*Belarade*

She let the woman's arm reach around her slim frame to try and comfort
her....but right now she was feeling nothing but a horrible void.

"B'Lin.." she mumbled softly as tears threatened to flow from the velvety
brown eyes.

Despite his wise cracks, she needed her brother there....  Was he the only
one left for her?  The thought frightened her...alone without her parents?
Eighteen, although viewed in many cultures as being an adult age, was still
so young to be without those that had raised you.

"There's no need to fear yet, my dear..." the Lady Wylla murmured soothingly
before cursing as the sound of footsteps met their ears.

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

Belarade turned her head slowly to the door, a large person forming a
barricade preventing them and any sun from entering into the small home.

"Who might you be?  A lovely pair of spies?"

Wylla waved a hand imperiously.  "I am Lady Wylla Tremele, Lady-in-Waiting
to her Grace, Glynweith, Duchess of Eos.  This is my assistant.  Her Grace
has asked us to survey the... damage... done here."

Belarade nodded as she watched another guard make his way into the
home...their bulkish frames circling around the two women.

"I doubt that.  Why would she entrust a pair of *women* to do a man's job?
I think you're a pair of Lothar's spies...  We keep findin' em, all over
the city.  It ain't often that they're as pretty as you two though..."  He
smiled nastily, reaching out with a grubby hand.

"Lady Wylla..."  Bella swallowed hard as her voice trembled.

"Oh dear.." was the only response that she got as she continued to shrink
further and further back from the outstretched hand.

The men's goal was evident... and the thought made Belarade nauseous -
imagining the dirty hands on her was appalling...

"Don't touch me!" she spat out quickly and jerked her shoulder away as her
own grip on Wylla tightened.

The soldier pushed back his helmet, rubbing the sweaty shock of black hair
on his crown as his eyes ran over her maliciously.

"What did you say?" the tone was even...almost a whisper...but full of evil
intent.

"I said..." Belarade cleared her throat and blinked several times trying to
focus in on the farthest regions of the house.  How many of these thugs had
wandered in?  "I said, please do not touch me."

A chorus of raucous laughter shook the small abode and sent shivers up the
young woman's back.

"Don't touch you, eh?" the man advanced towards her again.

"Yes....I'm warning you...  I'm a dragonrider..." her lip trembled again and
she mentally chastised herself for not coming across harsher.

The men all laughed again. "Well....a big bad dragonrider...  why don't you
come over here and show me how tough you really are..."

The soldier made a grab at her shoulder and reflexively Bella slammed her
cast into his shin, causing herself just as much pain as him.  Wincing, she
swallowed back a whimper and noticed too late the other burly man who
grabbed her up and shook her hard.

<Gods...Menia!!> Belarade called out mentally, forgetting that her dragon
was so far away.

<NRPG: Tag Jill!>

*Menia*

She pouted a little more for Britche and rolled over onto her back.

<I've been so lonely Britty since Bella left...>

The male laughed at her some and pushed her over on the green pasture with
his wing a bit.

<She's been gone less than twenty four hours, Menia>

The bright red dragon sighed and re-evaluated her plan for convincing
Britche that she needed some companionship for the rest of the day...and up
into the night.  He was being stubborn....and not taking the hint either!

<Yes...I know that...> she let her tail casually brush against his.  <But
still....don't you miss...Nuns?>

Menia smiled a little to herself....such an odd nickname for one's rider,
but it was cute...just like the dragon in front of her.

<Oh...I've been speaking with him a little off and on throughout the day,>
Britche explained.  <Whenever he finds a camp of refugees, he tells me, and
then I tell Primeta who tells->

<Molla...> Menia rolled her large black eyes.  What was so great about that
Primeta anyway?  Menia knew she could outfly her any day.  <Bella has not
spoken to me once.>

She moped some and let the tip of her trail trace a pathway through the tall
grass.  She knew that she could speak to her rider at anytime...interrupt
her thoughts with one of the dragon's own.  But the mission had been so
important to Bel that Menia decided to keep her distance from the young
girl.  Trying to overly mother and soothe Belarade never proved to be a good
idea.

<Gods....Menia!!>

The red dragon snapped to attention and opened up her senses to find her
rider....she was scared...terribly scared.  Menia raised her long snout to
the sky and cried out a high pitched screech.

<Brit!  Belarade is in trouble!  I have to go...>

<NRPG:  Tag Kris!>

*B'Lin*

He had been glad to leave the little inn finally....the waitress was
beginning to bore him, although he did get a free meal out of the whole
thing.  B'Lin smiled smugly to himself.  Women...they loved him.

Except...for this Carlynee... She was proving to be a hard nut to crack..and
he was growing weary of her 'hard to get' routine.  He knew she was a little
vixen just waiting to have a good time and he also felt self-assured that he
was the one she wanted to party with.

But for now...he would let her horse clop alongside Ce'Lot's, or rather
"hero's" as B'Lin had taken to calling him.  There was just too much mystery
shrouding the wingleader...too much for B'Lin's taste.  And if Hero had any
hopes of getting close to his little sister some of that mystery would have
to be solved.

A fork in the road stopped the caravan and B'Lin sighed before pointing his
horse's nose to the left.

"We should go this way..." he said confidently as his horse took a few steps
in that direction.

"No..." Hero's voice called out to him.  "I think the directions that were
given to me stated that we go right..."

B'Lin clinched his jaw tight and jerked his horse back around, but refused
to let it step back towards the group.

"I'm almost positive that I heard left..." he replied, saccharine sweet.

"No...it's right..." Ce'Lot retorted.

"Dear wingleader...do you even know which is your right and which is your
left?" B'Lin asked agitatedly.

"Are you mocking me?" Ce'Lot whirled his horse around to face him.  "Because
I can send you back to the warren..."

"You're not sending me any-"

"B'Lin!'

He stopped in mid-sentence and turned in his saddle slowly, a smallish form
pushing back the branches to a bush catching his eye.

"B'Lin...I knew you would find us!"

Swiftly, he slipped off of his saddle and gathered the girl in his arms,
breathing in the soft smell of her black hair.

"Thank gods....Anadia..." B'Lin pulled back and held her out in front of him
with his arms straightened.  "Are you alone?"

The girl shook her head, as she pushed a lock of hair from her face.
"No...we have a group...mama...and papa...some others from Lotherra..."

He squeezed her tight again before she had a chance to finish her statement.
"Gods I'm so glad I found you..."

"Where is Belarade?" his sister managed to choke out through his embrace.

B'Lin blinked a few times trying to gather his thoughts before answering.
"She's in Lotherra....looking for all of you..."

Anadia's blue eyes widened as they stared at him in fright.  "She's in
there....Lotherra?  by herself?"

"No...she's with a Duchess..." B'Lin let his voice trail off as he was
suddenly reminded of his sister and what a potentially dangerous situation
she was possibly in.

"You have to go get her out of there..." Anadia whispered.

He nodded and wrapped an arm around her.  "We will..we will...but first,
show me where the rest are."

<NRPG: Tag Cheryl, Kris!>

Respectfully Submitted,
Belarade and Menia
B'Lin and Glay
And soon to be the whole fam!


~Tracee Taylor-Schneider~
http://www.geocities.com/~_sierra_

When shall they meet?  I cannot tell,
Indeed, when they shall meet again,
Except some day in Paradise;
For this they wait, one waits in pain.
Beyond the sea of death love lies
For ever, yesterday, today
            ~Christina Rossetti "One Day"