, Kali nervous didn't settle well with him at all. She turned those bright eyes on him, their color piercing him as they always did. "I don't know about you, but I can't run like that again."

Adam closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath. She was right. Curse her, but she was. "All right," he said, giving another nod in concession. "We'll ride together. Find a bridle."

Kali nodded and ran to do as he asked while Adam looked over the mounts still in their stalls. There was only one real choice out of the three horses and two mules left, a roan gelding Adam knew didn't have too bad of a temper. Still he was a big horse, and Adam didn't even want to imagine how his thighs were going to feel after the ride was over. Of course he didn't really want to imagine how anything was going to be when the ride was over, period.

His thoughts again flicked to his father, and he prayed to any available deities that Garret was safe. That the whole village was safe. He knew it was a false hope, even as he moved towards the roan's stall. Kali joined him and together they calmed and bridled the horse. Once the bit was in place he pulled himself up, then offered a hand to Kali, hefting her up behind him. He felt somewhat better as her arms circled his waist, reassuring him of her presence and things still had a chance to be okay.

"Hold on," he advised needlessly. Kali nodded into the back of his shirt.

Adam, hoping that the horse didn't sense how absolutely terrified he was slapped the reins and shouted a "Yah!" The horse, mercifully, obeyed and started out at a quick trot through the doors.

The silence surrounding them served only to increase the nervous tension between them. They had to get to Jade’s farm, had to make sure their friends were alright. Kali clung to Adam as the horse steadily picked up speed. She refused to think on the fact that neither of them really knew what they were doing, that one false move on either of their parts could send them flying.

Neither spoke as the horse sped over the rock laden ground. Each stride nearly sent them flying, but each held on tighter. Adam’s mind raced, his fingers curled so tightly around the reigns that they were nearly white. Everything he had known, everything he thought would always be there, everything he thought would never change, had turned completely on its axis. The small selfish, childish part of his brain couldn’t help hoping that if he closed his eyes everything would just disappear, that none of this had happened.

Wind whipped roughly against his face and Adam fought to keep his eyes open, he couldn’t afford to risk anything now. Swallowing thickly, he nudged the horse on. He had to keep himself steady, had to keep pushing on. He couldn’t lose his focus. It was something his father had taught him. One of the few things Adam was able to concentrate on as they raced ahead.

Kali gripped Adam’s waist tighter, snapping her eyes tightly shut. She could feel the wind whipping her hair against her face and her heart pounding in her chest. She hated this, hated not being in control. Had it been her at the reigns, Kali knew she would be far less terrified, but Adam wouldn’t let her take over now. There wasn’t enough time for that. Damn him, she cursed.

Neither spoke as the brush and branches of the woods just beyond the fort sliced and snapped against them. Adam urged the horse onwards, praying that everything would be alright once they reached the farm. It had to be.

The steady beat of hooves echoing from the woods on the boarder of the farm snapped Davey to attention. With a quick jolt of his head, he ripped his gaze from his catatonic friend turning towards the sound, his body tensing visibly. Hunter took note of the sudden and strange change in his friend, the sound finally sinking into his ears as well. They were coming back.

Fear clutched Hunter’s heart and he wrapped his arms tightly around Jade’s rigid shoulders, pulling him closer. Jade barely registered any of this, his mind blank and his eyes hollow. For a few tense moments Hunter held onto Jade like this, unconsciously trying to comfort both himself and his friend. He squeezed his eyes shut. No, this wasn’t how he had envisioned his life ending, he honestly hadn’t even thought that far ahead into the future. He had never thought much about his life. There was always tomorrow, always another chance, another day. For the first time, he well and truly realized that it could all be snatched away and that thought terrified him. Like lightening, his mind flashed to his mother and his father, his home. If the men were coming back that could only mean...

"Hunter!" Davey’s strong, panicked voice called out, "We have to move!" They couldn’t stay where they were, out in the open. They would be picked off easily. They had to find a place to hide. Somewhere. Anywhere. His eyes scanned the decimated farmland, finally falling on the stable. It was badly charred and falling into ruin, but it was their best shot. It would shield them from the eyes of the monsters who’d destroyed everything they had known. Maybe if they hid, if they stayed silent, they would survive. Maybe. "The stable," he choked out, "We have to get to the stable!"

Davey’s words were frantic, Hunter found himself staring at his friend in confusion before he finally understood. They had to move, had to run. Frantically, he clawed at Jade’s waist, trying to pull the unmoving boy to his feet, but he wouldn’t budge. Hunter only pulled and tugged at him harder. They had to move, they didn’t have time. But it was of no use.

Eyes wide with fear and uncertainty, Hunter shot his gaze towards Davey, silently pleading for his help. Without a word, Davey dropped to his knees, locking his arms around Jade’s waist as well. Both boys tugged and pulled relentlessly at their friend. "Jade, please! You need to move. We have to get out of here!"

Violently, Jade shook his head, "No."

Both boys froze, dread slowly spreading through them. Jade’s voice was hollow, detached, cold, so unlike the friend they had known. "Jade, please,” Hunter begged, the fear in his voice was audible. He didn’t want to die like this. He didn’t want them to die like this. But Jade still refused, pulling forcefully away from their arms. This was his fault. All of it. If he had just...No. He forced that part of his mind shut.

The whinnies of one horse shattered the tense silence that had fallen over the three boys. "Jade!" Hunter screamed, his voice echoing off of the burning house beside them. It was too late.

It was as if time had stopped, as Kali and Adam rode past the through the last of the evergreen trees and came upon the broken mess of the Puget farm. Stunned, they slowed their animal, stopping as they saw the forms of their three friends kneeling near the remains of the burning house. Davey and Hunter stared back at them in absolute disbelief, and then...

Kali gave a strangled cry, leaping off the horse's back and ran, just ran until she crashed into her three friends, Davey and Hunter still clutching at Jade. Adam was right behind her after he figured out how to walk after that ride.

They were a complete tangle of arms and legs within a moment, grasping at hands, touching to verify whether or not they were all real. Even Jade seemed to regain something at the reappearance of the boy and girl, though he was quickly backing away from the group, he eyes becoming hallow again too soon for comfort. The other four, for just brief second paid that no mind.

"Y—you're alive!" Davey almost sobbed, clinging to both Adam and Kali. "Gods..."

"We told Fergus," Adam told the shorter boy, returning the embrace. "He gathered the whole fort and they went into the cove."

"Bloody bastard," Kali spat, the fire returning to her eyes. "He tried to lock us up there, said he was going to keep is safe."

"You got out though," Hunter said, smiling through the intense worry that still clouded them all. "You came."

"Said we would, didn't we?" Kali replied matter 'o factly. She reached out to ruffle his downy blonde hair. "Since when am I a liar, Duckfluff?"

"Never," he told her, the smile deepening upon her face and Adam's. "Never ever."

They continued to look at one another, searching for words to describe the relief they felt at the moment, but there were none profound enough. It was probably better that way, there was still too much going on for any more pleasant repose. That was proven as Jade fell to his knees again, gaining attention from all his friends. Hunter ran to him at once, putting his arms about the slighter boy's shoulders and saying his name, as if trying to keep him awake or in his mind.

It was at this time Kali and Adam had a good look at the once familiar surroundings, at all the places that they had once played here. They had searched for kittens in the barn every season, and now it was in flames, they'd helped pick fruit in the orchards that would now go untended, played battle in the fields, and they would now be overgrown. Yet another chunk of their lives had been ripped away. Kali covered her hand with her mouth as she saw the remains of the baby, willing the bile to stay in her mouth. It was a battle she lost and was soon heaving up what little contents her stomach held, as Davey held back her hair. Adam fared little better, hiding his eyes in his hands as he tried to block it all away.

"We're too late," the soldier's son whimpered. "We were too late."

"No, no we're not," Kali said, her voice unnaturally low. All eyes shot to the girl as she pushed Davey away, wiping her mouth on the back of her already bloodied shirt sleeve. Her eyes blazed, "There's still the rest of the cove. We're not too late yet."

"Kali," Hunter murmured in total disbelief of what she was suggesting.

"I'm not asking you to go!" she snapped, clenching and unclenching her hand about the hilt of her dagger. "I'll go on my own!"

"No, you just ask us to watch you go!" Hunter snarled in return, hugging Jade's listless frame closer to him.

"I'm not asking anything!" Kali said, her tone bordering on outright anger. "But don't expect me to just—just stay here among the dead while those monsters make more! I won't do it!"

"You bloody idiot, you're a twelve year old girl!" he shouted, face turning crimson with outrage. "What in the seven hells are you going to do?!"

"Something!" she shouted back, tears threatening at the corners of her eyes. She unsheathed her knife and waved it. "Anything! Anything other than just stay here and wait! I'd rather die than sit here and wait! At least there's some honor in that!"

"Enough!" Davey yelled at the top of his lungs, making his companions, even Jade, start. All eyes locked on him in pure surprise. Davey didn't yell, never, not like that. He was too calm and collected for that, and really it frightened his friends to hear it, and it frightened them even more to see the way his eyes snapped at that moment. "Enough," he said more quietly, though his voice was just as hard as when he'd raised it. "We've had enough fighting for one day, don't you think? The last thing we need is to tear at one another."

Hunter and Kali looked down and away at once, their faces flushed with shame. Adam stared at Davey as he panted from the effort of yelling, his blue-green eyes wide, he'd never imagined Davey could hold such sway over their hotheaded girl and fixed Hunter, it was slightly eery.

"What do we do then?" Adam asked after he swallowed, a little unsure of speaking, afraid Davey might erupt again at the slightest noise. Davey only looked at him, his dark eyes back to their normal (for the moment anyway) worried state. "Where do we go from here?"

Davey licked his lips, gazing up at the once welcoming blue spring sky, searching for an answer or just an inkling of what they needed.

"We—Kali's right, we can't just stay here," he said after a few moments. "They came through this way, they'll probably return the same route."

"Then where do we go?" Hunter asked, a little afraid of the answer Davey might give.

Davey remained silent, not to be poignant, or because his words were already in the air, but because someone else spoke for him.

"The village," Jade croaked, his voice as hallow as his eyes, making chills run down his companions' spines to hear it. "We have to go into the village."

"Jade," Hunter started hesitantly. The boy was speaking, but he wasn’t right. This wasn’t right. Gently, Hunter went to rest his hand on Jade’s shoulder but the boy shrugged away from the touch.

Pushing himself away from his friends and to his feet, Jade slowly made his way towards the woods leading back to the cove. The four remaining children stared at his retreating form in stunned silence. Regaining his composure, Adam was the first to approach Jade. "Jade maybe you should..."

"No." Once again, his voice was hollow, lifeless. He didn’t bother to turn and face his friend. "No." Adam stood, frozen, unsure of what to do, what to say. As he stared at the boy standing stiffly before him, he watched his hands clenching roughly at his sides. The only outward sign of any emotion from him and Adam was both relieved and terrified to see it.

Fear coiled tightly in Hunter’s stomach. He could feel it radiating from everyone surrounding him. It was as if they had been frozen in time. Slowly, cautiously, he once again began to approach Jade. Hesitantly, he raised his hand, laying it gently on his friend’s shoulder only to have it shrugged away once more. He couldn’t begin to process the swirl of confusing emotions flowing through him. He didn’t know what else to do. His friend was gone and even he couldn’t reach him now.

"Jade’s right," Davey spoke after a long silence, taking in the puzzled looks on his friend’s faces. "Everyone’s gone, we can’t do anything here. But maybe we could at least try..."

"And what, get ourselves killed?!" Hunter snapped, recovering from his stupor. Both of them had lost their minds.

"We have to do something!" Kali yelled back, her violet eyes shimmering with frustration and anger.

"What can we do? We’re children! How are we supposed to fight back against something like that?" Hunter’s chest heaved with each word he spat out, his face growing redder by the moment. Going was suicide, pure and simple. He could not force the images of Jade’s slaughtered family from his mind. If they couldn’t survive, how on earth could he? Could any of them?

"Stop it both of you!" Davey shouted once again, a stunned silence falling around him. Even Jade, he noted, flinched slightly at his tone. "Just stop," he repeated, his voice softer now, more controlled. Standing there, fighting like this wouldn’t do them, do anyone, any good. "We have to go back. We don’t have a choice anymore."

Hunter stared dumbly at his friend. A part of him understood just where he and Kali, for the matter, were coming from. There was nothing more they could do at the Puget farm. There may not be much they could do in the cove, but they couldn’t just abandon their home, their families. They had to do something. They had to try.

An unspoken understanding passed between them and silently, the five slowly headed towards the woods. They would have to return to the cove by foot. It was a longer journey this way, yes, but there wasn’t any physical way the horse Kali and Adam had ridden in on would hold the five of them. So it was on foot they traveled back towards the home they were unsure would be there once they arrived.

They stayed close together as they pushed through the woods, going slow after an initial jog to catch up with Jade. Despite the fact he obviously did not want to be touched, both Kali and Hunter ignored his shirking to pull him back in step with them. He eventually gave up trying to walk behind or ahead of his friends, knowing that they wouldn't let him be alone, for fear of losing him, whether it would be to a stray marauder or himself, it was unclear. So he walked between them, allowing Hunter's hand to rest on his shoulder, his head hanging.

They were at least a half a mile from the village, they knew the path they walked well enough to mark the distance very well, when they heard the first clang of swords and shouts. The five stopped dead in their tracks, Hunter fisting the material of Jade's shirt, ready to jerk if Jade did anything foolish. On the other side of the auburn haired boy, Kali had taken out her knife, her eyes were cold and she trembled but not much. Beside her Adam swallowed, clenching and unclenching his fists. And Davey, he simply stood in place, perfectly still, his jet eyes unreadable.

"Where will we come out by?" Davey asked after he swallowed, his voice was oddly even, so much more than he felt.

"By the Temple," Kali said, she knew the area very well from all her times sneaking away from her mother. She blocked out thoughts of the beautiful golden haired woman whom she fought with so bitterly, so often. "If we keep going this—this way, we'll hit the north side. By the alter to the Lady's Northern Face."

"If it's still there," Jade said, his voice barely audible.

Kali swallowed, whether it was from the vacuous tone of Jade's voice or his point, she wasn't sure. Adam saw the look that passed over her face and reached over to squeeze her arm. It seemed to reassure her, or so he liked to believe, as she didn't brush him off and she shook a little less.

"We come out there at a run," Davey murmured. "If—if it's still there, we find Priestess Rissa. She'll—she'll know to do something."

"What if she's not—" Adam began to ask, not to be callous toward Kali, but just to honestly figure things out. If Davey had a plan, he'd like to know it. He needed the reassurance.

"Then we move on," Davey said. Again there was so much more confidence there than what he felt, but he knew to show strength to his friends meant to provide them with there own. So he didn't waver. He simply started to jog forward, toward the break in the trees Kali had directed him to. His friends followed closely behind.

The five prepared themselves for whatever horrors might be awaiting them beyond the tree line in the split second they had right before pushing through. Adam had a tight grip on Davey's arm, and Hunter and Kali had Jade wedged between them, his arm about his waist, her dagger free hand pressed upon his shoulder blade, and together they broke past the low hanging branches hitting the dirt before the still very intact temple.

The only problem with this was that while the familiar temple was still where it should be, there were several things there that should not be. Specifically five men and their horses. Five big, burly, sword carrying men and their armored horses. And they noticed the children.

"Bloody hell," Kali whispered.

"Run!" Davey yelled, already pulling at Adam.

Two of the men, who were still mounted, were at once galloping after them, yelling things in a language the children did not understand but could tell were far from good. They had planned to keep running, just keep sprinting on until they had either lost the riders amongst the houses, but as a strange "zipping" noise flooded the air, and gargled shouts erupted from their pursuers, that plan dissipated. For some reason or another Hunter paused to look back, and found that arrows had buried themselves into the riders and their horses and continued to do so.

He looked up, following the direction from which the shafts were flying, and found two slim figures stanched upon the temple roof, firing arrow after arrow down on the riders. Beyond them, amidst the three raiders who hadn't mounted back up to pursue himself and his friends, a very familiar man had come up almost out of nowhere and he was cutting through the attackers like they were nothing.

"Wait!" Hunter ordered his friends, true relief finally coming to him as he recognized the two archers and the swordsman. "Adam, Kali, Davey look!"

Adam turned around just as the swordsman tore through the last of his opponents, hacking with a fury he had never really seen before but had many times pictured from all the stories he'd been told. Adam met the fighters eyes, standing paralyzed to the earth before the slightly strangled cry of "Father!" came from his throat, and he'd let go of Davey to run back towards him.

Garret paused, staring back at Adam as the boy charged at him. Relief and worry mingled through his mind. "My boy," he murmured as his son’s body collided with his own, kissing the top of his head. His son was safe. He allowed his gaze to fall on Kali, Jade, Hunter and Davey. They were all safe. But this ground, the cove, it wasn’t. They had to get out, had to run. For their own sake.

With a quick glance upwards, Garret turned back to the children quickly approaching him. The fear and uncertainty in their eyes shook him to his core. They were far too young to see such carnage, such death.

Davey was the first to speak, breaking the tense silence that had fallen between them, "Where is everyone?" His voice was soft. Though the words had fallen so freely from his lips, he feared the answer.

Garret continued to just look at them, still pressing Adam to his leather armored chest. He opened his mouth, but no words came out, like the words had just become stuck in his throat. The adult closed his mouth, licking his lips as he searched for words. It was, however, unnecessary.

"David!" a familiar voice shrieked and a black haired figure, a quiver full of shafts slung about one shoulder, came running out of the temple doors, sweeping Davey off his feet.

"Mama!" he exclaimed happily as she crushed his slender body in her arms, dropping the bow she'd been carrying. The boy tried his best not to cry but he found himself unable to hold a few renegade tears back, and buried his face into his mother's hair, breathing in the soft clean scent of her ebony tresses.

"Oh, my darling!" Marcielle was sobbing herself as she fell to her knees, holding her son close. She kissed his cheeks and forehead. "Oh—I—oh, David!" And she hugged him all the more tightly, so that Davey and his friends thought that his head just might be popped off.

Kali, who was watching Davey with wide eyes, thinking about her own mother, did not noticed the second figure emerge from the temple until Hunter shook her arm and pointed. Kali followed his index finger to find the golden haired priestess standing in the doorway, a bow in her hand and a sling of arrows upon her back just as Marcielle had. Rissa was in full temple dress and makeup, she'd probably been getting ready to preform services for The Lady when everything had struck. Purple eyes shuddered as they found steely gray boring into them.

"Ma—" Kali began but didn't finish as within an instant her mother had closed the distance between them and raised her arm back to lay her hand smartly against the side of her daughter's face. Kali fell back with the force of the blow, the resounding crack of it making even the two other adults look wary.

"You miserable little wretch!" Rissa shrieked, her whole body shaking, fingers clenched so tightly about her bow that everyone feared it might snap. "I told you to stay in your room! You didn't listen did you! You just had to run off! I—I—Kalika Oriana Sirenidae—!" Whatever hot oaths were going to follow Kali's name were choked out as Priestess Rissa began to sob, and hand knelt down to envelop her only child in her arms.

Kali looked around, her body tense, glancing at the two adults as if to question whether or not she was safe at the moment. Rissa paid this no mind as she hugged her daughter.

"Damn you, girl," she cried, smoothing back Kali's messy black and violet tendrils. "I was so afraid. Oh, Kali." Rissa pressed her lips to Kali's forehead, finished for the moment, so very relieved to have her daughter back she could barely breathe.

"Ma, I'm fine," Kali said, trying to play the sentiment of the moment off, though by the blush in her face (what wasn't left from the slap, of course) told she was just as happy as well. "Really, no bruises or nothing—well what I won't have from that backhand of yours."

Rissa couldn't help it, she didn't bother with manners, to try and dull her child's sharp tongue with a reproval, she simply laughed, just glad she had time to hear that wit once again.

"Mother, where's everyone else?" Davey asked suddenly, breaking the soft, happy little bubble that had enfolded their group. He looked up at her with wide brown eyes. "The rest of the village, the soldiers? Kali and Adam said they were coming here?"

"Where—where are my—my mother and father?" Hunter asked, making the adults jump as the remembered his and Jade's presence. His blue eyes were large and hopeful as he glanced up at the temple. "Are they—are they in there?"

"Hunter, dear—I—your Mother and Father—they're gone, love," the village head woman spoke softly, trying to be as gentle in the delivery as was possible for this sort of news. "Your house—it was one of the first—I'm so sorry, dear."

"No," Hunter whispered, shaking his head in disbelief, "No." They couldn’t be gone. They couldn’t be dead. He refused to believe it. No, she had to be wrong. This all had to be wrong. A cold shiver of dread spread slowly through him. Please no.

Marcielle watched the complex swirl of emotion flash through the young boy’s eyes. Pain, disbelief, anger, then finally, nothing. The dullness staring back at her shook the headwoman to her core. Gently, she reached toward Hunter, pulling him against her. The boy simply allowed himself to be pulled, denial still gripping his mind.

Jade watched the scene unfolding before him, his eyes remaining dull, his stance stiff and tense. It was something Adam noticed, the sight making him shudder. He turned back to his father, uncertain and confused. If everyone else was dead...

"We need to get them out of here," Garret whispered, his eyes falling on Rissa and Marcielle. Both women nodded in agreement. It was far too dangerous for them to stay. There had been enough bloodshed.

Davey watched the stoic expression on his mother’s face. Had he not known her so well, he would have thought her unaffected by the massacre around them, but her eyes told a different story. Davey could see the fine traces of worry and fear that resided in him and it sent a shiver through him.

"The docks," Rissa spoke, her eyes flitted between the group and the dirt and stone path before them. This was the only logical choice they had left. Heading back into the town would be suicide, they all knew that though no one uttered the words allowed. Marcielle nodded, tightening her grip around both her son and Hunter’s still shaking form.

"Let’s make haste," Garret murmured, his eyes wandering back to the path leading back to the center of the cove. The ring of steel still echoed in the air. They had to move now, while they remained unnoticed.

Silently, the eight hurried along the path, not a word uttered between them. Each was painfully aware of the danger a mere several hundred feet behind them. Kali’s eyes flitted between Adam and Jade, who stood on either side of the young girl. She could see the combination of fear, anxiousness and anger flooding through Adam, knowing he was torn between wanting to stay and defend his home and wanting to flee, while Jade remained unreadable. His face was stony, his eyes dark and empty. The fact that she couldn’t read him terrified her.

Adam allowed his gaze to fall to his friend, knowing that Kali hated the fact they were being made to leave. Hated the fact that there was little she could do to defend her home. But he could also see the relief in her eyes for the fact that her mother was alright. Despite everything, he knew just how much the woman meant to his friend.

The dock was deserted, the smoke from the burning homes and stores rolling over the calm water. It was eerily beautiful, the soft waves rocking the boats as smoke swirled around the small craft. The thought flickered through Davey’s mind before he shoved it away, turning towards the rest of the group.

The five children looked up expectantly, already half knowing what was about to pass before it even was spoken. They could see it in the three adults' eyes, the way the six orbs glimmered with sadness and determination. It sent shivers through them all and made the three youngsters left with parents cling to them a little tighter, particularly as tears began to pour down Marcielle's cheeks again, a silent flow of crystal salt.

"Fath—" Adam began but was silenced as Garret pulled him to him, practically crushing the boy to his chest.

Marcielle and Rissa made similar moves toward their own offspring, and Kali surprised everyone who watched her by not fighting against the embrace. She looked less of the little hoyden she'd always been, and more of the child that should have been there, quiet, face buried in the stained silk of her mother's ceremonial robes. Davey clung to his mother for all he was worth, not bothering to hide the fact that he was crying. It didn't matter now, not when this...

"You're just like your mother," Garret whispered for his son's ears alone, as he ran his fingers through the thick mass of dark brown hair Adam obviously received from him. He pressed his lips to the boy's crown, breathing in the scent of his hair; it smelled a little like Lisette's had. "You'll be fine. You're her son, you'll be just fine. She watches you."

Adam swallowed thickly, refusing to cry at the tenderness of his father's words. He was a soldier's son, he'd never been a baby in front of the man before, and he would not now. His father deserved to see the strength with which he'd reared him with, deserved that respect. So Adam pushed the lump in his throat down, and kept his head buried in the front of his father's leather armor until the burning in his eyes dulled.

Marcielle said nothing to Davey, all the things that mother and son had to say had already been said or were conveyed by their embrace, no more was necessary. Rissa and Kali were silent as well, but not in the same way. Kali had many things she wanted to say to the woman she'd spent twelve years of her life battling against, many questions, but they stuck in her throat, unwilling to come. The girl reasoned it was because she wouldn't get a straight answer now any more than she had before.

Rissa's eyes flickered on her daughter's face, also looking as if there were words wishing to make it past her lips. But they did not, instead, the golden haired priestess simply offered her child a smile, a kiss, then let her go.

Hunter looked at the three a dull ache throbbing in his chest. He wished desperately that he'd had a moment like this with his mother and father, even just a second. Guilt coupled with his grief, hitting his insides like a thousand spikes driving up and out of his chest, as he remembered his thoughts just before his father had sent him from the shop. He had resented them, resented the anger they had for one another, that they let him see it, the work he was forced to do because they weren't strong enough to take care of everything without depending on him. Hunter would gladly accept all of those things if he could just have them back. Briefly, he thought he might miss their bickering as he pressed his head into his pillow at night. At least the sound of it would assure him they were there.

Hunter jumped as he felt his hand being squeezed and looked at over at Jade, realizing the smaller boy's hand was still in his own, it had been for the entire walk. Jade didn't look back, his eyes were still empty, focused on the dirt in front of them, but the pressure on Hunter's hand was still constant, telling the other boy that somewhere in the broken shards of his inner self, Jade was still there. Still feeling, still sensing, still with them, with him. And for some reason, that was more comforting than even if Kira and Samien had walked down the path at that moment.

"You take the Sea Bird's helm," Garret told Adam after he'd released him and cleared his throat. "Take her down the cove, stay close to shore as you can. You should reach the Sapphire Port within a day of sailing. Dock there, you'll find someone, you'll be safe." He licked his lips before reaching into the confines of his shirt, pulling out a rather hefty looking cloth bag which he pushed into his son's hands. Adam's eyes widened as he recognized the bag and what had to be in it. It was the shop gold pouch, all the money Garret made in a week he put in there before taking it to the bankers, and considering the success of his father's shop, he knew it must be a lot.

"That should take care of you all for a bit," Garret said crossing his arms. "Until you find a place that's safe."

Adam blinked, trying to say something, feeling like he should, but he didn't get the chance. Somewhere over the hill that lead to the docks there was shouting a shouting and clanging that made even Garret flinch. The tension however, faded, as the adults' eyes darkened and they looked at one another.

"Help them shove off!" Rissa said to Marcielle, the priestess already sliding a shaft into her bow. For an instant Kali knew she was truly her mother's daughter, for the ferocious light glimmering in her eyes as she took up her weapon and started to sprint back from where they'd come.

"Hurry!" Garret urged, drawing his blade and following Rissa. "Well hold them off as long as we can!"

Adam started to go after his father, unwilling to let him go just yet, but he was stopped as Marcielle grabbed hold of his shoulder (she grabbed Kali's as well, even though the girl didn't look like she was going to follow, just for good measure) and spun him about, pushing toward the boat.

"You heard them, come on!" Marcielle ordered, her voice hardened with determination. "Get in the boat and cut the line! You children have to leave now!"

Even Davey didn't argue with her, and scrambled in, helping Hunter pull Jade into the boat behind him. Adam followed shortly after, pulling Kali behind him, the girl had her dagger out in an instant preparing to cut the line anchoring them to the docks as Adam went for the boat's helm. Marcielle was already running for the hill, and they watched her go, somewhat frozen as the last link to their old lives left them. The moment became all the more regretful as, just when Marcielle came to the crest of the hill, starting to load her bow, so did an armored man with a sword.

It wasn't like with Smith, this time it happened so fast they barely saw the marauder's arm draw back and swing, his blade piercing right through the head woman's shirt, before pulling out, letting Marcielle's very limp figure tumble back down towards the docks.

There was a dead silence, even blocking out the sounds of the ocean an the birds above as they watched the body of Davey's mother roll and the raider approach it, tearing at her clothes, scavenging for goods. Then suddenly, there was a roar of "Mother!" and Davey was off the boat, running toward the murderer, a manic gleam in his eye.

"Davey, no!" Adam and Hunter yelled, following him at once, Kali pulled her hand away from the anchor line, leaving it uncut. She started to go with them but stopped as she found Jade's hands wrapped about her forearm, locking her in place with his terrified weight. Stuck, the violet eyes child watched horrified as her three other friends ran towards what would surely be death.

The murderer looked up as he saw Davey coming, simply staring at the boy as he stood, not even bothering to pick up his sword that he'd dropped beside Marcielle's body. His friend's saw what was about to happen long before he did, Davey was blind to all except the urge to pummel the much bigger man, and their shouts to watch out fell on deaf ears. He didn't see the man's hand come back, the backside of it colliding with his cheekbone quite smartly, sending him flying to land hard in the dirt.

At once the raider was on the boy, looking as if he was going to strangle him with his bear hands, he very well could have had Hunter and Adam not launched themselves upon him, trying desperately to pull the killer down with their meager weight. They succeeded in causing him to stumble back a few feet, away from Davey enough so that the black haired boy had time to pull himself into a sitting position, but not much else.

The man, or perhaps beast would have been a better word, gave a guttural curse and shook his arms, which Hunter and Adam were clinging to, knocking Hunter off and to the earth almost at once. Adam however, managed to keep his grip, but that was shortly remedied for the marauder as he drew back his free hand and slammed it into Adam's face, hitting him square upon the nose. Davey and Hunter heard bones breaking as Adam let go, moaning and clutching his bleeding nose as he hit the ground.

Davey looked up at the monster who killed his mother as he scrabbled with Hunter to help Adam to his feet. He the mountain of dark muscle, armor, sinew, and dirt, towered above them, looming closer and closer to them. A wicked smile played over his face, and Davey knew, just knew that they were going to die. They were all going to die, just like his mother, because he couldn't control himself.

The warrior was standing less than half a foot from them when a sharp "No!" pierced the air. Less than a second later, before the raider could turn around, a wiry figure had leapt onto his back, fisting his hair to jerk his head back. He cursed and flailed, reaching for the body latched onto his hauberk, but was too clumsy to get a good hold. There was a flash of white steel in the sunlight right before the shining metal buried itself into the murderer's throat. Spurts of hot red accompanied the utterly awful sound of ripping flesh and a gurgled scream that came with the blade's work. The figure jumped from the raider's back as he began to fall, landing in an almost catlike crouch a few feet back.

Hunter, Davey, and Adam all stared at Kali in a mixture of horror and awe. Her eyes glowed, her face was stony as she watched her opponent fall. Blood covered her small hands clear to her wrists, a few droplets were on her face from the spurting, and her dagger shone crimson from the deed. The gravity of the moment was painful. Kali had taken life, and she had done it for them.

At the same time that the three boys came to this realization, the cold, killing, facade Kali had worn as she slit the raider's throat evaporated. She shook her head, looking down at her hands. At once she was trembling, dropping her knife, as she really took in the act she, a twelve year old girl, had just committed. She stared at her hands, still slick with the essence of life, and she felt it. She'd killed.

Adam was the first to snap back into reality, falling to his friend’s side, his hand resting gently on her shoulder. "Kali." She didn’t say a word, barely moved even. She couldn’t seem to wrap her head around it. She’d taken a life, it didn’t matter that it had been that of a murderer, it was still a life. A life she’d ended. "Kali," Adam tried once more. This time she turned her head, facing her friend. The confusion and uncertainty in her eyes shook him.

The rest of the children stood in disbelief, unsure of what to make of the scene before them. Hunter was vaguely aware of the way Jade moved steadily from the boat towards the body laying at Kali’s feet. The blank stare he wore grew darker as he bent down, yanking the knife from the blood stained dock. Without a word he plunged the blade into the dead man’s chest over and over again, each stab growing more and more forceful.

His breathing came in short, hard pants, blood slowing covering his hands, causing the knife to slip around in them. But Jade didn’t let that slow him. No, these men had robbed him of everything. They had to pay. He would make them pay. He would make them all pay.

"Jade," Hunter started, snapping from his daze and moving quickly to his friend’s side. The boy didn’t hear the word falling from his friend’s lips and he continued to slam the knife into the unmoving form before him. Hunter locked his hands around Jade’s arm as he raised it back for another strike. "Jade, stop. It’s done. It’s over."

The boy turned, staring blankly at Hunter, the knife shaking in his hand. For a brief moment his eyes flitted down to the body before him. Blood covered the man’s mutilated chest, spilling onto the dock beneath him. There was no movement. Nothing. The monster was dead.

"Jade," Hunter repeated once more, his voice soft and low, meant only for his friend’s ears. A soft cry fell from Jade’s lips and the knife slipped from his fingers, clattering down against the dock. His blank eyes snapped shut as he fell listlessly against Hunter’s form. Pulling his friend tightly against him, Hunter clung to Jade before allowing his gaze to fall on the others surrounding them.

Davey, Adam, and Kali, all met his eyes, a silent conversation passing between the four. Finally he murmured one word, "Boat" and they nodded in return.

"Come on, Kal," Davey murmured reaching down to take hold of Kali's blood stained hands along with Adam and pull the girl to her feet, neither boy showing an ounce of disdain for the still warm liquid that passed from her hands to their own. The blood on Kali's hands had been spilled for them, they could never look at her differently for it, and together they lead her back to the boat, arms fastened about her waist.

With the others already going, Hunter knew he and Jade must follow, there was no telling when even more murderers like the one Kali had just dispatched would come along. They needed to run as Marcielle, Rissa, and Garret had planned for them to do, while there was still time for it.

"Jade," Hunter said giving the smaller boy's a pat. "Come on, we have to go."

Hunter felt Jade shudder against him and a small whimper escape as he said, in a small defeated, voice, "What's the point?" Another shudder wracked his frame. "Everything's gone."

"No," Hunter hurried to protest, shaking his head vigorously. He pushed Jade back by an arms length, taking hold of the side of his face so that there was no way his hazel eyes weren't meeting Hunter's blue ones. "No, it's not. We're still here, Jade. Kali, Adam, Davey, and I, we're here and we're together. We won't leave you. I won't leave you."

Jade started at those words, the weight of them almost crushing the air from his chest, particularly as he continued to stare into Hunter's eyes. It was like he'd regained his hearing after a period of being deaf, the way they touched his ears. It was like if nothing else ever was true in the world, if anything had not been before, those words were truth, maybe the only truth in the world. It didn't matter, all that mattered was that they had been said.

Hunter swallowed at the sudden heaviness in the air, his throat feeling a little dry. Whether it was from all the horrible things they had seen today, or the intense, almost burning quality to Jade's eyes, he wasn't sure. He only knew that something paramount had just changed within him, between the two of them actually, and that change teetered upon a razors edge of being bad or good.

Hunter didn't know what he was thinking as he leaned forward and very delicately pressed his lips to the corner of Jade's mouth. But he did it, and they remained that way for several moments, Jade not pushing away, and Hunter not drawing back.

In those seconds of being connected Hunter felt such a rush of things he couldn't begin to count or decipher them, the one thing that did come to mind was Jade's pulse beneath skin, his heart sounding off harder than the hooves of a thousand horses. Somehow, that was very comforting.

Hunter pulled away at the sound of Adam yelping, on the boat Kali had ripped away her already bloodied shirt sleeve and pressed it to his still dripping nose, trying to remold the broken cartilage there. Again, the urge to flee crossed his mind, and the blonde thought this, whatever it was, needed to be left for a better time, one where they weren't so close to dying.

"Come on," he said standing, meeting Jade's eyes which were still unreadable, holding a hand out to the other boy. "Let's go, they need us."

Jade didn't make any other reply other than to take hold of Hunter's hand, and allow him to pull him up. He kept a tight hold on Hunter's forearm as they walked back to the boat, after Hunter turned them back to grab up Kali's dagger, knowing that it had been a gift from her mother, and that she wouldn't want it to be left behind, even after the stain it was going to carry.

Prelude 12

“Is it coming along well, love?” a soft voice asked. A boy, slender and young, most likely twelve, at first sight, looked up and around from where he was seated with a book in his lap, back pressed against a rather large oak tree. The boy, named David, but more commonly called Davey, smiled at the approaching figure of a woman. By the small mouth, lean angular features, and river of midnight tresses that they shared, it was easy to see that the two were related, the only real differences being in their builds, sexuality, and eye color. Davey’s eyes were brown, soft and quiet, like that of a doe’s, while the woman’s were a bright, confident, green.

“Very well, mother,” Davey told her. He had a soft voice, again something that seemed to have been given to him by the woman standing above, as quiet as his eyes and just as warm, when he wanted it to be. Right now, as he beamed up at his mother, he did indeed desire that quality, and gave it to her. Those who knew this boy would sometimes say they felt privileged for that warmth, it could be that impassioned, at times. “I’ve gotten nearly a quarter’s way through it since this morning.”

“That’s very good, David,” she said, showing yet another trait her son had received through her, as she gave him back the warmth of his smile with her own. “But do you understand what you have read?” She smoothed back her simple but nicely tailored skirts as she sat down cordially beside her boy in the soft spring grass. Watching her, Davey, even after so many years, could not help but to be awed with almost every move that his mother made. She exuded some sort of unearthly grace, like there were no bones in her body, just some sort of poetry of blood, sinew, and elegance that made even a breath by her seem artistic. Her large, doll-like, yet soul piercing eyes, met his, telling her son she expected a good answer.

“I think what Master Thais is to convey to the reader is that reason alone cannot guide one through life,” Davey said, closing up his book to show he was not drawing any knowledge from it. Or at least he was giving her his own interpretation of what the knowledge within the text. “That you have to also allow your emotions and instincts to lead you. That you should embrace both mortality and divinity to become a person who is complete with the world.”

“And is that a possible?” she asked, a grin lighting her emerald eyes. “Can a human perceive with all of those things? Think for themselves in that way, David?”

Davey regarded her in silence, knowing this was a test. Marcielle Marchand was always giving him these little tests, it was her way of keeping his mind sharp, shaping it to be as wise as her own. And Marcielle, as the headwoman for their little seaport village, was very wise indeed. She had to prove it often enough, and not only just because her position required it, but because her sex coupled with it demanded it. Marcielle had proven that her title was well given many times, gaining respect from even the harshest of her male critics within Mendel Cove.

“Well, I believe that, many people are capable of that, Mother,” he began after thoughtful silence. “Really, no one, who is born with the necessary mental position, is not capable of it. The problem, however, is that many people do not wish to be capable of it and ignore the gift of their conscious.”

Davey resisted a complacent smile as his mother quirked a slender ebony brow at those words. Being self–assured, he reminded, himself, was the first step to self–destruction. Marcielle had ingrained that within his mind from the cradle, and he would not be so foolhardy to forget it now. Still though, he allowed himself to be just the tiniest bit pleased on the inside that he had given her an answer she both liked and had not fully expected him to speak.

“Hmm...explain your thesis, son,” she finally said, Davey could see, with glee, she too was trying to hide a smile, one of pride. Pride was also a brick on the roadway of self–destruction.

“Generally, people don’t want to possess this capability because it’s just easier for them to ignore it,” he said. “Human beings, by nature, find more reason and pleasure by taking the easiest path in life. What path in life is easier than allowing their conscious to be lead? It’s a point proven in the fabric of government, religion, and war. Without willing followers and leaders then not one of those institutions would be possible in the slightest.”

Marcielle gazed at her son for several more long moments, her eyes guarded and secretive as they ever were. Just when Davey had begun to doubt himself though, she was smiling again, gently, just a touch of pride in her verdant irises. She reached up to pass a long fingered hand through his black tresses.

“Your answer is good,” Marcielle said, a smile, as bright and warm as the delicate May sunshine that flooded the little field in which they sat. “I daresay your father would be inclined to agree with you.”

Davey blushed a little from the compliment. His father, a scholar, had died when he was barely two. Lyell had been a man greatly respected in the cove for his intellect, greatly respected along the whole Sapphire Coast, his mother had always loved to tell the story of the day one of great Lords came to Mendel Cove, seeking Lyell’s advice. In all truth, Davey greatly enjoyed that tale as well, it was one of those eternally aching, secret, wishes that many keep to converse with his father, to know the man he had been. But it was one that he could never have, save for his dreams, so he tried his best not to contemplate it very much. He didn’t believe in false hopes.

“You know,” his mother spoke, jerking him from his inner musings. “In all honesty, I didn’t expect you to be here, doing your school work today.”

It was Davey’s turn to raise a single black eyebrow. “And why is that?” he questioned. “Have I ever disobeyed you before, when it came to my studies, Mother?”

“No, you’ve never really disobeyed me yet,” she told him, an amused light in her eyes keeping her plush red lips turned up. “But I simply told you that this book would be your reading for the day, my love. I told you not a word about finishing it. It’s such a lovely day, I did not actually think you would have the restraint to sit here and read it.” His mother’s eyes flicked towards the harbor that the little field which they sat in, overlooked.

Davey smiled as he finally caught the gist of her words. On a day like today a twelve year old such as Davey should very much be sailing down the coast with his friends in his close companion, Adam’s, little boat. The thought had indeed passed his mind, but there were circumstances beyond his control that prevented the plan. Of which he told his mother.

“Hunter’s father needed help down at his workshop,” he explained. “Jade’s little brother ran off and his mother sent him off to fetch him. Kali had a row with her mother this morning, so the priestess ordered her to her rooms all day. Adam said it wouldn’t be any fun with just the two of us, so he went to spend time with his father. There was nothing else for me to do, so...” he raised his book with a chuckle that his mother joined in with.

“Ah, well, perhaps you should go and see if Rissa has let Kali out then?” Marcielle suggested, continuing to preen her boy’s midnight locks. “Or just track her down, because I assure you she is out.” His mother gave a small laugh. “I saw her headed towards the practice yards. I think her intentions were to convince Adam to spar. A pity, her mother had set her hair up in such a lovely little plait.”

Davey laughed outright at the thought of Kali with her hair neatly arranged, it did not suit his friend at all and he decided at once he must see if it were true. It would be a wonderful thing to tease her over if it was.

“Go on,” his mother chuckled, prying the book gingerly from his fingertips. “Go, have fun with your friends, David. Childhood doesn’t last long, my love.” Davey smiled at his mother, adoring her all the more for her generosity and understanding as much for her unthinking grace, and leaned into kiss her on the cheek.

“Thank you, Mother,” he told her sincerely after pulling away and standing.

“You’re welcome, dear,” she told him with equal love in her eyes. Her smile became playful as she took the book and gave him a gentle swat on the rear. “Now off with you! Don’t give me time to rethink my offer, child.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he laughed, and without another thought or word had started running towards the slope of the cliff, the gentle curve that separated away from the rock face on it’s left side.

Marcielle watched her only child go, beaming in a way that only a happy mother could. She was right, she knew, childhood would not last long for her boy.

Across town, the wide blue eyes of another boy stared in wonder at the man seated before him, listening intently to the tale falling from his lips. Behind him the light crackle of the fire filled the room. Each word that filled the air captivated him. It didn’t matter that he had heard them a hundred times over. Every time they seemed to take a on a new life, they changed and for that reason alone, Adam Carson would sit and listen to them a hundred times over again.

At just barely thirteen years old, Adam had spent his entire life in the small seaside village of Mendel Cove, dreaming of the people and lands his father had spoken of in his stories. He wanted nothing more than to make his way into the world, to find the honor and the glory his father spoke of. To become a soldier as his father had been. When he wasn’t helping his father run the small, but successful, shop in the center of the village, he was in the training fields in the soldier’s fort with anyone willing to spar.

More often than not, his sparing partner were his friends Hunter and Kali. He had known both for as long as he could remember. They had spent many a summer’s day sneaking off to the training fields along with their less combative friends, Davey and Jade, often times staying there until the sun began to set over the rolling waves of the sea, sparring and chasing each other around the archery targets. The soldiers still occupying the fort had been long time friends with Adam’s father and simply laughed off the children’s antics.

Truth be told, Adam enjoyed sparring with Kali far better than he did with the rest of their small group. The only girl in their midst, Kali was light and quick on her feet, she made him work twice as hard, never let him off his guard, and he was the better fighter for it. With each practice, it became apparent, within their little group, that Kali and Adam were going to be the ones truly excelling at the combative arts.

Garret Carson knew of his son’s activities, and while he did not approve, he knew there was little he could do to stop him. Adam had inherited his mother’s stubbornness and determination, something Garret both cherished and cursed. Lisette Carson had been a strong-willed and passionate woman., that was one of the many reasons Garret had fallen in love with her. She was full of bright ideas and big dreams, helping her husband build his shop and working there each and everyday, morning til dusk even after she had found out she was with child.

Lisette had passed away shortly after giving birth to their tiny son and Garret had taken it harder than any had expected. For the first few months of his young child’s life, he barely spent a moment’s time with the boy, throwing himself into the shop. Rissa, Kali’s mother had acted both as wet nurse and mother in that time. As priestess and a close friend of both Lisette and Garret, she could see no other path for herself.

As the months slowly passed by, Garret began to warm to his son, his only remaining link to the woman he cherished. He watched his son grow into a bright and active child, questioning and full of life as his mother had been. And Garret supported and encouraged that quality in him. It would serve him well as he grew, though he did his best to instil the importance of family, of loyalty to those you love, in Adam’s mind. He had learned the hard way just how quickly life could be snatched away.

“Adam,” the soft voice of a young boy echoed from beyond the door, accompanied by several steady knocks. Garret paused his tale, looking up thoughtfully at the boy before him. With a nod, Adam pulled himself to his feet, lumbering quickly to the door. With a steady tug, pulled it open to discover his friend, Davey, staring at him with his signature smile.

“You finally pulled your nose out of that book,” Adam teased. It was well known, amongst the group, that the boy standing before him absorbed knowledge like a sponge, reading any and everything his mother placed in front of him. When he was able to pull himself away, even for a moment, his friends were there tease him, lovingly of course, about it.

Davey simply cocked his eyebrow. “At least I can read,” he countered with a knowing smirk.

“Oh hush, you.” It was not to say that Adam did not have the ability to read, he simply saw little value in it. He could read the orders at the shop and the signs along the town, but beyond that he saw no use for reading. He would be a soldier, what did he need books for?

“I think that will conclude our tale for the time being,” Garret called from inside the darkened cottage. Adam turned quickly towards his father, saddened to not hear the conclusion of the story, but hopeful that he would be allowed to head out, even for a few hours. “You boys go and entertain yourselves, but mind my boat, you hear. If she comes back maimed, you will both get a beating neither of you have ever dreamed of.” This was added with a smile, though the boys faces had grown considerably paler. “And mind you to keep Kali out of trouble, I know she’ll be heading out with you. She has that knack of falling into it, though sometimes I wonder if it’s the company she keeps.” Garret raised a knowing eyebrow.

Adam and Davey both chuckled nervously before uttering “Yes sirs” and scrambling out the door into the bright light of the village square. After several rapid blinks, Adam’s eyes adjusted to the severe and sudden change of light. “Do you know if Kali’s made her way out of her mother’s clutches yet?” he questioned, his eyes falling upon his shorter companion. “What exactly happened this time?”

“Most likely. You know Kali, she’s probably heading our way as we speak,” He let loose a chuckle, “I fear Priestess Rissa’s tried to put her in a dress again.”

Adam chuckled at that as well, “I’ve yet to see Kali in a dress and I think I’ll die the day I do.”

“It will certainly be a surprise,” Davey chuckled along with his friend. A comfortable silence fell over the two boys as they made their way into the town.

“Do you think we can wrestle Hunter away from his father for a few hours?”

“We could try,” Davey answered with a shrug, “Maybe we can catch up with Jade as well, help him track down that infernal pain in the side he calls a brother.”

“Lord help Smith when Jade finds him,” Adam added, shaking his head, “He’s probably furious.”

“He certainly seemed that way when earlier. I don’t even think he waved us goodbye.”

“Aye, we’ll find them soon enough,” Adam added as the two boys continued down the dirt and cobblestoned path leading through the heart of their village, both their minds set on the adventures this day would bring.

“Damn, her,” a very agitated young girl swore as she looked at her neatly braided and arranged mass of black hair in the dingy mirror that had been set up in her room. She screwed up her pretty face, violet eyes snapping at the image created with the hairstyle. “Damn her!” Her fists, though small, clenched and unclenched menacingly as she looked from her laughable hair in the mirror, to the corner of the room where very recently a freshly stitched lavender dress had been hung over the back of a chair. Kalika Sirenidae, more commonly called Kali, was not a happy girl that day.

She looked out her window, past the sycamore that had grown close to the cottage, over the town square, and to the peacefully lapping waves of the sea. With a pout, she remembered where she was supposed to be at the moment, sailing close along the shore in her friend’s boat. Supposed to be at least, but Kali’s plans had altered after a fight with her mother in regards to her hoydenish nature. Priestess Rissa had informed her only child that she was to start acting like a proper young woman, and stop running amuck with the group of boys she had known all her life as well as desist with her combat studies down at the soldier’s fort. Kali cared nothing for her mother’s commands and told her so quite emphatically, which, seeing as she had been locked in her bedroom until she agreed to wear the dress, had not been received by the Priestess so warmly.

Kali growled deep in her throat at the lilac monstrosity in the corner of her room, as if it silently mocked her, advocating itself as the source of her plight. The violet eyed girl agreed with it, and, deciding to pay both it and her mother back, ran to pull on her breeches and boots. She knew as soon as she started to pull her clothes on that this probably was not one of her better, more prudent ideas. She would get caught, she always did, but she would do it nonetheless, and probably would many times in the future. Kali wasn’t always careful, no, but she had enough guts to make up for it at times.

Kali had just finished lacing her boots and was about to climb out her window into the sycamore, when a silvery flash on her bedside table caught her eye. The girl almost kicked herself for forgetting the object, a long dagger in a plain sheath, oddly enough given to her by her mother. It was Kali’s most treasured possession and she’d been taught to use it, though the opportunity to do so had yet to arise. Whether or not she ever wanted to have that opportunity, she didn’t know, but she buckled it to her waist nonetheless before climbing out onto her widow ledge and leaping out, grabbing hold of the nearest branch.

This was a practice the Priestess’ daughter was more than accustomed to, and next to her friend, Jade, who was occasionally called Squirrel for his tree climbing savvy, she was the best. In a matter of seconds, Kali had scuttled from limb to limb, until she was within range of the ground. With one last heave of her body, she dropped down to the earth, landing like a cat on her heels and palms. Well, almost, Kali hadn’t been paying attention to where her hands went and felt the skin on the heel of her right palm split as a rather sharp rock she hadn’t noticed buried itself into the flesh there.

Giving a slight hiss, she jumped up, picking the rocks and gravel away from the wound to look it over. It was a nice gash, deep and trickling with crimson to stain down her wrist and shirt sleeve. If she had been a normal twelve year old girl she would have been crying and running to her mother to fix it. Kali, however, was not a very normal girl, proven by her more than strange eyes, hair, and now, by the fact that the skin on her hand was starting to pull itself together.

Kali was not sure how she could do this, how her body would do this to itself, mend on its own so fast, but it very well did. Once when she was five, she had spilled hot oil from the temple alter all over herself, almost everyone was sure she was going to be blind, if not scarred for life, but that hadn’t happened at all. The skin had bubbled and cracked and within an hour’s time, the bloody, raised, flesh had been replaced by scar tissue, by the following morning, the skin was as smooth as nothing had ever happened. It might have very well been dismissed as a dream, if she had not seen her body repair itself on later dates. She had asked her mother about this thing, about many things, thinking perhaps it had to do with her father, no one save for Priestess Rissa knew who he was, but her mother was tight–lipped about it. Kali knew no more about why her eyes were violet, or why purple tendrils grew amidst the black in her hair, or why her body could do what it did, than any one else. Her mother always said it would be something she would hear when she was older. The Priestess had been saying that since Kali was two, and the girl, needless to say, had grown tired of the runabout. Long ago Kali had accepted she was less than normal, her friends accepted it, and so she stopped thinking about it. Or at least she stopped admitting to do so.

When the skin on her hand had scabbed together nicely Kali dusted herself off, and looked about. No one of importance who might alert her mother to her departure seemed to be standing about, so she took off from beneath the sycamore tree at a sprint, a destination already in mind. Adam would be free, he was always free, and when she had gotten hold of him perhaps they could convince Davey to put his book down for awhile. After they got Davey then they could run by Hunter’s and help him finish his many chores, and after that track down Jade, who could be across the countryside, looking for Smith, and help him out. After that Kali estimated they should have close to until sunset to do as they pleased.

Slinking down the streets she, tried to be as inconspicuous as possible, though with her hair and the fact that it was her she was probably a bit down on her luck already. But save for the fact that she thought she saw Marcielle Marchand looking at her as she jogged down the street, away from the temple and it’s adjacent cottage that she shared with her mother, Kali remained virtually unnoticed as any other day. She was quite proud of that fact, and her head became a little bit stuck in the clouds as she ran along, remaining there, unnoticing of the world around her, until she literally turned about a corner and ran into her destination.

Adam gave a deep “oomph!” as Kali’s lithe frame hit his lanky one, stumbling back a few paces at the collision while Kali herself nearly bounced back on her rear. Nearly, she was saved from that humiliation (and soreness) by the quick thinking of the other half of her goal. Quicker than a blink Davey had skittered past the stumbling Adam to grab hold of her wrist, and giving a tug that was surprisingly strong for a boy of his size, pulled her upright. Kali stumbled a bit from the force of that, but was caught again, as Adam reached out to lay a hand on both her and Davey’s shoulders, steadying her and keeping her from knocking into the black haired boy.

The three looked at one another for a few moments as they regained both composure and balance before cracking smiles and beginning to laugh, Adam half keeling over as he held his belly.

“You’re a real wreck, Kal, you know that right?” the tallest of the boys laughed, looking up with mirthful tears in his eyes at his sole female companion.

“You mean she causes them,” Davey chuckled, breathlessly happy himself.

“Oh hush, the both of you!” Kali tried to sound stern, but felt the futility of the attempt due to the smile playing across her lips.

“My gods!” Adam suddenly gasped, making both his friends, jump, the smiles disappearing from their faces.

“What?” Davey and Kali chorused together, slight alarm ringing in their eyes.

“Kal—what in the name of the gods–your hair!” Adam exclaimed, right before holding his stomach as he began to laugh again, Davey took a quick look at Kali before joining him.

Kali’s purple eyes lit up with a spark of that hellfire she’d shown to her mother just that morning, remembering she hadn’t bothered to take her hair out of it’s elaborate plate before sneaking out, and scowled at her friends, Adam in particular. While Davey at least tried to stop, Adam only began to giggle more, breaking the last straw upon the girl’s back. With a rather loud roar, she leapt upon Adam, taking them both to the ground as she began to pummel him. Davey moved out of the way of the ball his two friends became as they tumbled, laughing as they started throwing punches at one another.

“To hell with you, Carson!” she shrieked as she hit. “I didn’t do this to myself you know!”

“Nope, your mummy did!” he cackled, blocking some hits while returning others.

“Bastard!” she growled.

“You would know!” he taunted back.

“Okay enough, you two!” Davey said, reaching down to grab their hands, fingers balled into fists ready to smash into one another. Davey’s touch calmed them both immediately, and they relaxed, Adam allowing his hands to fall to his sides, while Kali jerked hers away. There was tense silence for few seconds as Adam lay on the ground, Kali straddling his waist, glaring down at his chest, Davey watching them both with his arms crossed. Finally Adam gave a sigh and sat up, and in one quick motion passed his hand through Kali’s disheveled hair, his hand returning with the tie that held it up on the end. Laying the tie down he ran the hand back through her violet and jet mange, tousling so that it was wild about her face.

“There,” he said with a half smile, leaning up further to replace the tie in a haphazard fashion, and very Kali way, about her locks. He pulled a few stray tresses down into her eyes, obscuring her piercing violet gaze just a bit. “Much better. Girl hair doesn’t suit you, Kal.”

Kali grinned. “Yeah I know,” she giggled before jumping up. She held out her hands to him, and Adam accepted them, allowing the girl to pull him onto his feet.

Davey smiled, knowing things were, as always, very fine between Kali and Adam, as they turned grins upon him. “Come on,” he said beckoning with his left hand. “We’ve still got Hunter and Jade to collect yet, don’t we?”

“Ugh–huh!” both his friends laughed in unison before all three began a run up the cobblestone street, back the way Kali had come along. The sole girl among the friends smiled as she sprinted between Adam and Davey, she was not going to become a proper young lady today.

The wooden box dug heavily into his tiny shoulder, a grimace of pain flashing through his blue eyes. He was not a slight boy by any means, but at twelve years old, Hunter Burgan was stronger than some of the boys twice his age. This, he did not doubt, came from the hours he spent working along side his father, Samien, in the small carpentry shop he owned on the outskirts of the village.

Work was demanding and often times straining for the young boy, but Hunter knew that by doing this, he was helping to put food on his family’s table. And with the way times were, his family needed all the help they could possibly get.

Hard times had fallen on the Burgan household after Hunter’s mother, Kira, had fallen ill shortly after her son’s first year of life. At the time, none were sure the young wife and mother would survive, but Samien had never given up hope on the woman he loved. He poured nearly all of their savings into finding a cure, a treatment, anything for his wife.

Countless doctors and months later, his prayers were finally answered. Though the illness had left Kira unable to bear more children or even carry on the working life she had once lead, she was alive. But things, life, had forever been altered for the young family. Money was scarce and with the care Kira still required, they barely earned enough to keep food on the table. This burden fell heavily on both Samien and young Hunter’s shoulders.

From the time Hunter was able to walk on his own, he worked to help his father in the shop. Little things at first, greeting customers, holding tools. But as he grew, so did his tasks. Now he worked along side his father on many of his jobs. In what little spare time he could find, Hunter was off sparring and playing with his friends.

The five of them had done so for as long as the young boy could remember. And it was with them that Hunter felt most at ease. He could escape the frustration and tension that settled around the Burgan household like a dense fog. Though he never fully understood it, it was something Hunter could not deny. He could see it in his father’s eyes, feel it in his mother’s silence, in the way they spoke to one another.

With a grimace, he placed the box heavily down on the workbench next to his father. The man sat, his entire attention focused on the small chest before him. It was a wedding gift for the daughter of one of the villages prominent families. The detail requested of the piece had kept Samien locked in his shop for the past several days, only emerging when his body could no longer stand the lack of food or sleep. But the pay was quite well, and for the Samien would suffer through the frustration. That pay was so desperately needed.

“I’ve finished the box,” Hunter whispered softly, knowing that by speaking now he risked breaking his father’s concentration and invoking the short temper he had so acutely developed.

“Leave it be, son,” his father only mumbled in reply. The last thing he wanted to do was drag his only child into this mess. Into something he had little control over.

Hunter merely nodded, turning from the workbench and heading back to the far corner of the shop to return to the few other pieces his father had asked for his help in finishing. As he passed by the window, he watched the sun beam down on the people passing by, wishing, not for the first time, that he could be outside with them, enjoying the day. But he knew that was impossible and though he hated that fact, he understood.

Settling himself at his own small desk, Hunter turned his attention to the shelf sitting before him. He allowed himself to become engrossed with his work, barely pausing when he heard the door from to the shop open softly.

“Samien,” the soft voice of his mother filled the quiet shop. His father merely grunted in return, his attention focused solely on the task before him. But Hunter could sense a change in the room. The all to familiar tension that seemed to radiate around them. “Samien,” she called again.

He turned to face the doorway, eyes falling on his wife’s frail form, questioning why she had come in the first place. She hated that stare. Hunter forced himself to focus more intently on the piece before him, trying with all his might to block out the world around him. Block out the tension surrounding him.

“You’ve been in this room all day....I thought you might want to come back to the house for something to eat. To get a bit of fresh air,” she posed softly. “You’re always cooped up in here.”

“I’m here because I’ve got no other choice, Kira. We need to eat and we can’t very well do that without money.” His voice was soft and even, but there was little mistaking the frustration in it.

Kira physically shrunk backwards at his verbal assault, knowing what role she and her illness played in it. “I was merely suggesting. Plus it would give the boy a chance to run around for a bit. He needs to be a child. He only has so many years of childhood left, you can’t keep him cooped up in here forever.”

Hunter froze at her words, his mind wandering back several hours. Kali, Adam, and Davey had all come by, smiling and ready to bring him along as they took Adam’s father’s small boat out onto the harbor for a few hours, only to be turned away. Samien had done so with a heavy heart, hating the disappointment he saw flashing in his son’s eyes.

“Do you not think I know that, Kira?” Samien’s voice rose with each word that feel from his lips. “Don’t you think I would rather see my son, my only child, outside enjoying life? Enjoying everything while he still has that chance? Do you think I want this for him, Kira? If I had a choice in the matter he wouldn’t be in here! But I don’t have that say. I lost it a long while ago. This is the only choice I have! The only one we have, so do not speak of matters you know so little about!”

“Don’t,” she shot back, her voice raising as well. “This is not solely my fault. I didn’t ask for this to happen, Samien. I didn’t chose it!”

The silence that filled the small shop was deafening. Hunter wanted nothing more than to run, to get as far away from this, from them, as he possibly could. But his limbs, it seemed, were made of lead and refused his mind’s every command. Stop, he pleaded silently. Please stop.

He hated this. Hated how even the smallest of things brought forth such bitterness in the two people he cared for most. He could see the hurt and guilt in his mother’s eyes, the frustration and pain in his father’s face. The way they stared each other down, each waiting for the other to say something more. To challenge the other.

Slowly, he found himself able to stand, though he had no idea where he would go. The only exit to the shop was where Kira currently stood and the last thing Hunter wanted was to place himself in the middle of their argument. As he pushed himself away from his desk, his foot caught on the scraps of wood he’d left carelessly laying about the floor. A sharp howl of pain feel from his lips, causing both Samien and Kira to break from their stare and turn to face him.

“Hunter,” Samien began slowly, seeing the discomfort in his son’s eyes, “Why don’t you go see if you can find Adam, Kali and Davey?” The boy didn’t need to see any more of this. It wasn’t fair to him.

“But what about...” Hunter started, grateful for a chance to leave what he knew would only be another fight. But he still could not help feeling guilty. There was still a great deal of work left and he knew his father could not handle it all on his own.

“It can wait.” Samien’s voice was firm, leaving the boy little room to argue. Silently, Hunter nodded before making his way towards the door and past his stunned mother. As he jogged down the cobblestone street, he could hear the voices of his parents raising once again.

Pushing their voices from his mind, the boy made his way through the now crowding streets in the direction of Adam’s home. It was the most logical of places to start, even his emotionally cluttered mind could make sense of that. Hunter paid little attention to the commotion around him, his eyes focused blankly on the street before him. He refused to let himself think anything beyond finding his friends and putting this morning behind him.

Unshed tears burned in his blue eyes, blurring his vision. But he refused to allow them to fall. No, this didn’t matter. This was life. He could deal with this. He could handle it, he had to. They needed him to be strong. His family needed him. As his thoughts sped, so did his pace, until he was practically sprinting down the street. He didn’t slow until a warm, solid wall halted his progress.

Stumbling backwards, Hunter found himself thrust back into reality, his eyes falling upon the familiar, concerned face of one of his closest friends. “Davey.”

Davey outstretched his hand, offering his friend a soft smile. “Are you alright?”

With a silent nod, Hunter returned his friend’s smile, though both boys knew it didn’t truly reach his eyes. Gathering himself, Hunter turned to face the other two companions standing behind Davey. Both looked uncertainly at Hunter, seeing the redness in his eyes, before exchanging knowing looks. They were looks Hunter had known all too well and he waited for the line of questioning he was certain would follow. But neither said a word, merely offering their friend knowing smiles. A conscious effort to lessen the slowly building tension.

“I see your mother let you out, Kali.” Hunter stated, breaking the silence. Noting the shift in Kali’s gaze, before smirking, “Or did you pull a Jade and put that sycamore tree beneath your window to good use?”

Chuckling, Kali nodded her head. “I’ll die before I’ll let her put me in a dress.” A roar of laughter fell from all of their lips at that. “What? You think I’m kidding?”

“Oh no, Kal. I think the world will come to a fiery end if you were ever to spend more than a few moments in anything other than your tunic and breeches,” Davey voiced, his eyes dancing with mirth.

“That’ll be enough out of you, bookworm.” The four dissolved into a fit of giggles, Davey shooting Kali a knowing glare. “Speaking of fiery ends, why don’t we go see if Jade has gotten his hands on Smith yet? Because lord knows that poor boy is treading on thin ice as it is.”

“Let’s hope we haven’t missed the show yet,” Adam chimed in with a hearty laugh. The four nodded, making their way towards the woods in the distance, each looking forward to the excitement this day would bring.

Jade Puget was normally a very patient boy. On an average day, he did not rush through tasks, he was calm and collected, quite the levelheaded child. Today was not one of those average days though. Today, he was, more or less, pissed off.

The day was bad from the very start, when he had was woken an hour and a half early before his usual time, a little after dawn, by the cries of his month old little sister, Wynne. He’d struggled to try and return to sleep, but it was a useless fight, as his younger brother Smith, whom he shared a bed with, was snoring forcefully. Usually it didn’t bother him, but today the nose simply got under his skin like no other time, so he’d started the day off a bit grumpily. Further aggravation had been piled on as he was kicked in the side by a cow he was trying to milk that morning. Not badly, but enough so that his father, Bryant, had ordered him off chores that morning and his two older, Cullen and Corbin, had found reason to tease him.

Sent off to the house to help his mother with chores there (the twins had very cleverly said he was becoming a woman for the day), he’d spent the morning half being fussed over by his mother, Livia, and elder sister, Myra, and being humiliated by assisting with the cooking. It had only gotten worse when his friends Adam, Davey, and Kali, had come by, to ask him to go sailing, and had seen him churning butter. Nothing was said but he was shamed nonetheless. The worst of it was he might have been allowed to go, in fact his father had seen his friends, knew he wanted to go with them, and had given his permission. And then out came his mother, shouting for Smith, and upon not finding them, had more or less, politely, ordered Jade to find his little brother, seeing as he had nothing else to do.

So here he was, combing the fields near his family’s farm, his ribs still aching from that kick, looking for his miserable puke of a bratty little brother. No, for Jade today was neither average or good, and he was in a rotten mood for it. Rotten enough that he might just beat the snot out of Smith upon finding him.

Jade heaved a sigh, pressing a hand to his still faintly throbbing chest. “Gods damn you, Brownie,” he cursed the cow that had given him this nice gift. The thirteen year old looked about. He was on the outskirts of his father’s lands, another hundred yards and he would simply be in unclaimed fields, but he recognized the place, he was twenty feet from a pond that he and his friends sometimes swam and fished in. By that pond was a rather large rock, and deciding from the pain in his chest, he was deserving of at least a few moments’ repose, trotted his way there to recline against the sun heated stone surface.

Another heavy sigh escaped his lips as he closed his eyes, allowing the light of the sun to warm him. It was early spring in this part of the country, bright with sunshine, though still chilly at times. It was perfect weather to be sailing down the shore, but no, of course he couldn’t have that. The gods had decided today would just be misery for him and nothing more. He groaned, spreading his lanky frame across the rock’s face. He was really going to kick Smith’s behind for this.

“Oh look a rock on a rock, fellas–and fellaette!” a familiar voice taunted from a not too far off. Jade sat up at once as he recognized the voice and the echoes of laughter that followed it, trills of excitement and happiness flooding him as he did, though those trills were a bit dimmed as the pain in his chest flickered and he nearly fell back against the stone, clutching the mark that be–damned milk cow had laid upon his chest.

“Oye, Jade!” a second and equally familiar voice exclaimed, this time slightly worried. Jade looked up to see four figures, through his fringe of auburn hair, running toward him. A blonde head at the front of the pack.

“Jade, you alright?” Hunter asked, as he came up toward his friend, laying a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he grunted sliding off the rock, though his hand still held his ribs. He did his best to look pleasant. “Never get kicked by a cow, if you can at all help it,” he advised them all with wry smile. “It’s not pleasant.”

“Does it hurt much?” Davey asked, not in a mothering way, just concerned.

“It’ll be fine,” Jade said, grunting as he rubbed the spot. “Or it least it will after I find that foul brother beast of mine and drag him home. I swear, he only ran away to vex me, I just know it!”

“Yeah, well, he’s your little brother, that’s his job,” Kali laughed.

“Yes, and you would know,” Jade retorted a bit scathingly. “You’ve got what? A hundred younger siblings?”

“No, just you all,” she retorted.

“Firstly, that retort was immature,” Jade said, crossing his arms as he gave her a withering look. “Secondly, next to Duck–fluff,” he nodded to Hunter, who’d earned his nickname from his tufty white hair, “you’re the youngest here. It’s illogical.”

Kali only rolled her eyes. “You, Davey, and your logic,” she said, hands on her scrawny hips. “I swear you should marry it, you’re so hung up on it.”

“Jealous?” both the redhead and raven-haired boy said together, a line perfectly rehearsed through the lifetime they had been friends.

Kali, Hunter, and Adam exchanged eye rolls, jealousy was hardly the word to describe the feeling for their friends over this particular subject.

“Okay, okay, come on!” Hunter said, jumping and gesticulating a bit as he spoke. “The sooner we find Smith, the sooner we can do something interesting with ourselves! Let’s move!” And he started running off past the pond, towards the woods, a place Smith would most definitely enjoy hiding in. His friends watched him bound away and laughed before following his example. Every day with one another always proved to be an adventure, today would be no exception to the rule.

The quintet ran through the forest, as they had done many, many times, in their years together, nimbly avoiding branches and roots. Well for the most part, Davey wasn’t as adept at it as his friends were, and Hunter’s was known to fall on his face more than a few times, but it was nothing that either boy did not immediately recover from. Dirt on their faces they were back up, gaining on the others, laughing just as their friends were. Jade and Kali climbed and swung part of the way, playing a brief game of acrobats as they found familiar handling upon the branches of a springy juniper they’d played upon many times before.

“Hey, Jade!” Kali called from her place high in one of the trees. Her four companions looked up, seeing the violet eyed child scanning a bit ahead of them. “I see him! He’s in the clearing up ahead running around after some rabbits!”

“That little brat!” Jade exclaimed as his friends tittered. “Damn him! He did this last week! Ooh after Papa gets done with him I’m taking a turn! Senseless–ooh!” The last was a guttural rumble, barely a cognitive arrangement of syllables, but his friends paid him no mind. They simply hid their smiles from his ire, knowing it would pass. Jade often became irritated with his little brother, and most of the time Smith deserved it, nothing new for them to witness. Jade would yell, cuff his younger brother, Smith would cry, recover, and go back to rile him as he had everyday since near birth, it was a cycle for the two brothers, stability, a way. They all knew, this, and followed him to watch the scolding about to take place, Kali, dropping to the ground to trot shoulder to shoulder with Adam.

“Smith!” Jade hollered at the top of his lungs as they cleared past the last of the trees. “Smith Puget of Mendel Cove, you get your scrawny—”

Smith looked up, but not at the sound of Jade’s voice and not in his direction, and they all knew why. The voice of the elder of the brother’s had been drowned out by a strange rumbling sound. The five older children followed Smith’s gaze, to the opposite site of the clearing, as the ground began to shake beneath them. In a matter of seconds the branches and saplings were pushed out of the way as a fleet of armored horsemen galloped through.

They all saw it in slow motion before it happened, the look on Smith’s face, his small body freeze, the dirt flying from the wickedly giant hooves of the beasts. Time stopped, life stopped, for a few precious brief seconds as Jade realized what was going on, where those animals and their riders were headed with out any regard whatsoever for his baby brother. The moment was frozen, the absolute look of shock on Smith’s face, the squirming little brown rabbit he’d finally managed to catch after so many attempts, clutched in his small hands, the beating of his heart. Most of all Jade remembered all the terrible things that he’d been thinking right before this moment.

NINE

Davey sighed and rolled his hips under Adam, kissing him roughly. This felt so nice. It had been forever since they'd made love, since they had the time to truly enjoy one another. Things had been so hectic. He scratched his nails lightly down his back and nipped at his lips. He loved this man so much it hurt and by the grace of God, they were still together after all the hurt that had circled them.

Adam sighed, nuzzling into Davey’s neck. The feel of his lover’s warm, hard body beneath his was incredible. Between work and the chaos their lives had become, the two barely had a chance to kiss let alone go much farther. "Davey," he murmured into his lover’s ear. He loved the way his lover’s name fell from his lips.

Davey kissed down Adam's neck and to his shoulder, biting him softly. Gently he wrapped his legs around him and moved his body slowly to push Adam deeper inside him. This was Heaven, it was perfect. This was what he had been waiting for. This was all he needed.

Hissing, Adam allowed his hands to grip Davey’s moving hips, keeping his rhythm steady. He didn’t want to rush this. It had been far too long since he’d had Davey like this. Far too long. This would last, he would make sure of it. Even if it drove both of them mad. "Slow," he whispered, "We have all night."

He nods and whimpers. "Its been so long, Baby." He didn’t want to wait. Not now, not when they were so close.

"Mmm," Adam mumbled in response, his eyes slipping shut. "Too long."

Davey scratched his nails down Adam's back and arched his body into his lover. He was so achingly close, he couldn’t see straight. He needed this. Needed Adam.

Sensing the change in his lover, Adam slowed his movement even more. He wanted to make Davey long for this. Make him want it with every fiber of his being. It didn’t matter that he could barely handle this himself. No. Waiting, wanting, made this all the sweeter. Even if it would piss his beautiful lover off.

Davey groaned. "Adam, please," he pleaded, bearing down. "God, I need to come." He couldn’t decide for the life of him why Adam felt the need to torture him.

Adam merely chuckled, "Soon."

Davey was just getting ready to protest when a tiny whimper from the bedroom across the hall filtered throughout the room. Davey shut his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. Oh God, it was over. Natalie was crying and he was going to stay hard and miserable. As much as he’d come to love the little girl, he’d never regretted her more than he did in that moment.

"Dammit," Adam mumbled under his breath, slowly and carefully pulling out of his obviously frustrated lover. He tensed, sensitive, pulling himself into a sitting position and fumbling blindly for his pajama bottoms. This little girl would be the death of him, that Adam was sure of.

Davey panted and licked his lips, trying his best not to scream. Natalie had a knack for crying just as they were about to finish. It never failed. He sat up and ran his hand through his hair. "Well, she has her mother's timing."

Adam cocked his eyebrow, "Davey..."

Davey looked down, regretting his outburst almost immediately. Aubrey was still a tense subject between them. "Sorry."

"She’s just a baby, she doesn’t know any better." Adam didn’t want this to start an argument between them, not when things had been going so well. "Please don’t be like this. Please."

Davey looked up at him. "Adam, you really need to relax. I am not faulting the baby. I was trying to make a joke because my dick seems to stay hard and painful when we keep her."

Adam sighed, "I’m sorry...I just..." His voice trailed off, "I’ll go make sure she’s alright." With a soft, but strained, smile, Adam tugged on his pants carefully and made his way to the adjacent bedroom. Natalie’s tiny face was red and Adam felt his heart sink slightly. He hated it when she cried. Hated knowing she wasn’t happy. Gently, he made his way to her crib, lifting the small girl into his arms.

"Hello angel. Daddy’s here, it’s okay. I’m here," he whispered, rocking her back and forth in his arms.

She rubbed her tiny head on his shoulder and gummed it. Her tiny face was stained with tears as she cried harder. Davey got out of bed and walked into the bedroom, placing a hand on the back of her head. "Is she alright?"

"I don’t know," Adam whispered, feeling helpless. Here she was, dependant on him completely and he hadn’t the first idea how to make it better. She wasn’t wet and he had fed her less than an hour before. He couldn’t fathom what was wrong.

Davey watched as she gummed Adam's shoulder and took her gently from his arms, cradling her. Carefully he put a finger in her mouth and felt her gums, feeling a little bump. "Ah, she's teething."

"How can you know just what to do when I don’t have the first idea?" Adam mumbled, watching Davey softly rock his daughter, letting her gum his pinkie. Davey seemed to be a natural, why couldn’t Adam have things come so easily to him?

Davey grinned at him. "Because you are scared you are going to break her." He bent down and kissed her forehead.

Adam shot his head up, staring at Davey.

"What?" Davey questioned, watching his lover curiously.

"I’m not scared I’m going to break her," Adam spoke in his own defense, though his tone was far less convincing than his words.

Davey raised an eyebrow and handed him back Natalie, leaving the room with a smirk. "Go for it, Daddy."

Adam glared after his lover before turning his attention back to the tiny girl once again in his arms. Her cries only grew louder and no amount of bouncing would silence them. Sighing, he looked at her once more, trying desperately to remember the things he’d read in the number of parenting books he’d acquired in the months leading up to and after Natalie’s birth. "Cold wash cloth," he mumbled to himself, proud that his frazzled brain had come up with something.

Bouncing her in his arms, Adam made his way into the bathroom, pausing that the linen closet for a fresh wash cloth. He cursed when he couldn’t find any. Now what was he going to do?

Davey walked in and dangled one off his finger. "We washed them today." A smirk spread across his angular face.

"Aren’t we cocky?" he murmured, taking the wash cloth from Davey’s fingers and reaching to turn on the cold water.

Davey looked at him. "Adam, are you mad at me?"

"What do you mean?" He busied himself, soaking the cloth and ringing it dry before placing the tip of it in Natalie’s mouth.

She busily chewed on it and looked up at him, whimpering a bit as she quieted. "I just wanted to make sure you weren’t mad at me because of what happened earlier."

"I’m not mad...I’m just...I want this to work and sometimes I don’t know how it will. I feel like I’m fumbling around in the dark half the time. What kind of father am I? I can’t even take care of my own child?"

Davey kissed his shoulder then gently petted Natalie's head. He took a look in the mirror, grateful for what he was seeing, something he never though would happen. Aubrey was actually letting Adam and him share custody of her daughter. Letting them both be a part of her life. He kissed Adam’s shoulder a second time. "You are a fantastic father."

Adam closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of Davey’s lips against his bare skin. This was something he cherished, having the both of them in his life. "You’re biased."

"She loves you and you take care of her. No parent has the answers right away."

"You sure you’ve never done this before?" Adam asked with a smile. "You’re too much of a natural."

He grinned. "I helped raise my little brother and I watched my mother."

"So no secret kids stashed away somewhere?" He chuckle. Davey shook his head, "Just as well. Means more of you for me."

Davey licked his neck. "No, no secret children," he assured him, still rubbing Natalie's head. She was finally starting to drift back to sleep.

A shiver ran through Adam’s body. "You are the Devil, do you know that?"

Davey smirked over his shoulder, his dark eyes the only thing able to be seen in the mirror as Adam looked at him. "I know and you love it."

"Just wait until she calms, I’ll make you eat your words."

Davey smirked and pinched Adam's ass as he moved away. "She's calm."

Adam squeezed his eyes shut, his breathing rate increasing for a moment. Calming himself, he risked glance down at his daughter who was gnawing on the washcloth, her eyes closed. He almost didn’t want to risk moving her for fear of upsetting her once again. But the temptation Davey had laid before him was great. Raising his eyes, he sought Davey’s dark ones in the mirror.

"Put her to bed, Adam. She's asleep," he said with a smile.

"Eager aren’t we?" Adam joked with a smile, his eyes once again falling to the sleeping child in his arms. "You are going to be such a bad influence on her, I can tell."

Davey smirked. "Nah, I'm just gonna keep her daddy happy," he told him, licking his lips.

"Well then you’re a bad influence on me then. What are we going to do when she gets older. If she’s anything like her parents, she’ll be a quick one and I don’t fancy having my daughter walk in on us," Adam added with a smirk, motioning for Davey to lead the way from the bathroom.

Davey grinned and sashayed to the bedroom and leaned on the door frame. "Well," he began," I suppose we will just have to figure something out unless you want to stop having sex with me."

"That might be an option," Adam dead panned, mirth twinkling in his blue eyes at the shocked look on his lover’s face. He quietly made his way into Natalie’s darkened room, placing her gently back into her crib. She stirred just slightly before falling back to sleep. Adam found himself standing beside her, watching her tiny chest rise and fall as she breathed. She was beautiful, perfect.

Davey grinned and walked in behind Adam, watching his lover watch his sleeping daughter, and wrapped his arms around his waist. "She's exquisite."

Leaning back against his lover, Adam nodded, "Isn’t she?"

Davey slowly kissed up the side of his neck and sucked on his ear lobe. "Like her father."

Shivering, Adam leaned back into Davey’s warm body. "You’ll say anything to get into my pants, huh?" Not that he was complaining. Turning more fully, Adam leaned in to claim Davey’s lips with his own.

"Oh yeah. I'm a sweet talker and I know what I want," he said against his mouth.

Allowing his arms to wrap around Davey’s waist, Adam slowly backed them both out of the baby’s room and back into their own. "And what is that?"

Davey rocked his hips against Adam and kisses his neck. "Give me what you've got, Daddy," he said with a smirk.

With a soft laugh, Adam shook his head. "You think you can handle that?"

"I always can."

"So cocky," he teased, nipping at Davey’s neck, "I like that," he paused again, kissing down his lover’s chest, "Very much."

Slipping a hand down Adam's chest and into his pajama bottoms, he wrapped his hand around his cock and led him to the bed. "Show me."

A strangled groan fell from Adam’s lips."What do you want me to do?"

Davey licked the shell of his ear and breathed hotly against it. "Me."