Mysteera looked to the north of herself. That was a lot, she thought. She scrubbed at her arms, they were covered in goosebumps from the sensation of divine power crackling through the atmosphere. She adjusted her cloak, reaching into the loose folds of the tunic she wore to withdraw something from a secret pocket. It was a silver medallion with a perfectly round, glass smooth face in a dark green. She passed her thumb over it, thinking clear into it: Did you feel that?

Characters in a language only people who were not born on this land could read floated for a moment in the depths of the gem before vanishing.

Mahale, what are you doing? She wondered.

The amulet grew warm in her hand and she looked down at the words: Loud enough to hear it. She rubbed her thumb across the surface. The next words came: What were they after?

Mysteera had a hunch. Though, as she thought of Kartowen with his soft smile getting involved, she opted not to answer at all. I am not surprised I escaped. I am not surprised Silver tried to escape. It is hard for me to imagine him escaping. I should not be involved. I am going to get caught.

But Silver loved her, and sometimes she loved him. She rubbed her thumb across the amulet face again, looking at the image of Silver in shackles in the barrier, and she thought again about Kartowen. He would help, if she asked. But what could a God of Love offer against a God of Many?

I am afraid to look, she finally sent to him. That ought to keep him out of it.

***

Usually when Rosalea’s mind and heart ached like this, she dreamed of fire. She set a hair pin with a metal flower and topaz center on a rock as her offering. The traders had not let her come near their caravan, but seeing the pendant made at least one of them brave enough to approach, as long as she backed away. He inspected it with a critical eye, asking her again if this was some sort of beast-people trick….

She was in castle, tugging Nerric along by the hand. They were going outside, Ulric had a cold, and he decided to turn them loose on the gardeners so Nerric could study the water-flow enchantments…

There was a flood of yellow trying to drag her down somewhere, some wolf was telling her to get back up.

She was in a marsh, offering a man a knife on her palm, but he cut her with it. The blood pooled in her palm and fell on drops leaves of grass.

But it wasn’t her blood, it was Annie’s. The scene shifted to her trying to pull the mare back up. This was the dragon’s fault. This was her fault. This was their fault. Who was going to get justice for Annie?

How… had she ever forgotten Annie?

She was in a Uryan camp. Some boy she couldn’t remember the name of was holding a stone that he had caught. No, it wasn’t a stone, it was a cloth and he was looking at her with soft eyes as he dabbed at her face.

Actually it was his father. “I think, you should know, Gaiden was not really a full Uryan. His mother was a woman that came from an island off the west coast. There’s at least some possibility that you have all magics for… a prophetic reason.”

A prophetic reason that she wanted desperately to not know and run away from.

Rosalea was hot, she felt constricted. She felt thirsty. These were her first realizations as she tried to throw off the thick sleepy feeling weighing heavily on every part of her body. The next realization was that her body hurt, and her head hurt particularly badly. She struggled some more. I am in a bed? When did that happen?

The realization startled her so much she sat up. The first things she recognized was being in an overly large room. Then there was the blue dragon. You! her whole mind screamed at her. You caught me? When did I get dragged back here? I hate you!

That’s when she started to feel overwhelmed by all these thoughts hitting her all at once. She was Rosalea. She had just escaped to get her liana. No, she had her liana, that had just happened. No, that wasn’t quite right either.

“Brace yourself, Lio,” someone warned. Fen. Her liana. That was a voice she knew.

“Mama! Mama!” a blonde hair child sprung out from around the dragon in her way. “Mother!” Do I know that child?

***

Kaylar did not know what to expect of Rosalea as she got more restless with her sleep. When she sat up, and her thoughts were confused and out of character, he began to panic. He had forgotten about Lio until she called for Rosalea and started to run toward her.

“Lio! No!” He tried to pull up magic to keep her away from Rosalea. After the Gods had touched her, she might be a real danger.

Rosalea reacted to him immediately, making a flinging gesture with just one hand that sliced through the middle of his barrier and let Lio through. Mine. Not yours, she thought right at him as Lio clambered onto the bed and fell against Rosalea, wrapping her arms around her mother’s shoulders and back of her neck. Kaylar tensed watching her, Rosalea mechanically hugged the girl.

Trapped me. Let them kill Annie. Got me poisoned. Turned Rhainnon against me. Manipulate those around you by spying into their thoughts and emotions. Why am I here? Her eyes were fierce, and Kaylar did not think she had been this openly hostile or intense toward him as she was at this moment.

Fen whined at her, and she breathed out slowly, holding Lio more possessively and less mechanically. This was her Lio. Her upset, worried, crying little child.

I came back here on purpose, she recalled, memories of coming here with Genya settling with the fragments of things she had been remembering when she was sleeping.

“Rosalea?” Kaylar prompted, watching as she seemed to slowly calm herself. “Talk to me, please?”

***

Rosalea looked at Kaylar, she had been here years now, and it had been real, and it had been happy. It had also been a lot simpler. She had somehow never thought of it as it was… captivity. She had learned to read his face, the way his eyes were intense on hers, the way he was bunched up in his posture. He was worried.

“I am disoriented, but not dangerous,” she said, finding herself bundling Lio closer on pure instinct and rocking her a bit.

“You seem like you remember new things,” Kaylar said guardedly.

Rosalea hesitated, not sure she wanted to answer. But as she felt herself trying to think about how she wanted to formulate an answer, she remembered he could hear her thoughts. He had been hearing her thoughts without her realizing it for years. She frowned at him. “Yes… but not completely.”

Thinking, trying to recall specific things started a throbbing pain in her head. My head still hurts, she thought, putting a free hand to her head. There were bandages on her hand. Yesterday! Rhainnon!

“Rhainnon is fine,” Kaylar said quietly.

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Well, since you can hear it, might as well directly answer it again. She tilted her head and gave him the look he felt he deserved for that.

“I was careful to hide it before because I did not wish you to get aggressive again like this,” Kaylar said with a little irritable flick of his own tail. “I cannot help but hear your thoughts, though I am not sure you will recall we talked about that.”

Rosalea could not remember, but she did completely buy the idea of the dragon dodging uncomfortable topics to keep things as smooth as possible. She took a deep breath in, and a slow breath out. I should not be this upset. You have maintained an army for years now to keep me safe from the Ieshans…

And then she finally put something together, one very significant from the dream. “I had a secret I was keeping, and the Ieshans took it.” She looked up at Kaylar, she watched him tense. “The Uryans knew I was almost certainly the One when they let me go.”

Kaylar felt bristly. “You are what?”

Rosalea felt ashamed. “I know I was running from the idea. I did not plan to stay in Mire. I was running from Ieshans and running from who Gaiden was. But this last time I was with the Ieshans, they were talking a lot about Lindir, and the missing islands she was descended from. Gaiden’s mother was from the islands in the West, the same that the Ieshans… that I should have been missing.”

Kaylar looked down at Lio, who was making little noises as her relief had turned to sleepiness as she soaked in Rosalea’s cuddles.

Rosalea understood the implication. They told me I had lingered here too long. Then, they attacked us. You almost died. Rhainnon did die… for a minute. It has to be me. She didn’t think about how they had not wanted Lio to exist and she had fought for Lio like she had fought for Rhainnon.

Kaylar breathed out slowly, and answered her thought directly once again. “I owe my life. They would have killed me to release you from me, I think. Gods… have a direct way of dealing with things that can be hard for the living to understand.”

Rosalea did not feel she understood Gods at all. Was it her fault that she had been captured by Ieshans? Lio was breathing heavily and was quite heavy against her shoulder. Rosalea settled the little girl next to her. She has dark circles beneath her eyes.

“She was tired,” Kaylar said. “She was watching over you with me. It has been almost a full day since what happened. She was the most sulky and petulant I have ever seen her. I am impressed that petulant is all she was after all that happened. ”

Rosalea felt shame. “I am sorry that she was exposed to any of that.” Then, an ache in her chest. “I cannot stay here… and she cannot come with me.”

“I know,” Kaylar spoke spoke gently. “I have known all day that you were going to have to go. I even suspected it might have to do with that prophecy at different times… I do not want you to go. I will miss you.”

Rosalea looked down and swallowed. She felt tears burning that she did not want to shed. Fen whined a little and settled closer to her. Rosalea put her arm over the wolf and tried to take in her sense of support.

“Rosalea, can you tell me about Rhainnon?”

Rosalea breathed out slowly. I used God magic to heal her. I think… she tried to figure out how to explain how she had felt in the moment. I think it was very strong. I… cut her free from something. I think… She shook her head. “I think it was… time. Or Gods. Or something. She was dying, and the string was around her head and heart, and when I cut it, she came back with the heal. I just… it is all my fault, and I could not bear that she would die for me.”

Kaylar made a soft musing. “Rhainnon described that feeling. A feeling like nothing was changing inside of her anymore. She says she feels a little different in the mind.” Rosalea closed her eyes and looked down. Kaylar continued, “She has been very glad to be alive, even at that cost. I promise.”

Rosalea shook her head. “But if I… cut her from time and she cannot change or age…”

“I am here. I will watch over her. I will live a long time. All will be well.”

“Kaylar, I have to leave,” she whispered. “I have to leave, and I leave these problems behind for you. I have to leave… to leave my…” She began shivering, she could not even say she could leave Lio. But it is too dangerous for me stay here. I cannot stay here. I hurt all over from fighting them, if something else happens, will I even have a chance to do anything?

“When?” Kaylar asked softly.

“Tomorrow at the first light,” she said aloud.

Kaylar seemed startled. “But you will not be well by tomorrow morning. Where will you go? What about Yelena and Briar?”

That’s right, they are getting married. Yet the last thing that I want is Myajacs crashing the wedding. She didn’t want to think in front of him, and yet she didn’t see why she shouldn’t. She had been doing it for so long and not realizing it.

Kaylar nodded. “I will watch over Lio. It is not trouble. When you and I first met, I did not think you would make such a positive difference in my life. I hope one day, you will return.”

Rosalea heard his doubt that she could return. She felt the same doubt.

“Shall I send everyone in?”

Rosalea nodded, scooping up Lio and getting a disgruntled groan from the sleepy child.

“I will go let them know.” His wings and tail seemed droopy.

Rosalea began crying into Lio’s hair. Fen whimpered for her. Rosalea gave a limp smile to Fen. “You never saw fit to tell me that he could hear all my thoughts?”

“You did not ask, and besides, it made you more manageable,” Fen answered with a vague attempt at cheerfulness.

Every thought over the past two or three years. Every single one. She gave a bit of a wry look to Fen. And my liana says, be manageable.

Fen licked a tear off of her cheek. “You do not always know what is good for you. Fighting Kaylar would not have helped you, but having a chance to be calm and with people who could love you, was good for you.”

Rosalea wished the Gods saw things more like Fen. “I am going to miss Yelena and Briar’s wedding. I am going to cast a shadow over it.”

Rosalea blinked back still more tears. Yelena's wedding dress was made of white silk and lace that Rhainnon had spent hours making. The lace was made so that the shapes of flowers stood out, in honor for Briar's love for them. There was a pale blue ribbon woven in and out of the cloth on the hems of her sleeves, neck, skirt. Rosalea had made the binding cord herself from carefully dyed green and tightly spun and woven wool, so that the fabric would be firm. She had embroidered Yelena’s favorite shape of a song bird on one side and roses along the other for Briar.

Rosalea knew that in a minute, Kaylar was going to be back with her friends, after telling them that she must go.

But the misery was sweeping her in.

“You really like the roses, Rosalea?” Kaylar asked as she reached out to finger an exceptionally beautiful one.

“Yes, I love roses. They are my name's sake.”

Kaylar smiled at her. “Then perhaps I shall call you “Rose.” Rosalea smiled at the thought, yet it was the nickname Rhainnon had given her as well. Rhain and Rose. “I shall have a rose garden planted by your house so that you will always have them.”

“Thank you!”

He will never call me Rose again because I will not be here . . . She quaked with effort to remain silent. She loved Kaylar with all her heart, he was like the father she had never had. She knew that, even as much as she knew she did not like his power. He was just like a father. Lio stirred and murmured in her sleep, snuggling closer to Rosalea.

“Mother, what happened to my father?”

Rosalea felt caught in a corner. “Um, ah, your father, I left him. . .”

“How come?”

“Well, ah, we did not know each other very well, and I, I was a princess, he, I am not sure. . .”

“You were a princess?”

Although Rosalea was relieved to get off the subject of Nerric, this was not much of an improvement. “Yes, Lio.”

“So that would make me a princess?”

“I suppose so.”

“Yes!”

Rosalea smiled, her daughter was so young, so innocent. Lio was quiet a moment and seemed to notice that Rosalea was slightly uncomfortable. “Mother, I love you.”

Rosalea's smile broadened. “Am I the only one you love?”

“No. I love Rhainnon and I love Fen and Yelena and Genya and Briar and Kaylar, but most especially I love you.”

“Thank you, Lio.”

Lio threw her arms around Rosalea, “I shall love you forever and ever!”

Rosalea sobbed in small gasps, trying not to disturb the child next to her. She shivered and shook with the pain she felt. Fen carefully laid her head in Rosalea’s lap. After a moment, she shifted, looking up, and started to lick away the tears which made Rosalea cry still harder, but the wolf said nothing. Rosalea felt there was nothing to say. There was nothing to be done for it; Rosalea would have to leave, nothing could change that and no words could make it go away.

She had not gotten even close to mastering the loss she felt when Genya rushed in, and immediately scooped her and Lio to her body and cried into Rosalea hair. Briar entered next, his eyes red and he was a little sniffly, but he was not crying. Rhainnon was not crying, but she looked pained. Tough Yelena was crying though and hanging onto Briar as if for her life.

Lio was awoken by the movement, and seeing Genya, Rosalea, and Yelana all crying began to cry loudly herself.

No one asked her if she really had to go. They had all been there. They all understood.

But they did try to comfort her, that she was strong, and they would always be looking for her to come back to them someday. Genya told her again and again that she was special and stronger than anyone in the world. She had seen it, she had known it, and she knew in her heart they would meet again.