[Raine]

It was hard to tell what Chance Vaddon was thinking, the other young woman
having frozen so totally once Raine had told her story. It hadn't been hard 
to recognize the calming platitudes that had spilled from the dragonriders
lips... normally, Chance was so animated one couldn't quite believe that her
somewhat frail frame could hold so much life, but right now her expression 
was as still and smooth as water, but not reflecting nearly as much.

Kanler frowned when they got back and he saw Chance slide down off her 
dragons back without reaching for her crutches. He knew she was tired and 
that her legs would be hurting her tonight, but he made no comment about 
it. 

Now would not be a good time to remind her of them. Not after the shock she
had just had.

He was proud of the way she was handling the news even though he knew she
had wanted to scream out that it wasn't so. That the girl Raine had made up
the whole thing for some reason.

He would have if someone had told him that story about his brother Tracer.
Family was family and you wanted to believe in them no matter what, but even
he knew that there came a time when you had to admit to their faults. 

Hell even his brother had a few that didn't make their father very happy,
but Kanler knew that even with his faults, Tracer would never force a woman
against her will as Kel did to this woman.

Suddenly he was glad that Derry was there in the Warren, for he knew she
would need someone from her family to believe in. Someone to restore the
faith she had in them. Derry was just them man to do so.

"You need to tell Trinale everything," Katla said in a detached voice,
strain suddenly showing on her face.  "You need to make a formal report."

"But... Kel and Pheran..." Raine was suddenly scared. She hadn't thought
when she spoke up about them that she would have to tell anyone besides
Katla about it. She figured once someone knew they could take it from there.

But if Pheran and Kel found out...  

She shivered, knowing that they had people even here who could get to her if
they chose to. 

"Let us worry about... Kel and Pheran."

Chance wasn't facing her, but Raine could have sworn that she heard tears in
the indomitable Katla Vaddon's voice.

Raine cursed herself. She wasn't the only one hurting right now. and she
wouldn't have been the only one to suffer from those bastards hands if they
had been able to get to Katla. Kel's words came back to haunt her, and she
knew this girl would be in great danger if they somehow got a hold of her.

She felt so selfish suddenly for thinking only about herself. If Katla could
face this then so could she. What else did she have to lose? They had
already taken everything from her. What more could they do to hurt her.

"I..." 

"They won't get away with this, Raine."  Katla's voice was harsh with pain.
Something told her to let it go for now.

"They won't get away with what?" asked a gentle, masculine voice and Raine
looked up, barely recognizing Derric Vaddon before flinching violently away,
knocking Katla down in her instinctive urge to get away.

The two women went down in a pile of limbs and inventive cursing that was
cut off as Chance had the wind knocked out of her.

"Oh, gods, I'm sorry..."

"It's okay."  Raine looked up to see a young woman who exuded an authority
far beyond her years.  Her eyes were gentle and her voice kind, and Raine
trusted her instinctively.  "I am Trinale, the Warrenlady here."

"*You* are?" Raine's eyes were wide with shock and she heard a muffled cough
as the younger girl smiled.  "I'm sorry --"

Damn how could she? She'd been told the Warrenlady was young. Hadn't that
been one of her father's.. no.. he wasn't her father any longer... but it
had always been one of his biggest complaints. That someone so young could
be in charge of running the house of wholes...

Kanler thought the girl looked like she could use a little help. He wasn't
sure this was going to help, but the sooner the girl got her story out, then
the sooner they could work on a plan and after that he would pick Chance up
and carry her home and force her pain pills down her throat if he had too to
get her to rest for a while.

He gave a short humorless laugh knowing he would do no such thing. Though it
had sounded good. She would have to rest sometime and he knew of a better
way then to *demand* that she rest... One he knew Derry would approve of.

"So who won't get away with what?" Derry repeated his question a second
time. and looked from Raine to Kanler then back to his sister.

"I think maybe we had better go inside to talk about this," Kanler said
moving next to Chance now and used the excuse of leading her inside to take
her arm.

He did it so smoothly that no one seemed to notice it as being anything but
a loving gesture, but he could feel in the arm that gripped his now just how
much she had needed his support.

"My office is right this way," Trinale told them and motioned for Raine to
walk along side of her. "Does this talk have anything to do with the bruises
on your face?"

Raine ducked her head embarrassed, but Trinale told her she needn't be. "If
you're worried about someone hurting you more then I want to assure you
we'll do everything we can to protect you. If you want to stay here you can."

"Thank you M'lady..."

"Trinale," the Warrenlady smiled warmly and the girl finally relaxed enough
to smile back.

"Thank you .. Trinale... And yes it does. But I'd like to wait until we're
inside before I tell you what you need to hear. It's very important that you
know."

Once inside the Warren office, Kanler led Chance to a chair before taking
one himself. He nodded encouragingly when she smiled her thanks up at him
and then took an empty seat behind her.

When they were all seated, Raine slid a sideways glance at Katla who nodded
for her to go ahead and begin.

She did and didn't stop until she came to the part where Katla and Kanler
had shown up to see her. she left nothing out. Not the raping of her soul,
nor the treats she had over heard as she was leaving. She even showed
Trinale the book that that friend of Katla's had returned to her along with
the coins with the blindfolded woman's face on them.

She had insisted that he keep all of the other coins as payment for seeing
her into safe hands. At first he had refused them, but then when she told
them to use them to help out others, he finally accepted them.

"I still can't believe what they did to me, or have any idea why. Except
that Saul your searcher, once asked my father for permission to search me,"
Raine ended by saying, "The girl that I was is dead now. I'm nobody now and
from the moment they took from me all that I was, they became my enemies.
I'm willing to do anything I have to make sure they pay."

The hate and anger in her eyes was easy to read. 

................. 

Sometime later Raine was taken to the med center to see a healer and after
it was explained to the woman what had taken place, and she examined the
girl, the healer left and came back with a small cup of water and a little
yellow pill for her to take.

"What's this?" Raine asked her.

"It is called the morning after pill," the healer told her and Raine in a 
semi shock looked down at it when the meaning for it became clear.

She didn't need explanation, or any second urging from the healer before she
swallowed it and then drained the water in the cup.

Sometime later she was released from the healers care and came out of the 
room to find Derry there waiting for her.

"I hope you don't mind that it's me here and not Chance.. but her mate 
finally put his foot down and took her home," he said softly. "I promised 
her I would call her though if you wanted her to walk you to the apartment 
we have ready for you."

Raine shook her head. "No.. Don't call her. I could see how much this 
effected her and I'm sorry she had to find out this way..."

"No more sorry then we are that you had to suffer what you did from our
brother," he told her and she knew this was just as hard on him as it was 
for her."

He gestured for her to exit the med center and walked beside her as she was
shown to an apartment where she would be staying.

"I won't come in because I think that might make you a little more nervous
then you're trying to show," he grinned warmly at her and she knew she had
nothing to fear from this member of their family.

"I'm not afraid of you Derry. I know you could never be like Kel...And I'm
glad Katla has a brother a nice as you and the parents you have to help her
get through his. I'm just my own family was more like yours. But we can't
pick our family."

"No.. it doesn't seem that way," he commented then bowled to her. "If you
find you need anything just ask anyone around here. they'll all be glad to
help a visitor."

He left then and she closed the door behind him and sank down onto the
ground finally giving into the hurt and anger she'd been feeling all day.

Damn them all anyway! Why? Why did they have to do this to her? What had the
dragonriders in the Warren ever done to then that they would use her the way
they did?

She couldn't come up with any answers and didn't know how long she been
there crying when an insistent knock finally broke into her thoughts.

She got up slowly as fear of Kel and Pheran finding her and wanting to take
her back came to mind, but then she told herself she was only being silly.
There was no way they could have known where she was. Much less that she was
in Whiteriver.

"...Raine??? Are you in there?" came a female voice and for some reason she
thought it sounded familiar.

Slowly she opened the door and was nearly stuck speechless when she
recognized the woman standing on the other side of the opened door. A woman
she hadn't seen in years.. Not since she'd disappeared one night at a ball
she had been signing at. A woman who had once been her friend.

"Raine I heard you were here."

"Merissa?" she muttered finally finding her voice. "But how? What are you
doing here in the Warren?"

[Tags to all who want them ;)]

It was later that night when Chance finally woke up and Derry told her the
news about Shawnee's baby. Nothing would do but for the girl to go see her 
new nephew. 

"Since it's only a short trip down why don't you join me on Sariss and save
'Tinka the trip." He suggested.

"Oh you know she won't mind the trip," Chance told him.

"Oh I know.. but this way I have a good excuse to hold you in my arms for a
little while," he winked at her and took her hand to lead her out onto the
dragons ledge.

Minutes later they were in the med center and after being told Shawnee was
asleep and promising not to wake mother or son, were allowed in to see Aarin.

Kanler couldn't help but think the baby was tiny. He'd never been this close
to a newborn before in his life, and he found himself wondering what it
would feel like to hold this one.

He commented about it to his mate as they left the room.

"Well when she's out of there and back home I'm sure you'll get to find out
Uncle," she told him.

They hadn't fingered on the events of the next morning. Nor on how once the
day started where they would lead.
He went with Chance when Fayloth told them Saul had returned and was
standing there in Gwyna's apartment with her in time to hear her confession
and after hearing that Shawnee and Saul were leaving Whiteriver to go off to
live in some new Warren.. he wondered how much more Chance could take.

She was a strong woman. He knew that. It was one of the reasons he loved her
as much as he did... but even song people sometimes hit low spots in life
and he prayed this wasn't going to be one for her.

"Shawnee asked me to give you this letter and she hopes you under stand,"
Kanler heard Saul say. "She's going out to your parents home now to see
them. She wanted to explain it to them in person because of all the things
they've done for her and the kids, and she hopes there's someway that you
can join her."

"You can be sure we'll find the time,' Kanler answered for the both of them
before offering Saul his hand. "You be good to that woman. She's a very
special person."

"Don't I know it," Saul replied. "And I'm going to do my best from now on to
make sure she knows I know that."

"Just see that you do Saul or you'll have to deal with me the next time,"
Chance said fiercely.

"Why does that thought scare me."

"Because you're finally starting to get some smarts in that head of yours
maybe." Kanler answered with a grin.  "Just see that it stays that way."

"I will. I'm not going to mess up this time," he promised. "Shawnee is the
best thing that ever happened to me and I just don't know how I got so lucky
to still have her love me."

"Like he said," Chance pointed back at her mate. "She's a special woman."

Kanler and Chance left him then and mounted their own dragons. They were
going to take the time to make the trip to Chances patents home to say there
good-byes to Shawnee. They picked up Trinale before leaving and the three of
them were discussing ways to try and make Shawnee change her mind.

<< Add my good-bye post here with them all meeting up for the last time.>>

Later they made it back in time to see Saul and the others getting ready to
leave. 

They said their final good-byes and soon Saul and Fayloth followed by Ojean
and Teewith were flying off into the even sun. Chance and Kanler watched
them until they finally disappeared as the dragons teleported away.

=======================  

Well I hope I didn't mess up on the time line too bad... there should be two
days in here... Saul leaving is the second day.....

Kris... Ojean's good bye to Cill is next... starting it right now

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

Kanler & Sariss
Raine
Whiteriver Warren