"Maybe there were reasons he never made it back here," the younger woman
said quietly, wishing she could tell the woman standing in front of her what
they were. But knowing that she couldnāt. Maybe not ever. At least not until
her own name was cleared.

Sābrogh was just coming off the dance floor before Shae could form another
question, so she skillfully changed the subject before the rider came into
hearing range. 

However neither woman knew that their conversation had been over heard· a
fact the would later come back to haunt Shae.

Māressan turned back to them just then and offered his hand to Shae.

"Come on Bit· letās you and I show these left footers how itās done," he
grinned and before she could protest he dragged her out onto the floor after
him.

He was a very good dancer and Shae had no problem keeping up with him. He
made it easy.

"So·Getting excited about being in a Wing?" he asked.

"Can I let you know after Iāve been in one for a few days?" she found it
easy to joke with this man. 

Heād more than earned her respect. And that was saying a lot for even though
she usually got on well with people (at least before coming here.) There
were very few people she actually respected and whoās option she valued.
Māressan was one of them. 

What would he think of her if he found out the truth about why she had come
here and when he learned who she was·.

"Iām sure youāll do fine if you just keep up the way youāve been doing," he
told her and then spun her around three times in quick succession, making
her laugh as she grew dizzy. 

All to soon the dance was over and he took her back to where the others were
standing. They talked about different things, sometimes others stopped by to
make their farewells known to Sābrogh, but Shae they ignored as if she
wasnāt even there.

She didnāt really care. Māressan and The Warrenlady were keeping her amused
by telling her funny stories about the Warren and the people who lived
there. Some of whom had left to go elsewhere, some who were still there.

It was getting late, and the party was starting to winded down, off in the
distance she could see the girl Darlea talking to an older rider she didnāt
know and the woman from the kitchen sheād found out was her mother. Off to
the side was the man Sābrogh had pointed out earlier as her mate.

Something about the man seemed familiar to her· she just couldnāt seem to
figure out why.

She was ready to go on the one hand, because she was tired, but on the other
hand she didnāt want to go because that would mean saying good-bye to the
tall handsome rider standing beside her. She would miss Sābrogh after
tonight, and hoped he wouldnāt wait to long before coming back for a visit.

Lords was she tired!! It was getting so she could barely keep her eyes open
any longer. But still she stayed until both Sābrogh and Māressan noticed and
ordered her to go on home.

"You still have a training class in the morning young Shae and you wonāt
want to be late."

"Now he tells me," she groaned and cocking her head to the side and the
woe-be-gone expression on her face made them all laugh.

"Off with you now Bit."

"Yes sir!" she brought her right hand up to her brow in a quick movement and
executed a sharp salute. Then she turned to Sābrogh and stopped him when he
would have offered to walk her back to the hatchling barracks.

"No· I think I would rather remember you here in the hall having fun," she
told him, even though fun was not what he looked like he was having. She had
seen him sneaking glances around the room and then the frown that would
appear on his face when he didnāt see who he was hoping ·maybe· to see..
"Besides·my watcher will make sure I get home tonight without anything
happening."

She had to leave anyway. Heād started asking her questions. Still not giving
up on trying to find out her secret. And it was getting harder to keep
putting him off with round about answers. She had to leave so that she
wouldnāt slip and give her new found secret away. For that was something 
she could never do.

She made her good-byes to the Warrenlady Christalla and Māressan, who
reached out to mess up her hair again, then allowed Sābrogh to walk her 
as far as the door leading outside.

"Iām going to miss you," she told him and moved into his arms when he 
moved to give her a hug.

"Iāll miss you too Shae," he replied. "I just wished you could have 
trusted me to help you with what ever it is youāre hiding from us all."

"Maybe one day," she told him and then stepped away. "Please 
understand. Now just isnāt the right time."

It might never be the right time, she told herself as she turned and 
without making sure her watcher was behind her, she left the hall and 
headed on home.

No not home. Never home after tonight. Tomorrow she and the Fireball 
would have a new home. A place just for the two of them. A place where
hopefully they could find some peace.

On the walk back to the hatchling barracks, she started thinking over 
the startling news sheād learned tonight. News that just HAD to be kept 
a secret. How could she go to the woman now and tell her that she was 
the daughter of the Uncle she had never known.

Christalla might not even believe her.

She might wonder why Shae hadnāt told her tonight when sheād had the 
chance. Besides what proof did she have. The only thing she had of her 
real fatherās was the tiny dragon shaped pendent on the chain she wore
around her neck tucked under her shirt where no one could see it.

Not a lot to remember him by. But it was something.

But wouldnāt it be wonderful if when her name was cleared, she could go 
to the woman and tell her everything? Wouldnāt it be wonderful if the 
woman *believed* her and was happy with the news?

Shae frowned. It wasnāt going to happen that way. She might as well come 
to grips with it now instead of later. Why Christalla might even be angry
enough with her for lying and keeping it a secret that she could decide 
to have her sent from the Warren!!

That thought stopped her dead in her tracks.

Would she do that? Send her away from here? 

No· Shae didnāt think sheād go that far. But she *could* make things
difficult for her making her wish she *had* been sent from the Warren. 

No· she wouldnāt. Christalla didnāt seem to her like the type of person 
who would do that. But that didnāt mean that others around her would 
think the same way. People here were *very* protective of her and might 
not like a nobody like herself up and claiming a kinship to her.

Maybe it was enough just to *know* they were cousins, Shae thought. 

<Youāre thoughts are troubled again my Shae,> Kaarenās soft thoughts 
entered her mind. 

<<I found out something tonight,>> Shae told her as she drew near the
entrance of the hatchling barracks.

Kaaren was waiting outside for her, and dropped her head down to nuzzle 
her rider when the girl drew close. 

<What has you so upset and sad?>

<<I found my Uncle·well I found out he had a daughter, and sheās still here.>>

<Well that should make you happy· shouldnāt it?> came the reds confused query.

<<Oh Iām happy I finally found something out. But there are complications·
reasons I canāt tell her what I know to be true,>>

<Maybe she would like to know. Maybe it would be best for you both to 
know you are not alone in the human world,> 


Shae gave her dragon a hard hug and buried her head in the beasts side. 
<<I only wish that were true my love. But there would be trouble if I 
spoke up about it now. I waited to long· She may not believe me now.>>

<I think she would. I think she would be happy to know she is not alone 
and has family.> 

<<Well thatās something weāre not going to know,>> Shae sighed deeply 
and then turned and walked inside. <<Come on Fireball· letās call it a
night. We have training in the morning and then we can go look for a new
place to live. One weāll both be happy with. With plenty of room so you
wonāt have to squeeze yourself through this door any longer.>>

<Oh·that would be nice!>

-----------   

Training the next morning went well. Māressan told the rest of the group
that each dragon/rider pair would soon be placed in one of the Wings. 
Cheers went up at the thought of finally getting to be where they all 
wanted to be.  In a real Wing learning how to fight wraiths and anything
else they had to face.

Shaw caught Māressan looking intensely at her at one point and gave him 
a half smile. He smiled back and with a slight nod of his head looked 
away. But something in his manor had her worried. Was he having trouble
getting her placed and didnāt want to worry her about it?

She didnāt worry about it long for he told them they were excused for 
lunch, but needed to be back at the appointed time. 

Before she could mount Kaaren and head away, he called out to her and 
when she walked over to him he held out a piece of paper. She looked at 
it and then back at him.

"Itās a list of available apartments," he told her. "I just happened to 
be going by the quartermasters office and thought Iād pick up a copy of 
the list for you while I was there."

"Humm·Thank you," she told him, but wondered about it. 

Later she had a pretty good idea why he had done it when she and the
Fireball had visited some of the empty apartments on the list.

Each one was in view of the watchdragonās station· So no matter which one
they chose, they would be seen coming and going. At first it angered her.
But then after thinking about it, she decided he had meant no harm in the
gesture. He believed her and maybe this was his way of trying to keep her safe.

Still, she almost went by the quartermasterās office to request a complete
listingās of all the available apartments they had in the Warren, thinking
to pick one out of sight of everyone·but thought better of it. She didnāt
need any more grief.

It was the fifth one they looked at that they chose. The dragonās ledge was
just perfect for Kaaren. Having a wide enough opening so that she could
still catch the late afternoon sun and big enough inside for two dragonās.
Not that she thought that particular amenity would ever be needed. Someone
had also rigged up a sort of curtain that could be dropped down over the
opening should the dweller want privacy. 

The inside was wonderful! Bigger than her room back in the family inn, with
a huge bedroom with a wide comfortable bed. There was a quilt back at the
inn that had been her mothers that would look perfect on the bed. 

The only problem was that she couldnāt just go get it to see if she was
right. Not until her restriction had been lifted and she and Kaaren were
allowed to leave the Warren. Too bad Sābrogh wasnāt still here. Maybe she
could have gotten him to go with her again.

The kitchen area was kind of small, but then she wouldnāt be having to cook
for an inn full of people so that didnāt matter. Sheād make do with it. But
it was the living room that convinced her to take the place. The middle of
the room had a sunken area where the couch and extra chairs were set. She
thought that so totally cool. At one end, coming in from the dragons part of
the place, there were three steps that led down into the floor area and at
the other was the door leading into the bedroom.

The kitchen and bathing room were on the main level. And the bathroom!!!!
Why the tub alone in there was almost indecent. It was big enough to fit two
very comfortably·. And almost waist level deep at one end, with seats at the
other end.

Yes.. she and the Fireball would be very comfortable here.

All too soon Kaaren reminded her that it was time they went back to join the
others for training. This time Shae didnāt mind going back. The hard stares
from the others didnāt faze her. Her mind was already trying to think of
what was going to go where when they moved into their new home later that night.

Not that she had that much left that hadnāt already been destroyed by those
whoād trashed her room· but sheād find new things to replace them. Those
things that could be replaced.

<<Letās go Fireball,>> she grinned taking one last look around their new
home before mounting the red and giving the order to fly on back to the
training green. <<Our new home will be waiting for us when weāre through for
the day.>>

A small lingering feeling of doubt prickled at the base of her skull. A
small warning flare that she chose to ignored. Little knowing that it would
ignite soon and the explosion was something she might not make it through.

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

Barbara (a.k.a.

Shaelesta & Kaaren (the "Fireball" )
Keldarra Warren