*Early Evening*

*B'Lin*

B'Lin had offered the young blonde woman a seat on Glay in front of him.
Ce'Lot's sister was no dragonrider and the unjoined were so unpredictable in
regards to how they reacted around the winged-beasts.  This Lecia could try
to jump off for all he knew...  But right now she seemed to be fine...the
slow even rise and fall of her chest  told him that she was concentrating
hard on breathing.

"Just don't look down..." he teased lowly in her ear as Glay swooped down to
avoid a flock of birds returning to their nest.

"Don't worry...." Lecia mumbled back...her eyes trained to stare straight
ahead.

<Who is this girl, B'Lin?  And why did the wingleader not want her to go
with you?> Glay's rumbled sounded in his mind.

<It appears that fearless Hero has a sister...a rather attractive...well
proportioned sister at that....> B'Lin returned as he let his eyes peer over
the shoulder of the young woman.  If only she would lean back a little, he
could get a better look down her shirt!

<What is it, Glay?> he frowned as his attentions were forced back on his
dragon, the male's heavy sigh indicative of his frustrated attitude.

<It is nothing, my rider.  I'll let you have your fun with this unjoined
one.>

B'Lin's frown deepened.  <Well....what is it?  Just spit it out....>

<It is nothing....  Only that I get lonely too..>

The dragonrider sat silent not knowing exactly how the animal wanted him to
respond to that statement.  He had never denied Glay any mating
flights....and he'd never heard the dragon grumble about wanting to share
his lair with another female...in fact it had always been quite the
opposite.

"Are we almost there?" Lecia's voice trembled slightly.

"Just beyond this mountain," he responded distractedly.

As the dragon began it's descent to the warren, B'Lin broached the subject
once again with Glay.

<You haven't complained to me before about anything....>

<Menia will be flying soon....>

<No...> B'Lin shook his head.  <Not Bel's dragon... No.>

"So....this is the warren?" Lecia had slid down from Glay's back and was now
peering over her shoulder at him.

"Uhh..yeah...yeah.. This is Xylian.." B'Lin nodded and smiled back as he ran
a few steps to catch up with her.

Her nose had turned up slightly as she regarded the grounds with a
scrutinous eye.  "Well...it's different...."

"Yeah well....it's not exactly like living in the palace...." B'Lin laughed.
"But you know...it's not too bad..."

"B'Lin!"

He turned around and caught his sister in mid-leap as she pounced at him.
"Ana...you should get back to mom and dad.."

"I will....they're taking us to some empty apartments..."

"I'll be by as soon as I drop...Lecia off... " B'Lin looked over at Ce'Lot's
younger sibling awkwardly.  In truth he had no idea where to drop her off
at.

"Lecia!   Lecia!!" a lady that B'Lin recognized as having been with Coneta
early in the week came running up and scooped Ce'Lot's sister in her arms.

"She seems to have been found...." Anadia remarked as she looked back up at
her brother.

"Yeah...it seems that way...." B'Lin shrugged.

He had wanted to talk to the girl a little bit more...and find out why she
had thought that her brother was dead.  The whole mystery surrounding the
wingleader perplexed him and he wondered how Ce'Lot had ever been chosen to
lead a group of dragonriders.

"Did you want to stay and talk with her?" his sister gave him a knowing
look.

"No..." he said as he put his arm around her and faced her in the other
direction.  "I want to make sure that you catch back up with mom and dad and
have a good place to sleep tonight."

*In Glynweith's chambers*

*Bella*

A knock came at the door and Glynweith looked up.  It was getting quite
late and she was becoming concerned about Bella and Wylla.  Wylla was one
of her best bodyguards, but in a conquered city such as this...

"Good evening, your Grace."  Darril Lothar smiled gently at her as he
ushered Wylla and Bella into the room.  "Your lovely charges ran into a bit
of difficulty down in the city...  I might advise that you send normal
guards with them if you need to send them into the city again..."

Wylla waved a hand negligently.  "Ah, my lord Darril, your assistance was
most appreciated... as was your tour...  your Grace, if you'll excuse me, I
am quite fatigued and would like to rest."

"Of course, dear Wylla."  Glynweith smiled graciously, knowing that in
reality the woman was going to go write up a report.  "Bella, Darril, would
you care to join me for a cup of tea?"

"Oh...not me..." Bella shook her head.  She was exhausted and the tour
through the ruined town of Lotherra had only served to tire her more.  "I
think I will retire for the evening, as well."

She smiled graciously at the Duchess and Darril.  "Thank you so much again
for this afternoon...." Bella added to the man that had saved her and Wylla
from the rogues as she followed after a maidservant.

After bedding down for the night, strange noises kept her from the slumber
that she so desperately needed.  In a moment of irritable frustration, Bella
snatched on her robe and grabbed the lantern beside the bed as she pushed
open the door to her room.

The light from the candle within the lantern cast eerie shadows upon the
stone walls of the castle, and Bella pulled her robe closer together.  She
walked carefully and quietly to the edge of each room, the flickering flame
held high above her head as she peered in.  In one room, a delicate vanity
caught her eye and she stumbled her way in to get a better look at the
etchings surrounding the mirror.

An oval crystal jewelry box sat ontop to her left and on her right a glass
perfume bottle rested.  Bella picked up the spritzer and sprayed some in the
air, twitching her nose slightly as the scent prickled her nose.  Two
diamond earrings soon found new homes in her ears and a strand of pearls
hung loosely around her neck.

This room had to have belonged to one of Coneta's ladies in waiting, Bella
judged as she draped a scarf over her shoulder and opened up a closet.
Bright colored dresses neatly hung in a row along one wall and on the other
little slippers lay spread out and ready to wear.

She just couldn't resist running her fingers along the soft fabric.  So this
was what it was like to live as nobility?  Such finery, she had never known
within the walls of her modest home.  This was what Ce'Lot liked
though....the jewelry...the pretty dresses...and the perfectly painted
faces...

"Hey!  What are you doing in here?!" a gruff voice called out behind her.

Belarade turned around slowly within the closet, cursing herself for
forgetting that she was a guest in someone else's home.

"I'm sorry...sir..." her voice trembled some as she raised the lantern to
get a better look at the man's face.  "I heard a noise...and so...I got up
to see what it was that was disturbing my sleep.."

Her eyes squinted as she struggled to make out the stranger's features.

"I found my way into this room....and I saw the pretty mirror...  I just
wanted to take a look around...  I'm sorry."

A humph! was all that she got as a reply and Bella took a few more steps
forward.  To her surprise, the man, from what she could remember looked a
lot like Coneta's husband, the Lord of Lotherra.

"I'm one of the Duchess's companions....a dragonrider..." she fumbled.  "I
shouldn't have left my room..I'm terribly sorry...."

Respectfully Submitted,
B'Lin and Glay
Bella and Menia

[NRPG:  The man who Bel runs into is Gerard....  I thought that might be
interesting.  Also, I didn't post B'Lin any further because I wasn't sure if
we were waiting for some others to catch up or what.  I'll be out of town
for the next week so please feel free to move my characters around as you
need to.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to post or not.  Have a happy
Halloween everybody!]











~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"