A noise woke her.

Some tiny little noise that didn't fit in with the normal sounds in their
home. Getting up Leyean walked slowly towards the curtain covering the door
to her small room. Pushing it open just enough to look out, a look of terror
filled her young eyes.

She wanted to close the curtain and turn away from what she had seen, but
her feet refused to move. So when a familiar figure past by the end of the
hall way, she couldn't help but recognize *him* .

Her young mind couldn't figure out why he would be there. But there he was,
a look on his face that scared her. Something inside must have told her to
turn and go back to the bed. Climb in and when minutes later she sensed
someone pulling the curtain back quietly as if to check up on her, she
didn't move a muscle. Just laid there with her eyes closed pretending to be
asleep, until the person left.

Still she laid there to afraid to move. Her hands clutching to the edge of
her blanket as if it were a life line. As if it alone could keep her safe
from harms way.

She knew *him*.  Or had thought she did. How could he have done this to her
family? How could he have brought harm their way. 

She didn't know *him*. Not this person she had seen from behind the curtain.
The *him* she knew never would have done what she had seen in her brief
glimpse down the hall way. Not that. Why? Why had he done it?

Her body began to shank and her eyes squeezed shut. Maybe she was dreaming,
she tried to tell herself. Maybe if she tried to go back to sleep she would
wake up and find out it had all been just a dream.

But somehow the little girl knew it was all real.... and she was scared.

   My'kel
********

After leaving behind the destruction in his Uncle's  apartment, My'kel and
the other two made their way to the dining hall and went about getting
themselves something to eat. The three of them made sure plenty of people
there saw them there. They wanted to make sure if anyone asked around later
that no one could say they had been there.

As they sat there eating they began to talk about their upcoming patrol.
Today would be their first after completing their training. They were really
looking forward to getting out there and finally be allowed to acted as
dragonriders.

The Wingleader, J'errid was already on the green when they arrived with
their dragons, he was all ready with a list of assignments. A list of who
the new trainees would be paired with. He could afford at this time to pair
the newer riders to other partnered pairs until they were sure they knew the
area well enough. Out here in the Cleft things were a little different that
in most of the other Warrens where they had been patrolling the know areas
for more years that he could count.

He and Frog had been out for sometime with their trainers when their
dragon's relayed the news about Cynthia being found, as the location was no
where near them, they were told others would be responding so they were to
continue as they were.

Around lunch time, the four dragon's landed and their rider took a small
break for lunch. Frog pulled My'kel off to the side away from the other's
and glanced back before speaking.

"Do you think they found what we did yet?" he asked.

The taller blond glared at him and took a quick look at the other two riders
with them. "You idiot! What if they heard you ask that question? do you want
to get caught or what?"

"They can't hear me," he insisted, but didn't say anything more on the
subject. But still he wondered. He was still having second thoughts about
what they had done. At first he was of the same mind as his friend when the
older man started paying so much attention to the new Queen rider after she
had joined. He'd thought it sick that a man that age going after a gild so
much younger than he.

A girl old enough to be his very own daughter.

But over the last week or so, he'd had the opportunity to watch the two of
them and he couldn't help but notice the way they looked at each other and
the respectful way Dan'yar always treated Brisse when they were together. 

If My'kel couldn't see the love between the two of them, it was only because
he didn't chose to. Someday he would have to open his eyes and recognize
their love. Maybe then he could get on with his own life and maybe find some
other girl to fall for.

My'kel loved the feel of the wind blowing through his hair as the dragon
glided over the next area of land. He didn't think he would ever get tired
of flying on his Voger. 

As they flew aloft, his eyes scanned the area below them looking for any
signs of life. so far the only people they had discovered, were those
farmers who had been out tending to their crops. Other than that this area
of their domain seemed to be pretty lifeless. The boy wondered if it was
like this every where.

It was getting towards the end of their shift and they were on the homeward
sweep when he saw her. At first he wasn't sure he'd seen right, but as he
vied Voger over to the left, after having the beast tell the others that he
wanted to check something out, the two of them headed back to where he
thought he'd seen the flash of white gold. The same color as Syren,
Cynthia's queen.

>From the air he spotted her. But something was wrong. Gone was the beautiful
long dark hair he'd always like on her. It now looked as if someone had took
a knife and just began whacking away at it.

He gave Voger the order to land next to the Queen.

<Jamble and Futdanlith's riders want to know what you found?> Voger's
thoughts entered his mind. <I have told them that Syren and her rider are
here. They want to know why the Queen is here with no one with her?>

<<I don't know Vog,>> the young man replied as he dismounted and began
walking towards her. His blue eyes moved swiftly around the area
checking things out. He didn't want something to jump out at him. <<Do you
sense anyone else in the area buddy?>>

<No! Only the two of you and the Queen's rider.>Voger told him. <But I'm
sensing something else. Something ...I can't tell what.>

<<What do you mean?>>

<I'm not sure, but I don't think I like it.>

"M'lady?" My'kel called out her name as he approached her. "Is everything
all right?"

She turned around to look at him at the sound of his voice. The look in her
eyes was strange. It was as if she didn't recognize him. But that couldn't
be right, he thought. Cynthia had known him practically all his life.

"Are you all right?" he ask as he came to stand before her....

(Tag Alton :) Is she all right?)

Dan'yar
**********

He was of two minds when he left Brisse with the two riders from 
Keldarra. Part of him had wanted desperately to stay there, by her 
side and try to help her get through this moment of uncertainly, but 
the other part wanted to get back to check on the twins.

He shouldn't have left them unguarded for as long as he had last night. 
But with him planning to be at home he had told D'ren that the men he 
had set up to watch the two little girls, could take the night off. 
They really didn't need to be watched with him there to keep and eye 
on things.

As he began walking back towards their apartment, his mind turned to
remember the night before... and the feel of Bri in his arms. He still
couldn't get over how she had responded to his lovemaking. Her eager 
cries of passion when he touched her. The way she had given herself to 
him without doubt's of fear between them.

She had humbled him with her innocent trust. 

He made a promise to himself right then as the stairs leading up to the
families apartment came into view, A promise to always be there for her 
when she needed him. To do his best to never left her down. 

Brisse and the baby she carried. Dani promised to love the child as if 
it was his own. No matter who the true father turned out to be.

He was feeling pretty good when he at last mounted the steps leading 
inside, his long legs quickly crossed the dragon's part of the place 
and he found himself reaching for the door knob....

Then before he could reach it something caught his attention. The door 
was open! He knew he had closed it before he and Bri had left earlier. 
He was sure of it.

His hand fell away and he took a step closer, pressed his ear against 
the tiny crack where the door stood ajar from it's frame and listened. 
When he didn't hear anything, he slowly but carefully pushed the door
inward, the whole time scanning the room with his eyes. 

His first thoughts were for his daughters and their safety when he 
spied the destruction in the main room. 

"ARLY...LEYEAN!!!!!!" he called out in a panic and raced down the short 
hall way to the girl's rooms. He went first to Arly's room and was 
relieved to find her safely asleep in her bed. Next he turned and 
pulled aside the curtain covering the door to Ley's room and with a 
father's instinct knew something was wrong.

Dan'yar moved towards her and sat down on the end of the bed. Reaching 
out with his hand, he smoothed back a lock of her blond hair and called 
her name softly.

"Ley... honey what is it?" he questioned, his heart beating a mile a 
minute. If someone had harmed his daughter.....

"Papa?" her voice was so low he barely heard it.

"I'm here sweetheart. I'm here," he didn't like this. Why didn't she 
move? Why was she clutching the blue blanket as if it was the only 
thing she had left in the world.

"Leyean... it's all right. Papa's here sweetheart. I won't let anything 
hurt you," his voice was low and soothing. His hands reached out to pry 
the blanket from the death grip she had on it and then pulled her little
body to sit on his lap. His arms wrapping around her. "Your safe with me
love. I won't let anything hurt you, but I need to have you tell me what
happened. What you saw."

Instead of answering him, the little girl moved deeper into his embrace.

"DANI!?!" he heard voices calling to him from the front room. 

"Back here!!" he called out after recognizing his younger brothers 
voice.

They found him still sitting on the side of his daughters bed when 
Lonnie and B`rand came down the hall. One look at his face and they 
knew something was more wrong than just the trashing in the other 
rooms.

"Ley?" Lonnie asked, his voice heavy with concern as moved aside when 
B`rand entered the room ahead of him and went to kneel beside the girl. 
He thought this was Leyean anyway. Even after all these years he still 
could rarely tell the two girls apart.

"She's been badly frightened by something...  but she doesn't seem 
to be harmed in any way," Dan'yar told him. "But I can't get her to 
tell me what happened."

His dark blue eyes moved to look at the wall that devided the two girls
rooms. "I need to check on Arly. I think she was asleep when  looked in
briefly but now... with Ley in this state..."

"Let me have Leyean," B`rand spoke up and held open his arms. "I'll look
after her while you check on her sister. 

Dan'yar didn't want to let her go. But he knew he wouldn't be happy 
until he checked on Arly. He had to see for himself that she was all 
right. So reluctantly he moved the girl into the arm's of his sister's 
mate.

"Honey, B`rand's going to stay with you for a moment while I go talk to
Uncle Lonnie," he told her when she had settled in the redheads arms. 

"Uncle B`rand..." her little voice was heard to whisper and then her arms
moved around his lean waist and she settled her cheek against his chest.

"I'm here sweetie," the riders voice was soothing and his hand moved to
stroke the girls blond hair. "I'm going to stay here with you until your
Papa gets back. Okay?"

"So'kay, Uncle B`rand," her little vice agreed.

Dan'yar looked down at the two of them and for a brief moment he wondered 
if this was how it would be if Bri's baby proved to be B`rand's child. 
Then he turned and motioned his younger brother out of the room after him. 

After a brief check in the second of the two smaller bedrooms, he had
assured himself that Arly was still asleep. She had slept right through 
what had gone on in the outer rooms. 

"I want to look around," he told Lonnie and then both men turned at the
sounds of footsteps coming from the dragon's ledge. Farr'in came striding
into the room.

"Tergath just got the word form Shinner," He told them. "I stopped by
Thina's and she's on her way to get the girls....Have you found anything yet?"

"No," Dan'yar told him. "We were just about to look around. B`rand's in 
the back with girls. Ley's pretty upset about something... but she won't 
say what.

(in the other room)

"Uncle B`rand?" 

"Yes sweetie?"

"Why did he do this to us? How come he hates us now. He didn't used to." 
the little girl asked. 

"Who Ley?" the rider asked. He thought he knew but wanted to see if the 
girl would tell him his thoughts on the matter were right.

"My'kel..." she frowned. "I always thought he liked us. But if he liked 
us then he wouldn't have messed up our apartment like he did.  Maybe the
other two were making him do it." 

"Do you know who the other two where sweetie?" 

"Those friends of his...the ones he's always with now."

"I don't think he hates you Ley," he assured her, though he wasn't sure 
what was in the boy's mind. "I just think he's a little mixed up right 
now that's all."

"Will you talk to him and tell him to stop doing these thing's to us?" 
the little girl turned in his embrace, her sweet little face turned 
upwards until her eyes met his. "Will you Uncle B`rand?"

"That I promise you sweetie," he told her and then tightened his hold 
around her. 

A sound alerted him that someone was standing in the door way. Turning 
he found the girl's Aunt standing there. 

"How long have you been there?" he asked her suddenly knowing that she 
knew.

"Long enough," she told him meeting his emerald green eyes. "So what 
are you going to do about it?"

He knew she was worried about her son. What mother won't worry.

"I have to tell them," he told her. "Dan'yar and the others... they have 
to know about this."

"I know." Thina replied. "But I want you to know... he wasn't always 
like this. He started to change when he joined with the Voger of his."

 B`rand nodded his head and then turned his attention's back to the 
little girl in his arms. 

"Sweetheart.. I need to go talk to your Papa and tell him okay? Your 
Aunt Thina is here and she's going to stay with you for a bit."

"All right...Uncle B`rand.. thank you."

He hugged her and then sat her back onto the bed. 

"You going to be all right little one?"

She looked up at him. A ghost of a smile on her tiny lips. "I will now."

"Good," he returned her smile and bent down to place a soft kiss on her
forehead, then he turned to go.

He found Dan'yar and the others in the main living area, with a brief 
nod to greet Farr'in, he turned back to Dan'yar.

"We need to talk," B`rand told him....

------------------------------------------------------

Well if I don't get this out now I never will it's already long over 
do....

I'll try to get something about Lenna out soon... but that's won't be 
easy to do with her still lost in a  cave somewhere under the cliffs  (*hint*)

Kris : What can I say... good writing :) Hopefully Lenna will be back 
on patrol with you soon :)

Alton: My'kel's all yours.......

Allen: I figure this all to happen before word comes in about Lenna 
going missing in the caves....so you can fit that in when ever....

I still need to get something ut in a bit dealing with Dan'yar and the
families reaction to finding out about Lenna.... but I'm to tired to type
any more right now.....

****Submitted by: *******

Barbara (a.k.a. 

Dan'yar & Shinner,  My'kel & Voger
Lonnie & Meritanth,  Farr'in & Tergath
      & the twins;  Arly & Leyean

Cleft Warren