>  "Halyn ... I'm going to go offer my help and my somewhat fresh rations
>that I packed on the extra horses.  Perhaps ... you should take a look
>around?  I can come with you if you want."  Carlynee looked on in
>sympathy to the obviously torn young woman.

>  "No ... no, Carl ... you go help where you can.  I'll be okay."  Halyn
>smiled faintly, although it lacked the reassurance Carlynee was looking
>for.

>  "Halyn, I'm going to tell them about the food in the saddlebags and 
>I'll be
>right back, to be with you if you need me okay?"  Carlynee decided she
>absolutely would not abandon Halyn, not when it was obvious that the
>young girl needed her.  Halyn was there for her when she was vulnerable
>and by the first egg, she would return the favor.

Halyn watched as Carlynee led her pony towards the refugee camp, then 
moved around a corner out of sight.  Chewing on her lip, she was forcing 
herself to stay calm.  The tension she felt wasn't because of the camp 
itself, but more because of the slim chance that her parents might be 
here.  They might actually be alive.

"Iralyn?  I...is that you?"

A quiet, frightened female voice off to her left caused Halyn to turn.  
There, in the shadows, was the familiar form of Manda, her sister's best 
friend.

Quickly she slid off her pony, which was still standing perfectly quiet.  
She took his lead and moved around him, holding out her hand, palm up, 
towards the petite girl.

"Manda?"

Manda squinted, getting a closer look at the girl in front of her.  As 
she hesitated, it gave Halyn a chance to absorb her situation.  The once 
bright, bubbly girl who walked with a bounce in her step and wore rich, 
fine clothing was no longer there.  Manda's formerly rosy complexion was 
now sallow, dirt streaked across her face.  Her golden blonde hair had 
lost it's shine and for some reason had been chopped short.  She looked 
thin and frail.  

"Oh... Halyn?  I thought you were your sister," Manda said flatly, 
disappointed that her best friend wasn't standing before her.

Halyn closed the gap between the two of them, taking Manda's hand in her 
own, "Oh, Manda... what happened?  Where is your family?"

With a casual gesture to the right, Manda indicated the flickering 
firelight that was just visible through the trees, "They're right over 
there.  They burned our house down."  She said it so casually that Halyn 
had to stare at her.

"Burned your house down?  That's horrible!  Is your family okay?" Halyn 
squeezed the girl's hand, but Manda didn't react.

The blonde girl nodded, "It was horrible, but not as bad as what they did 
to some of the others." She looked down at the ground, "They've done 
horrid, awful things.  At least we're still alive."

Halyn nodded, swallowing hard against the lump in her throat.  After a 
small battle with her fear of the truth, she asked Manda the question 
that had been nagging at her since they'd arrived.

"Manda... what about my parents?  Are they... did they..."  She fought to 
say the actual words, but they never came.

Manda just stared at Halyn, looking at her best friend's twin sister as 
if she were daft.  Her blue eyes held anger and mistrust, "You're 
kidding, right?"

Halyn's heart sunk into the pit of her stomach, "Kidding?  What do you 
mean?"

Manda snorted impatiently at Halyn's lack of understanding, "No one from 
the outer farms survived if they were there.  Your parent's house was 
burned to the ground."  Her eyes flashed angrily, but Halyn did not 
understand why.

"Oh... I... I thought as much..." Halyn looked at the ground, forcing the 
lump in her throat to go away.  She would not cry in front of this girl.  
They'd never been friends before and she was sure there was something 
else that Manda was angry about.  She was not going to push the issue.

>From off towards the campfires came a loud moan, "Iralyn?  Iralyn, come 
back..."

Halyn's eyes met Manda's ice blue ones with question.  Manda didn't say a 
word, but turned on her heel and hurried towards the camp.  Halyn 
quietly but quickly followed.

There were many campfires burning and makeshift tents set up around 
them.  Manda stepped agily over this bedroll and that sleeping form.  
Halyn was hard pressed to keep up, stumbling here and there as they made 
their way through the darkness.

Again came the moan, but now Halyn could see that it came from a person 
rolled up in blankets near one of the fires.  She hurried over, hoping 
against hope for something that she new she wouldn't find.

The person turned over in his sleep, groaning in pain.  Halyn finally saw 
his face and gasped.

"Frelan!"

His blue eyes fluttered open for the merest of seconds, a smile creasing 
his handsome features, "Iralyn... I knew you'd come back..."  

Once again he drifted off into his delirious sleep, muttering her twin 
sister's name.  Halyn looked at his face closely.  In the firelight she 
could see that he was badly bruised, a jagged cut glaring across his 
forhead.

She reached out for his hand and he grasped it tightly.

"Oh, Frelan... what have they done to you..." Halyn whispered, dismay in 
her voice.

"He's been like that since we found him three days ago," came a voice 
from behind her.

Halyn turned to see an older woman standing there, Manda on one side and 
Carlynee on the other.  She blinked, then smiled with relief at the sight 
of the familar face.

"Aggie!  Oh, Aggie..."  Tears welled up again, but she fought them down.  
She refused to cry in front of Manda, who was standing there watching her 
every move with those ice blue eyes, arms folded akimbo across her chest.

"He thinks you're Iralyn, doesn't he?" Aggie asked, moving closer and 
kneeling down to put a hand on Frelan's forhead, pushing his black hair 
out of the way.

Halyn nodded, "He does.  I... I didn't realize how close he and my sister 
were."  

A snort came from Manda, causing Carlynee to look at the blonde girl 
questioningly.

"Shows how little you know /Halyn/," Manda drawled with a smirk.

Carlynee's eyes darted to meet Halyn's, but she only sighed and 
shrugged.  Manda was not going to get to her.  Not right now.

"What happened to him, Aggie?  Who did this?" Halyn asked, looking over 
Frelan's face again.  They'd been best friends for as long as she could 
remember, but she'd never expected to see him like this.

"Soldiers," Aggie said with disgust, "They don't like the Lotherran men.  
Especially the young, strong ones.  They think they're some kind of threat."

Manda snorted, then wailed, "Calis was no threat!  He was just trying to 
save his horses!  They didn't have to kill him for that!"

With that, Manda spun and ran into the darkness, her sobs the only hint 
to her location as the night engulfed her petite form.

Halyn looked questioningly at Aggie, who frowned with concern, "That 
girl's had it hard.  At least she wasn't raped."

Carlynee had moved forward and now Halyn felt the other girl's hand on 
her shoulder.  She didn't look up as she asked, swallowing hard, "Raped?"

Aggie's eyes came up to meet Halyn's, "Yes, raped.  The soldiers ran 
through Lotherra and took all the girls they could.  Some of them died.  
Others we found, broken and babbling.  Some... some we haven't found at 
all.  We hear that they're being used as slaves... or even concubines... 
We just don't know where."

This time the tears that welled up did trickle down Halyn's cheeks.  She 
found herself overwhelmed with sadness and emotion, unable to find any 
words to say.  Halyn's shoulders began to shake and she bent over, 
bringing the hand that Frelan was still gripping to her forhead and 
sobbing freely.

Carlynee looked over the sobbing girl at Aggie, who was now rubbing 
Halyn's back and trying to comfort her, "Oh, Haly... there there... 
nothing you could have done... I know, I know... you let it out."

Only Carlynee saw the petite blonde form of Manda just inside the 
treeline, her ice blue eyes flashing defiantly, a wicked smile of 
satisfaction on her face.

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

(NRPG: *TAG* Cheryl!  Or anyone who's with this party at Lotherra!  Yay!  
I'm back!  I'm back!  I'm back!)

Respectfully submitted,

--Lisa (Halyn, Iralyn, and Coriandreth)