In the Main Building, located beneath the kitchen, just off the wine cellar.

The room is more of a suite, in that it consists of three rooms. Two to be used as bedrooms and one with two walls lined with shelves. There are no windows but plenty of candles spaced around the rooms.

Sileas stepped into the first room, her eyes rounded at the sight of all the crates and trunks. "The manor must have been intact." There were a few that were familiar, they must have come from the forge. She knew the schoolhouse was no more. The first crate she looked in was the one with the baby clothing. Sileas dropped the lid with a bang. "I told Lek to burn this."

She moved forward and looked into the two rooms they would use for bedrooms. "Well we have beds and wardrobes. Xavier has us set up, he just left the unpacking to us."

Questa looked around, then at the door. "Yor right gonna try ter keep Yehudit out of 'ere?"

"I doubt it will work, but I would like to. I doubt Aunt Lia is inclined to let us spend time together now after Yehudit ran off and went to sea for two weeks."

"Yehudit weren't 'urt, and yor millstone is big enough ter make up 'er own mind, right, even if she's a cripple. Yer need ter nick that crazy tart's nose and tell 'er ter leave yer alone if Yehudit wants ter be 'round yer so badly." Questa said.

"Aside from nicking her nose, I did tell her that it was Yehudit's choice. I mean, Yehudit is an adult now. Maybe she will back off now that I have decided I am done with adventuring. I can't just go off all scattered now that I have Oscar. And I want to go through these things to try to learn a way to defeat those mermen."

"But we 'ave a gang now. Even better adventures." Questa said, prying open a crate.

Sileas walked over to the table  in the center of the room, absently rubbing her stomach. "Would you believe that I am feeling sea sick aga...hello, what's this?" she said spying a small box on the table. "This...this has my name on it. It's not Xavier's writing either."

"Don't puke dahn 'ere. There ain't any windows, we'll never cop the bloody smell out." Questa could not read, much less determine whose handwriting it was.

Sileas opened the box and found a beautiful pendant along with a folded piece of parchment. A letter. To her! Perplexed and curious, she hooked a chair over with her foot and sat down. As she read, the color drained from her face and her jaw dropped. Then she looked up and stood. "Watch Oscar for me, please. I want to read this in private.

"Wot, then, mate? It's not like I'll read over yor shoulder." Questa pointed out.

"I know, it's not that. I just...I need to just really read this without distractions. I'm only going in the bedroom. Which one did you want?" she asked.

"I don't care." Questa said.

"Then I'll take the one on the right." It was a slightly larger room, but Sileas would need the room for Oscar. She picked up the box and the package of Oscar's clothing and disappeared into the bedroom. After a while, the sounds of crying could be heard.

The sound of someone banging a walking stick on the door could be heard.

In reply to Sileas (msg # 14):

"Oi! Wotcher cryin' for?" Questa called to Sileas, then heard the banging. "Oh hell fire."

"Because according to this, Keegan Lowell was my father. He knew of me but she who gave birth to me wouldn't let him see me and then she left town with me. It must have been before I was in Portside, probably still a baby because I don't remember being elsewhere. When he had finally caught up to her, it was too late, she had sold me to Jeremy." Sileas shook. "My real father wanted me. And Mama would have been my Mama still if he'd found me."

She fingered the pendant. Sileas had removed it from the box. "He says this is a family heirloom and I should never remove it."

"Yor muvver were a 'oore." Questa said.

"Sileas!" Bang bang bang! I know you're in there! Let me in!"

In reply to Questa Cort (msg # 18):

"She who gave birth to me was no mother. She didn't know the meaning of the word. I didn't have a mother until Mama and Papa adopted me." Sileas stiffened. "I wonder if Jeremy knew? What if that's why he killed Jeremy and Eden?"

"How would I know, isit?I'm bloody well not some mean kid beatin' bastard." Questa listened to Yehudit banging. "She's not gonna put the mockers on."

"No, she's not," Sileas said. "I hope she doesn't upset Oscar." She unfastened the chain the pendant dangled from. She looked at Questa for a moment before putting the pendant on. A blinding light filled the room.

Questa shielded her eyes with her arm, but still she saw spots and her vision was darkened. "Wot the chuffin' hell were that?!"

"Why do you think I know? The letter just said to wear it and never take it off. It didn't say anything at all about a blinding light!" Sileas cried out. The light returned to the pendant and seemed to make Sileas glow from the inside. "What the..."

"Maybe yer should take the bleedin' damned fin' off before we all go blind." Questa squinted.

Sileas reached behind her neck. "The clasp! It's gone!"  As she spoke, the light went away. Sileas let out a breath.

Questa swore. "That muvver geezer of yors were a blacksmiff- do yer fink she could break it off wivout takin' yor head off wiv it?"

"She probably could.  But how and why would it just disappear? But what if something else bad happens if I take it off? My father's letter said to never remove it," Sileas replied.

"Oh, right, now 'e's yor favver. Yer've been insistin' that captain of the bloomin' guard were." Questa looked at the chain, unable to find the clasp. "She can put on a new clasp so yer can take it off and stick it on wen yer want."

Sileas shook her head. "He may be my father but Papa is still my Papa. Not everyone can be a papa, much much closer to the heart." Even if she learned more about her father, no one would ever be able to replace her Papa in her heart.

"I'll get an axe!" Yehudit shouted through the door.

"She'll chop off 'er foot." Questa said. "Probably 'er good foot, too."

"Probably. How the devil did she find us that fast?" Sileas got to her feet. "I guess I'll have to let her in before she injures herself."

"Don't know." Questa said.

Sileas tucked the pendant under her tunic, not wanting to answer any questions just now. She unbarred the door and opened it. "Hullo."

"What took you so long?" Yehudit hobbled in the room as if she owned the place.

Sileas felt her pocket to make certain the note was safely tucked there. "Oh, just deciding what would go where. How did you find the room?"

"You just disappeared, I knew you didn't go upstairs. So I banged on walls until I found the door." Yehudit said.

"Maybe I had just developed the power to turn invisible," Sileas joked.

"And I could sort of hear you... Muffled but I knew it was your voice." Yehudit said.

"I never said I would have been mute, just invisible."

"So what is this?" Yehudit asked. "And why were you keeping me out?" Yehudit gave Sileas a hurt look.

"What is what? The boxes? Some are things they salvaged from the keep that are mine and Questa's. Xavier brought the contents of the manor here as well, I want to find a way to end the mermen problem. And you know perfectly well why I was keeping you out. Besides, there's really only room for three to live here."

Yehudit crossed her arms stubbornly. "I go where I want to go, not where Mama wants me to go. And it's not that small down here."

"It is that small. As it is we only have two beds and three people. And once we get things unpacked, there will be even less room."

"I'm staying with you." Yehudit said. "I'm not going to stay with my family, with her. That will probably be even more crowded."

Sileas looked helplessly at Questa. "You would have to sleep out here in the main room. On the floor. I don't even know if we have enough blankets and pillows. You could ask Mama and Papa about staying with them."

"I'm staying with you." Yehudit stated.

"Don't 'ave a look at me. I don't sleep in a bed." Questa told Sileas.

Sileas sighed. Questa was of no help. "Fine but it's going to be crowded down here. And now I don't know if we nicked enough food to tide us over tonight."

"The kitchen is just up there, we can get more food." Yehudit said, sitting on a box to take some weight off her ankle.

"I don't know if they were able to salvage anything from the inn that might be yours, you'll have to ask Xavier."

Yehudit shrugged. She was not overly worried about things.

Sileas looked in another trunk and found her weapons. "Help me move this into my room."

Yehudit hobbled over as if she could easily move a heavy trunk.

Sileas frowned. "And what do you think you're doing?"

Yehudit put her hands on her side of the crate. "Helping you."

"All right then." Sileas didn't feel like arguing. "On three. One. Two. Three." She lifted her end of the trunk.

Yehudit's side of the trunk lurched for almost a second, then went motionless.

"I think it's caught on something." Was Yehudit's excuse.

Sileas gave her a skeptical look but said nothing. "Did you find what it's hooked on?" Siles finally asked, playing along.

Yehudit looked at the floor around her end of the crate. "No. Maybe it's caught on your end."

Sileas scowled at her. "My end is up in the air. Nothing to be caught on. Questa, come help me."

Yehudit scowled back. "I can do it!" She dropped her walking stick and managed to lift her end while standing on one leg.

Sileas's scowl deepened. "Now. How are you going to walk and hold the trunk?"

"Just let me do it." Yehudit said, balancing on one foot. "Now where re we going with this thing?"

"That room over there," Sileas said, pointing to the bedroom she had chosen. "We'll put it at the foot of...no, between the bed and the wall."

"Then let's go." Yehudit hopped.

Sileas started toward the bedroom, walking backwards. She felt like she was bearing all of the weight of the trunk. "Questa, would you mind pulling the bed away from the wall?"

"Why can't Yehudit do that too?" Questa asked, eating a sticky bun and enjoying the show.

"Because she's not an octopus."

"Maybe she just needs ter believe she's an octopus." Questa suggested.

"Nope, it's physically impossible."

"Yer 'ave magic stuff. Give 'er some extra arms and legs. Make 'er useful." Questa said.

"I don't know how to use anything yet. And for all I know, all I have are books," Sileas pointed out. "Since I haven't started unpacking any of it."

"Why would they waste time and space on books?" Questa was disgusted.

"To explain how to use the magical items and how to make potions and the such, of course." Sileas rolled her eyes.

"Yer don't need ter read ter know that." Questa pried open a box, hoping it wasn't just books.

"You do if you don't want to accidentally turn someone in to a frog or make them go poof! never to be seen again."

"That might not be so bad." Questa eyed Yehudit as she pulled out some sparkly orange rock.

Sileas scowled. "Oooh that's pretty."

"Wotcher ffink it does?" Questa asked, turning the stone in her hand. "I bet it's worff a bit."

"We're not selling anything, even after we find out what it is. We don't know what any of it does and if it gets in the wrong hands, we're sunk. It all stays. Now come on and move the bed, this trunk is getting heavy."

"It might just be a pretty rock." Questa dropped the pretty rock back int the crate. She went over and moved the bed.

"It could be, but until we know for certain," Sileas grunted as she hauled the trunk in where she wanted it. Once it was in place the way she wanted it, Sileas moved the bed over, leaving enough room to slip a lock in the hasp. She couldn't have Oscar getting into dangerous weapons.

Yehudit tiredly flopped down on the bed. Her ankle was killing her.

Sileas gave her a look that clearly said she wanted to say she told her so, but Sileas refrained.

"I helped." Yehudit said stubbornly, not wanting her damned ankle to make her useless.

"I didn't say a word. But I do need someone to go see if I can get a lock and key for this trunk."

"I don't know where we'd get one." Yehudit said.

"There must be one somewhere. We can probably ask at the stables. They should know."

"Any lock can be picked." Questa said.

"I suppose I could put it right against the bed, though it will be terribly inconvenient if I have need of them."

"Stick 'em on yor belt and 'ang wot yer can fit on the bleedin' walls. Why are yer puttin' them in a trunk any roads, then, eh? Can't use a weapon in a trunk." Questa asked.

"Trying to keep them out of inquistive little fingers. Besides, I can't wear all of them at once. These are for times of trouble, not everyday."

"Times of trubble come wen yor not expectin' them." Questa said.

"It's not like I walk about unarmed. But I think being heavily armed all of the time might unnerve people."

Oscar was feeling like throwing up again. It might have something to do with the fact that he ate everything in the basket while Sileas was distracted.

Sileas left the bedroom area. She spotted Oscar looking a little green and an empty basket. She sighed. "I might need a locking trunk for food. I'm going to take Oscar outside."

"Maybe I've been poisoned." Oscar said unhappily.

"Only by gluttony. Come along, Oscar." She led him from the rooms, through the kitchen and out to the garden area.

Yehudit sadly looked at the empty basket.

Sileas helped Ila down the stairs and into her room. She passed Yehudit and Questa and sat her down on the bed.

Yehudit was bruised up from tripping over her walking stick trying to go up to Sileas.

"What happened? What's going on up there?"

Sileas' face was a mask of anger. She doubted she had ever felt such rage. "A bunch of judgmental hypocrites who think they're better than everyone else. They're trying to push Ila from the kitchen because of her past. They are telling lies and are refusing her a second start in life."

Ila looked down at her arm and covered the tattoo with her hand. "I should have known better than to think I could find a place in a kitchen. I'm sorry I brought your mother trouble."

"You are not the one who brought her trouble. You are not the one in the wrong."

Ila stared at her bleeding arms. "I never wanted any of that."

"None of what? The Crimson Dove? I have no doubt you didn't. I suspect you were forced into it," Sileas said softly. "You don't seem like the sort of person who would want to have that life."

"Forced? I made a stupid decision that put me there." Ila's shoulders shook as she tried to keep from crying. "Another stupid choice I made got me out of there, but with those pretending to be your uncle."

"And who hasn't made stupid choices when they were young?" Sileas asked. "There was no way for you to know what Mazi was about until it was too late."

"I was only two years younger than I am now when I made my first stupid choice that first got me into trouble. Just because I was younger doesn't mean it doesn't still effect me." Ila wiped her eyes. "It was the other one, Onyi, that I went with to get away from the Crimson Dove... A couple months later Mazi took Onyi's place at masquerading as your uncle."

"And you're still young. Life is all about choices. Some are good, some are bad. It's how we deal with them that matters."

"This is one that's going to keep following me." Ila said.

Sileas cringed at the sound upstairs. "Questa? Can you get through there without getting hurt and find Wulfsen or Xavier? It sounds like Papa and Mama need help."

"I could cut them up for yer." Questa offered, pulling her shiv.

"You don't know how tempting that offer is. I already told them they were the perfect marks for pick-pocketers and no one deserved it more."

"Do yer want their noses or their ears?" Questa asked, testing the edge of her shiv. Sharp as a razor.

"Ears. The nose just sounds nasty."

"Will do! Right!" Cheerfully, Questa headed up the stairs to do some slicing.

Sileas sighed. She had only been joking. Well, halfway. She hoped Questa did what she should, and get Wulfsen or Xavier.

"What are you going to do with those ears?" Yehudit asked curiously.

"I'm hoping she'll do the sensible thing and find Wulfsen or Xavier. Just once, I would like it if someone did what I asked. At the very least she could find your mother. Your mother always did enjoy a good brawl." Now that she was out of the fray, Sileas began to look a little on the edge herself over the things they had said.

Yehudit started to laugh, but stopped when she realized Sileas really hoped Questa was getting Wulfsen or Xavier. "They're making enough commotion, maybe Mama will hear it and come."

"Maybe. I'd go back up but Ila needs me. And I seemed to make everything worse," Sileas said sadly.

"If they see me leaving the kitchen they might stop." Ila said.

"Don't even think about giving in to them."

"It might be the only way to stop them." Ila said, worriedly looking towards the kitchen. "It sounds like someone is getting really hurt."

"They are already hurting others, and they will just move on to a new target. Hateful bigots can't be stopped by giving in to them."

"But they have a point. Maybe I don't belong in a kitchen. I'm not going back to a brothel or anything like it but more people will want me out of the kitchen than in it." Ila said.

"The only points they  have are the ones on their heads," Sileas grumbled. "Ila, they'll run you out anywhere you go now because you'll be giving them permission."

"Tirto said he'd make it hard for me, that I'd have to fight off every man in the keep." Ila shivered.

"And you think it would be any different at any other position?"

Ila could feel fear creeping up her. Another of her panic attacks was coming on.

"Lean forward and close your eyes. Count to ten."

Ila tried to do what Sileas told her but she was terrified. "I can't go back to that. I don't want them touching me."

"And you won't go back to that. We will figure something out."

"They won't take 'No' for an answer, like Jago." Il's chest felt tight. "Not again."

"Shhh. Try not to think on them, try to relax. Yehudit, I have some of my tea in that bag I took along. It's in the corner on one of the crates. Can you make her some tea?"

"Are you serious about that, too?" Yehudit asked, knowing she would spill half, and lose the rest when she dropped and broke the pot.

"Yes, that I'm serious about. I could do with a spot of it myself."

"You might not get any of it if it's me getting it." Yehudit said as she hobbled to where the tea things were.

"Once Ila's calm, I can make more for myself then."

Yehudit clumsily attempted to make tea, dropping leaves and spilling water.

"I don't have to be waited on." Ila said, though she was trembling too much to make tea.

"Maybe, maybe not. But for now, let us take care of you."

"Maybe I just don't deserve to be waited on." Ila said. "You all must have more important things to do."

"Not particularly."

Yehudit stumbled over with half a cup of tea.

Yehudit cocked an ear. "I hear Mama, I think they're all dead."

"What?" Sileas yelled, rushing to the door.

"I didn't want anyone to get hurt!" Ila was horrified.

Sileas raced up the stairs. "Mama!"

Yehudit hobbled after Sileas.

"So, how long ago?" Difyr asked Sileas.

Brie closed the door behind her and did her very best to not appear judgmental.

In reply to Difyr Bateman (msg # 154):

Sileas paced. "About a month and a half before the raid. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to be intimate with Larrigan and I didn't wish to consign him to that type of marriage. It was only one time." Sileas looked at her mother and cringed. She didn't like the look she was getting.

"Sometimes just once is enough." Difyr said quietly. "You've been throwing up every day but haven't you noticed weight gain?"

Yehudit let herself in the room as if she belonged there.

Sileas arched her eyebrow, still not quite grasping what Difyr was saying. "I don't really pay attention, I guess. But I guess I'm a little rounder in a few places."

"This..." Difyr gently felt Sileas's belly. "You may be pregnant."

"Oh come now," Sileas scoffed. Then she laughed. "I can't be. You told me yourself there was far too much damage. Something disagreed with me, that's all."

"I said it was very unlikely you would ever get pregnant." Difyr said. "I didn't want you to hope for something that would probably never happen and live in disappointment."

Sileas gave another laugh then sobered, blinking at Difyr. "You're serious."

"I could be mistaken again." Difyr admitted. "But everything indicates that you're pregnant."

Sileas glanced at her mother, then quickly away. Her mother was angry. Sileas had never seen her Mama so angry. What would she do now? Wulfsen wouldn't want her, she had probably pushed her luck bringing Oscar home. Oh why did the raiders have to murder her Larrigan? She sunk down on the bed.

Yehudit indignantly stomp-hobbled over to Sileas.

"You should keep on not telling jokes Difyr, you're not funny." Yehudit snarled at the healer and flopped on the bed next to Sileas. "She can't be pregnant, even if she hadn't gotten hurt she never got a chance. I made sure of it."

"Do you remember the night you were following the sugar clouds that had spilled and you had gotten trapped in the cloakroom in the schoolhouse?"

"Yeah, you and Larrigan wore yourselves out looking all over the village for me." Yehudit said. "I thought I was never going to get out of there. It was terrifying."

Sileas blushed and scooted over from Yehudit. She grabbed a pillow and hugged it. "You just thought that was why we were exhausted."

"Wait- you were canoodling while I was breaking my walking stick on the cloakroom door?!" Yehudit was incredulous.

Sileas blushed a red deeper than her hair color. "We needed to distract you so we could have some alone time."

"Were you at it all night?! I had to pee in someone's shoes!" Yehudit said.

"No, most of that time we were either cuddling and enjoying time alone or we were sleeping," Sileas admitted.

Yehudit scowled. "I let myself get distracted by some sugar clouds and this happens." She was angry at Sileas for leaving her trapped, and at herself for letting herself get trapped.

"Giving up those sugar clouds for the cause was a huge sacrifice," Sileas admitted.

Yehudit scowled.

Brie stepped forward. "Yehudit, I need some time alone with my daughter, if you wouldn't mind going to join your family." Her voice was cold, calm, controlled. Much like a volcano preparing to explode.

Yehudit stubbornly crossed her arms. "I stay with Sileas, even if she locked me in a cloak room so she and Larrigan could canoodle and she got herself knocked up."

"Well... At least knowing when it happened will make it easy to pin down a due date." Difyr said, trying to break some of the tension.

Brie glared at Yehudit. "Trust me, you don't want to be here for this." Brie rubbed her temple. Difyr wasn't helping.

Yehudit put an arm around Sileas's slightly widening waist. "I'm staying."

"Be prepared to take some of the blame then. Distraction by sugar cloud indeed," Brie humphed.

Yehudit scowled. "Then where were you?"

"I wasn't living with her. You were."

"You were the one who was supposed to teach her where babies come from!" Yehudit said.

"I am in no mood to argue with you, Yehudit. You stay and accept part of the blame or go find your family."

"Sileas is my cousin, we are family." Yehudit said angrily.

"I meant you should probably find your mother. She was heading for the dungeons to face down mermen. By now she's probably gotten herself in trouble."

"Mama can take care of herself." Yehudit said.

Sileas shook her head. "I'll be all right. The dungeons could be a problem for your Mama. My Mama won't hurt me. She might yell, but she won't hurt me."

Yehudit bristled. "I'm not leaving you like this."

"But I'm fine. I'm in shock and I'm confused, but I'm fine."

"I am not leaving." Yehudit said stubbornly.

Sileas and her mother sighed in unison.

"So if you're going to scream at her don't let me hold you up." Yehudit said.

"I'm not going to scream. That's your mother's style. But I am going to express how very disappointed I am. I understand why you did it and why you felt it was safe to, but you should have learned from me that sometimes the healers are wrong. Or our bodies heal better than expected. Now you have messed up any chance you had for a good future."

Yehudit took offense and swung her walking stick at Aunt Brie.

Brie grabbed Yehudit by the ear and started to pull her up from her seat. "Your mother is violent and she condones violence. I don't. Go. I don't want you near my daughter or my grandchild. You are a bad influence."

Yehudit yelped and clumsily kicked at Brighid's shins.

"Do you think Sileas is too stupid to know what she did?" Yehudit said angrily. "Do you have to rub it in like all the other judgemental bitches who are going to be tearing her down?"

Brie started dragging Yehudit to the door. "I'm not rubbing it in, but it is my responsibility to make her realize what her life will be like now. Leave the parenting to me and my husband little girl."

Yehudit dug in her heels, ignoring how much it made her ankle hurt.

"I think Sileas realizes it well enough! She was engaged! If the raid hadn't happened she and Larrigan would have been married by now!" Yehudit growled. "I bet you canoodled before you were properly wed- you just didn't get knocked up so you think you're better than her."

"Mama! Yehudit! Stop!" Sileas clutched her stomach, the stress making her feel sick again.

Difyr touched Sileas's shoulder. "I'll make some ginger tea to settle your stomach." She frowned at Brighid and Yehudit. "If you are going to fight please take it outside. Mrs Spenser, if you are going to scold Sileas please at least give her time to digest this. You yourself were quite shocked to learn that you were pregnant."

"I have done all of my scolding. I don't know that Shawn will not want to do some himself but I won't see him until later." She released Yehudit's ear and hurried to Sileas. She sat down next to her and wrapped her arm around her.

Difyr relaxed as she saw that Mrs Spenser was done scolding.

"Okay. Do you know what became of Ila?" Difyr asked.

"No, I'm sorry, I don't," Brie said as she rubbed Sileas' arm.

Yehudit flopped back down on the bed one Sileas's other side, trying to hide how much her ankle was hurting.

Why do so many things have to happen at once? Difyr prayed that Ila was all right and not doing something rash.

"I'll send down some ginger tea... And something for Yehudit's ankle." Difyr said.

"Thank you, Difyr," Sileas said before snuggling against her mother. She wondered if her stuffed animal was in one of the trunks.

As she headed out Difyr remembered that she had put water on the fire to heat for Kadelyn's bath. She ran the rest of the way up the stairs.

"Are you going to name it after me?" Yehudit asked randomly.

Sileas blinked. "I haven't had enough time to think of names. Though It think if it's a boy, I'll name him Larrigan." Her eyes welled with tears. He would have been so overjoyed at this news and he wasn't here to share it with her.

"Yehudit isn't a very good boy's name." Yehudit admitted and hugged Sileas. "You... You still have part of Larrigan. It's not all bad."

Sileas nodded, pressing her face against Brie's shoulder. "It's not fair. He should still be here to raise his child. He would have been so happy with this turn of events."

"I know... But now you got..." Yehudit trailed off, realizing that Wulfsen might not be all right with raising another man's child. Yehudit tightened her hands into fists.

Brie wrapped both arms around Sileas. She was so hoping Sileas might yet find someone to love her but this...Brie managed to silently sigh. She was happy, angry and disappointed, all rolled into one.
This message was last updated by the player at 01:51, Wed 22 June 2016.

Yehudit stood up, careful not to put any weight on her bad ankle. She limped to the door.

Sileas curled against her mother. She would have to tell Wulfsen very soon. She didn't know what she would do then.

Yehudit began trying to climb the stairs.

Difyr returned with a pot of ginger tea and a bottle of pain remedy for Yehudit's ankle.

"This should help settle your stomach." Difyr told Sileas.

"Thank you, Difyr." She appeared to be on the verge of sleep as her mother fixed a cup of the tea for her.

"How are you feeling?" Difyr asked.

"Better. Tired out, a nap wouldn't be amiss." Sileas half laughed. "Did anyone ever expect to her me ever say I could use a nap?"

"You probably need one." Difyr smoothed Sileas's hair. "Where did Yehudit go? I brought her something for her ankle."

"I'm not sure. I lost track of her after you left, I needed Mama attention." Sileas sipped the tea, wrinkling her nose a bit. Ginger had never been one of her favorite things. "Is there anything I should know or do differently?"

"Try to avoid trouble." Difyr said.

"Well I had already resolved to my best to avoid trouble and stop adventuring. I brought a little boy from Portside back with me, hopefully I can take care of him without it causing trouble. Where is Oscar anyway?"

"Around 10 years old with brown hair?" Difyr asked. "I discovered a boy who had eaten himself sick and brought him to the healing room."

Sileas sighed. "Yes, that would be Oscar. He's done that like three times today. I've told him over and over he can eat slower and chew, and that he doesn't have to eat everything at once." Sileas had clearly forgotten what she had been like upon arrival in the village. Her mother snorted and she glanced at her.

"If he learns to eat more slowly he should be fine." Difyr said, also reminded of when Sileas first came to the village.

"I'll keep reminding him. And all the snacks we grabbed from the kitchen to tide us over for the night were all eaten by him too."

"If he doesn't make a habit of overeating he should be fine." Difyr felt like all she did was treat vomiting patients.

"I'll move everything in the kitchen up higher,"  Brie offered.

"That could help. But isn't he a streetkid? They are resourceful." Difyr said.

"I suppose I'll have to remember what I used to do when I had a certain child eating everything in sight." Brie looked at Sileas and then smiled when she blushed.

"If you're all set-" Difyr was interrupted by a shriek upstairs.

"I think we have it under control." The shriek from upstairs made Sileas shriek. She jumped to her feet. "What was that?"

"Sit down." Difyr said. She looked to Brighid for backup.

Brie gently pushed Sileas's shoulder. "You can't go off every time someone is in danger now. You said you needed a nap and you should take your nap. Your priority is Oscar and that little one," she said, gently tapping her stomach.

DIfyr started up the stairs, steeling herself.

Brie fussed at Sileas, getting her tucked into the bed. She tucked a blanket around her. "I'll be out in the outer room waiting for your Oscar." She brushed a kiss on Sileas's temple.

Yehudit ignored Difyr and fell down the stairs.

Brie heard the thudding sound of someone falling down the stairs. She facepalmed, knowing it was Yehudit.

Yehudit dusted herself off and limped to Sileas's bedroom. She sat on the edge of her cousin's bed.

Sileas was sound asleep, the first good sleep she had since leaving Portside to find her Uncle. She didn't hear Yehudit or feel the mattress go down when she sat down.

"Psst! Hey, Sileas!" Yehudit poked Sileas. "Wulfen wants to see you after he gets done killing some momzer."

"Yehudit, let her sleep. Her body needs some rest," Brie said from the doorway. "Come out here and tell me what all this stuff is."

Yehudit shook her head. "She'll have to wake up soon, Wulfsen is coming to see her soon."

"She will wake when she is ready and not before."

"You want Wulfsen to find out she drools in her sleep tonight?" Yehudit asked.

"If she's still asleep when he arrives, and it's important, he'll wait patiently. Out here in the main room, where you should be right now."

"I go where Sileas goes." Yehudit curled up in a corner on the bed. "I talked to Wulfsen, he's going to want to talk to Sileas."

"It's not like you would be leaving her alone, you would just be letting her sleep. And I am emphatic in this. Sileas is not to be awakened until she is ready."

"I'm letting her sleep, I'm even letting her keep all the blankets." Yehudit said. "Sileas is going to want to talk to him."

"He will be welcome to take a seat and wait. I think Wulfsen would understand that she needs her rest."

"He doesn't know she's pregnant yet." Yehudit said.

"He'd best not. I meant that after being away from home and on the ocean for so long, and sick for so much of that, he would know she needs her rest."

''He'll want to see that she's okay for himself." Yehudit said.

Brie narrowed her gaze. "What exactly is going on? Why are you pressing his case so hard?"

"Nothing that you don't already know about." Yehudit said, then added casually. "Oh, I let Wulfsen know I'd hurt him if he hurt Sileas."

"You...you threatened a royal?" Brie said in disbelief. Even Lia had never done that.

"I didn't threaten him, I just let him know what I would do to him if he broke Sileas's heart." Yehudit thought about it for a minute. "You might think it was a threat but it really was purely informational."

Brie was skeptical. "You are starting to remind me of your mother at your age."

"What? It only seems fair to warn him first so if he breaks Sileas's heart he'll know what to expect." Yehudit said.

"You're just lucky you didn't get tossed in a cell."

"My parents wouldn't allow it." Yehudit said. "Besides, I think they're going to be killing some of those momzers and didn't want me seeing it."

"Good, glad to hear they'll be paying for their crimes."

"They'll probably let you watch..." Yehudit said.

"I've seen too much violence. I will place my faith in Wulfsen and Xavier to do what's necessary."

Yehudit was disappointed. "Wulfsen had a big axe. I think he was going to chop off their heads!"

"That is generally how executions are carried out."

"Sometimes they hang them, or burn them, or stone them, or crucify them." Yehudit said. "Or draw and quarter them."

"Sometimes, yes. Generally though,  it's an axe to the neck, like a chicken or turkey."

"Slaughtering chickens isn't very exciting..." Yehudit said.

"You've got your mother's thirst for blood. And she said Sileas was a bad example." Brie shook her head.

"They're momzers. I'd have liked to see them die after what they did." Yehudit said defensively.

And like her mother, no reasoning with her. Brie went out to the other room, pondering peeking in one of the boxes.

Yehudit resumed poking Sileas. "Psst, wake up!"

Sileas, unfortunately, was dreaming about being in a fight. She raised her arm and swung at Yehudit in her sleep.

Yehudit was knocked off the bed with a bloody nose.

"Hey!" Yehudit cried.

Sileas rolled over, murmuring phrases she would use when fighting someone.

Yehudit realized that Sileas was dreaming, it sounded like a nightmare.

"Wake up!" Yehudit shouted.

Brie rushed back in. "Yehudit Buckley! Stop trying to wake her up! Get your arse out in the other room! NOW!"

"She's having a nightmare!" Yehudit said, pointing at her bleeding nose.

"She doesn't sound frightened. She...sometimes dreams of being in a fight. She might be fighting to protect someone."

"She could hurt herself." Yehudit said. "She has to wake up."

Sileas rolled over again, her arms wrapped around her pillow. She whispered Larrigan's name over and over.

Yehudit blushed. "Er... out out out."

Sileas started crying. "Couldn't save him, couldn't..."

"Now it's a nightmare." Brie hurried over to Sileas. "Sileas? It's Mama, I'm here." Sileas sat up and threw herself into her mother's arms.

Yehudit scowled. "If you let me wake her I could've spared her that!"

BRie glared at Yehudit as she held Sileas, rocking her gently.

"You know it's true." Yehudit said, wiping her bloody nose. "Sileas, Wulfsen is probably going to come around to talk to you soon."

Sileas was only half awake and was upset that Larrigan would never know of or know his child. Yehudit's words didn't reach her.

"Oy! Sileas! Wipe that drool off your cheek." Yehudit ordered.

Sileas let out a shuddering sigh.

Yehudit poked Sileas. "You want Wulfsen to see you like this?"

Sileas shook her head quietly.

"Then wipe that droll off your face... And your hair almost looks as bad as Mama's." Yehudit fussed.

"He should be used to my hair being unruly by now," Sileas sniffled.

"You're probably right about that." Yehudit agreed. "But wipe off that drool at least."

Sileas groaned and looked around. "I need to wash my face, I don't have a water basin yet. I'll have to go up to the kitchen."

"Your secret rooms need snacks too." Yehudit criticized. "A person could starve down here and you're supposed to be eating for two."

"We brought down a huge basket of snacks and food. Unfortunately, Oscar ate it all."

"You couldn't have brought much if a little kid could eat it all." Yehudit said.

"Don't you remember how I ate when I came off the streets? And Oscar's a boy. You know their appetites."

"You should've brought more food then." Yehudit crossed her arms.

"We brought all we could carry. And I admonished Oscar not to eat everything in sight."

"Because that order worked so well for you." Yehudit said.

Sileas looked sheepish, flinching when her mother laughed.

"C'mon, wash your face and get some food." Yehudit said, touching Sileas's shoulder.

"Hopefully Oscar didn't eat everything in the kitchen too. Difyr mentioned something about him overeating."

"That boy is a walking famine!" Yehudit exclaimed.

"He'll either grow out of it or get tired of emptying his stomach all the time and settle down."

"That's going to waste a lot of food." Yehudit said.

"I've tried to explain that to him." Sileas ducked her head. "Like you and Mama tried to explain it to me."

"We didn't have a bunch of survivors short on supplies when you first came to the village." Yehudit fretted.

"No need to worry on that, Yehudit," Brie assured her. "Xavier has supplies coming in twice a week from Portside. I might have to tell him to up the orders though."

"Even so." Yehudit worried. "There are already people going to be hard on Sileas because she's pregnant, If she has a kid who is eating too much only to throw up... Maybe we should go to Farthington."

"With any luck, Shawn can find a decent man to wed Sileas, even if he's from Portside. If they are wed quickly, then we could simply say she got pregnant on the wedding night and the babe was born early," Brie thought out loud. "An older gentleman who would be kind."

Yehudit suddenly slapped Brighid across the face. Hard.

"Like hell you're going to marry her off to some old guy!" Yehudit raged. "It's Sileas's life and she should marry someone she loves. Maybe if I don't have to kill Wulfsen she'll marry him. They are betrothed."

Brie was so stunned by the slap and busy thinking on how to retaliate that it took several seconds for the latter part of Yehudit's words to sink in. "What?" She turned to Sileas. "Is this true?"

Sileas glared at Yehudit, murderous thoughts dancing through her mind. "Thank you for ruining our moment, Yehudit." She glanced at her mother. "Yes, Mama, it's true. Unless Wulfsen changes his mind. I think bringing Oscar home may have been pushing it a bit."

"What were you waiting for?" Yehudit asked. "I thought you would've told her already, Uncle Shawn already knows, right?" Yehudit rubbed her hands. "I let Wulfsen know that I would hurt him if he broke your heart."

"No one was supposed to know yet. No one. We were going to ask for a feast and announce it to everyone. Which I know you know, because you were eavesdropping."  Sileas sighed.

"Yeah but she's you mother. Even if she's being a bitch now I figured you would have told her already." Yehudit said.

Sileas slapped Yehudit. "Never. Ever. Call Mama a bitch! And don't ever lay another hand on her."

Yehudit was knocked off her feet- well, foot, since she was trying to not put weight on her bad ankle. She slammed against the wall, then to the floor.

"Ow." Yehudit's eyes watered. "She's the one who was giving you a hard time about getting pregnant and planning to marry you off to the first sleazeball that will have you."

"Any decent mother is going to call her unwed daughter out for that. Just wait until you fall for someone, just imagine the lectures you will get. As for the other, she didn't know about the betrothal and was just thinking out loud on ways to save my, er, so-called reputation."

"Like Mama would ever let me even be courted." Yehudit scoffed. "At least I admit my mother's a crazy bitch. But she'd never stick me with someone I didn't love to save my reputation."

"It was only one option, a thought. Mama only wants the best for me," Sileas said.

"Marrying someone you don't love and doesn't love you would never be in your best interest." Yehudit said angrily. "It's not like you're alone, you have a lot of family to help you."

"That wasn't what I meant. I know I have a lot of family, who I wouldn't want to be burden to in the future. But, Mama's reasoning was sound in that it would stop tongues from wagging. I wouldn't bring shame on the family."

"Oh yeah, you'll be bound to some momzer for the rest of your life and miserable. But that's better than being an embarrassment." Yehudit said sarcastically.

"Mama said they would make certain it would be someone kind," Sileas said. She rubbed her stomach again. Obviously being around Yehudit while she was pregnant was going to be too stressful. "I need to go..." Sileas left the room.

"Kind isn't the same as loving you." Yehudit said, following.

"But kind isn't the same as someone being horrible and abusive either. Please, don't follow me. I need to go to the privvy."

"Are you going to throw up again?" Yehudit asked.

"I think so. You need to stop upsetting me."

Yehudit did not understand. "What did I do?"

Sileas sighed. "I know you don't have a good relationship with your parents, and I know your mother drives you crazy. But you know what? It just means she loves you. It upset me when you hit my mother and it upsets me when you speak badly of her." Sileas shook her head. "This is an awkward situation and had I know this could happen, Larrigan and I wouldn't have done what we did. Mama had no way of knowing of the betrothal and she was thinking out loud on ways to protect me. Being scolded, punished and having your parents step in simply means you are loved. I'm sorry you don't understand that, but obviously being upset by things is not going to settle well during this."

"I was trying to protect you! It's not like Aunt Brie was telling you anything you didn't already know." Yehudit said angrily. "She was just making you feel worse."

"And all of this fighting and yelling is making me sick again. What is so hard for you to understand about that?" Sileas shouted. Without warning, she emptied her stomach all over Yehudit.

Yehudit froze, her face filled with horror.

Sileas blushed a deep red and fled from her rooms.

Yehudit did no know what to do. This was the worst thing that had ever happened to her. She stood as still as a statue, in complete shock.

"Let's get you to the kitchen and clean you up," Brie offered.

Yehudit made a small squeaking sound.

Brie found a clean spot on Yehudit and reached for Yehudit to take her upstairs.

Yehudit did not move.

"Come on. Do you really want to stand there like that?"

Yehudit could not move. Sileas's vomit had petrified her.

"Yehudit! If you don't move your arse to the kitchen now, I'll find your mother to come fetch you."

Yehudit stayed perfectly still.

"Fine, I'll go find your mother." Brie left the room.

Yehudit whimpered.

Xavier nodded a greeting to Brie as he passed her and then knocked on the door.

Wulfsen gave Brighid a polite bow, his eyes bright with anticipation of seeing his betrothed again.

Brie paused and turned around. "Sileas isn't in there. I'm not sure where she went, she was upset and left."

"What's wrong?" Wulfsen asked, instantly worried. "Did something happen?"

"Oh, a lot happened. But mainly Yehudit pushed her too hard and upset her stomach. And then she vomited on Yehudit and fled the room."

"She's still ill?" Now Wulfsen was even more worried and swayed slightly. "Is it serious?"

"It's...not life-threatening," Brie replied. "Difyr has examined her. Yehudit needs to understand that Sileas can't take stress right now."

Wulfsen grasped Brighid's shoulders to steady himself.

"But it sounds serious." Wulfsen fretted. "Should she be alone right now?"

Brie thought for a moment. She had only fainted once during her pregnancy. "She should be fine as long as she's away from stress," Brie finally said.

"But you don't know where she is." Wulfsen fretted. "Do you have any idea of where she might have gone?"

"When she got upset a little while ago, I found her in the garden." Brie didn't mention that Yehudit had smacked Sileas with her walking stick.

Wulfsen nodded and hurried to the garden.

Brie return with a basin of water. She walked up behind Yehudit. "Yehudit?"

Yehudit was still frozen as Brighid had left her. A small horrified sound escaped her throat.

"I brought a rag as well so you can wash off before Sileas returns."

"eee." Yehudit said, she was still in shock.

"Well you can't stand there forever like that. Brie picked up the basin and dumped the water over Yehudit's head. She thrust the wash cloth at her. "Clean up."

Yehudit screamed wordlessly.

Brie left the room, looking in a few crates to see if there were any clean clothes for Sileas. She found her stuffed animal Aislyn had given her oh so many years ago, and she set it out so Sileas would see it.

Liadan burst into the room.

"Yehudit! Brie! What happened to my daughter?!"

"She upset Sileas, who wasn't feeling well. Sileas vomited on her and she's been frozen in place ever since. I was hoping that dumping the water on her would bring her out of it."

"Silas threw up on her?! Yehudit is probably sick now too!" Liadan fretted and looked for more water to douse Yehudit with.

"Yehudit can't be ill from it, it's not contagious," Brie said. She handed her the basin which still had some water in it.

"Then what's Sileas got? Pregnant?" Liadan asked, dipping a cloth in the basin and began wiping the puke off her daughter. "Stop screaming- I think we need Difyr to calm her down."

"I'll see if I can find her," Brie said, not answering Lia's question. It was up to Sileas regarding when she wanted to tell everyone.

Yehudit continued to scream.

Brie left the room to search for Difyr.

Next morning...

Sileas was very comfortable under her layer of blankets. She opened her eyes for a moment or two, made a sound, curled into a ball and pulled the blankets over her head.  She groaned at the protest from her stomach. Soon, she was softly snoring once more.

A biscuit bounced off of Sileas's forehead.

Sileas mumbled incoherently and buried herself further under her blankets. Not one bit of her was visible.

"I guess I'll just go and throw away all the sugar clouds, cousin-trapper." Yehudit grumbled, opening a box.

"Step away from those sugar clouds, if you value your life," Sileas growled from under the blanket.

"What, are you going to puke on me again?" Yehudit asked sourly, throwing a sugar cloud into the fire pit.

"Not unless you make me. I'll just stab you with my dirk if you don't leave those sugar clouds alone."

Thump-whoof! Another sugar cloud met its doom in the flames.

Sileas jerked her head out from under the blanket, murder blazing in her eyes. "Stop destroying the sugar clouds."

Yehudit looked Sileas right in the eye. She deliberately removed a sugar cloud from the box and threw it into the fire.

Sileas leapt from the bed, grabbing her dirk from the stand beside the bed. She lunged for Yehudit.

Yehudit sneered and threw the box at the fire, sugar clouds scattering everywhere.

"Get. Out." Sileas demanded, striding to the door and throwing it open. "Get out, get out, get out."

Yehudit sat on the floor and stubbornly crossed her arms.

"I can always get the guard." Sileas fingered the pendant, triggering something. A beam of light flashed out, striking Yehudit.

Yehudit made a surprised squeaking sound, then was flattened to the floor.

"Holy *&#&! Questa! QUESTA!"

"Wot now?" Questa grumbled from her pile of blankets.

"I think I killed Yehudit. Or the pendant did. I don't know what happened!"

"Neever do I, I were asleep!" Questa peered out of her blankets at Yehudit. "Struth! Did yer 'it 'er over the head wiv it?"

"No! I didn't lay a finger on her!" Sileas wailed. "She made me angry and I was telling her to get out and threatened her with the guards. My hand was on the pendant, and it got warm and light shot out and hit her. DO SOMETHING!"

Questa crawled out of the blankets, came over and began going through Yehudit's pockets.

"I meant to help her, not to pick her pockets!" Sileas cried out. "She usually only has lint in her pockets anyway."

"I'm bloody well not an 'ealer." Questa said testily, irritated that Yehudit didn't have anything worth stealing in her pockets.

"Do something!!! Is she alive at least?" Sileas twisted her hands together

"She don't smell dead." Questa sniffed.

Sileas inched closer. "Yehudit?"

Yehudit blinked, still dazed.

Siles let out a breath of relief. "Oh thank the heavens above. Are you all right?"

Yehudit slowly sat up, clutching at her ribs. "What the ^#(*@ did you do to me?"

"I'm sorry. I don't know," Sileas replied. "It was my pendant."

"That @^*( hurt!" Yehudit said. "What the hell kind of pendant was that?"

"I...I don't know. I found it yesterday in a box with my name on it," she said in a tiny voice.

"Why would someone give you something to hurt me with?" The pain was abating, but Yehudit was already out of sorts be she had been blasted.

"I don't think that's what the intention was. But there's something different about this pendant. And I can't get it off either."

Yehudit scowled. "What, you just put it on? It's probably from Galina or something."

Sileas shook her head. "No, there was a note with it. A very long, informative note."

"Like Galina can't write!" Yehudit looked for her cane, it had gone flying when the light hit her.

"You don't understand and I...I don't want to explain it."

"Oh sure you don't want to explain it." Yehudit said hotly. "You half killed me with the damned thing but just don't feel like explaining it. Oh that's fine."

"Only because I don 't understand it myself. I don't understand anything about the pendant and I barely can accept what the letter said."

"Like that doesn't sound like something Galina would do." Yehudit could not find her cane so she struggled to get on her good foot without it.

"There would be absolutely no reason for her to write what was in the note. None what so ever. I doubt she even knew him, and it was written before I ever arrived in the village."

"Doesn't she consider you one of hers, like me, because of how we came to be?" Yehudit scoffed. "She probably knew about you long before you came to the village. She could have written this letter at any time."

"But apparently that's not how I came to be," Sileas grumbled.

"What, you came from an egg?"

Sileas glared and shook her head. "No, it seems I come from a good man. A man who searched for me when he learned about me."

Yehudit cocked an eyebrow. "You're believing it because you want it to be true."

Sileas glowered. "Galina would have no reason to know I would gather everything from the manor. She would have no reason to think I would ever even set foot in it or even think on it."

"Have you forgotten how manipulative that sotah is? She's been in our heads! She probably planted the idea there." Yehudit raised her voice.

"Since aside from wondering who my father was, I never really considered who he might have been. So, no, being in my head would not have given her any indication that..." She threw her hands in the air. "This is why I didn't want to discuss it. You don't believe any of my desires or beliefs are valid."

She spun around. "Oscar? Let's go get breakfast.

"Just because you'll believe anything Galina writes down doesn't mean it's true!" Yehudit shouted.

"And you believe everything is a plot from Galina. She's dead. our parents destroyed her!" Sileas shouted ack.

"They destroyed her lots of times but she keeps coming back!"

"Galina is not responsible for everything. Oscar! Come on if you want breakfast!"

"She's responsible for this." Yehudit insisted.