Once more we venture into the world of Selene and Nix.

Disclaimer –
All the characters belong to Windstar and Zee.
There are same-sex couples running amok. If you don't like such things, please go elsewhere to read. This is a sequel, of sorts, to Selene and Nix, which should probably be read first.  Big thanks to our beta reader Packer.

Feedback always welcomeAdarkbow@yahoo.com or zeeamy@gmail.com

 
 
The Turning of the Wheel

Moriko lead the Alcen over the pass. It was cold, but it hadn't started snowing yet.

A small favor, she knew.

On the Alcen was a huddled figure hidden under a cloak. She couldn't believe it had been eight years. She had left and never looked back. So much had happened since then, that she didn't even really feel like the same person.

She struggled and almost slipped. This disturbed the sleeping bundle on her back and began to cry. Moriko winced, having the young baby's shrill cry so close to her ears. She stopped and shushed the child, her patience running thin, and she didn't want to kill the last heir to the southern throne.

An older looking Valdis wearily tilted back the hood of the cloak, coughing painfully for a few moments before she could speak. "They've been busy," she said hoarsely, nodding to the light that spilled out of the windows of the fairly impressive stone building that had been built at the top of the pass.

She looked at Valdis, happy to see the woman come out of her depression for a moment to speak to her. "Aye, they've been very busy. They look like..." She left the statement stillborn. They looked like the buildings Cassia had drawn.

Valdis looked so old now. The bloody coup that had occurred a week ago had wiped the woman of her spirit. They had argued, with Valdis wanting to go back and die in battle, trying to at least attempt to kill the ones who had murdered the royal family, the ones the guard had been sworn to protect.

Moriko felt hollowed out herself. Her friends were gone, murdered, but she had been given a task, and had promised Caron. So here she was, going back to a place that was once her home. Only she felt like a stranger. She wondered if anyone would recognize her now. Her hair was braided, the braids coming to her shoulders, Princess Caron having done it herself two days before the coup.

Her eyes looked older. She had seen battle, taken life, and nearly had hers taken. Starting at her eyebrow and going about an inch into her hair was a thick, white scar where an enemy's sword had just about cleaved her head in. Caron use to joke it made her look mad all the time. Caitlin said it made her look sexy and roguish. Now in the cold, it just ached.

The building was definitely an improvement over the small hut that had previously adorned the top of the pass. It was two stories tall, with a high peaked roof to keep the snow from piling up, and an attached stable building. As they drew closer, the large front door opened, spilling warm firelight out into the pass.

A woman in a warm looking robe stepped out of the door, waiting for them to draw closer. "Travelers!" she called over the howl of the wind. "Welcome to the Ellris pass. You are welcomed to spend the night in the abbey."

Moriko laughed. "It's an abbey now. Last I was here, only Ellris tended the pass in her little hut."

The woman, with the green eyes of a priestess, smiled. "I often wonder what she would think about our little building being here instead of her simple wooden hut."

Vladis leaned forwards in the saddle, almost falling off the Alcen's back in her weakened state. "You don't know what she'd think?"

The priestess sighed, folding her arms in front of her. "Our sister Ellris passed away several years ago. The pass is named for her now."

The southern guard closed her eyes and let her head fall forwards, the cloak hiding her expression from the world.

"Please, won't you come inside? The night wind will chill you to the bone. We have a fire and spare rooms." And added with a glance towards the woman on the Alcen, "And healers, if you wish."

Moriko coughed uncomfortably. Just what her friend needed, someone else she cared about to die. Finally, she grabbed the lead rope on the Alcen and started forward toward the abbey. "We would love to spend the night. Camping out in the cold with an infant is a horrible."

"You have a child!" The priestess looked delighted, calling behind her to a waiting acolyte to prepare for their guests. The Alcen had most of the stables to himself, with only two other Alcens for company. The abbey itself was warm, and the priestesses were quick to welcome and feed their guests. Valdis grudgingly allowed them to tend the sword wound on her back, then refused to speak to anyone as she sat by the fireplace.

They'd even managed to find some milk for the infant from the abbey goat. "You dress like southerners, yet your friend rode an Alcen," the priestess stated quietly as she watched the infant eat. They were seated in the main room, the priestess finally having sent the acolytes off to do their chores and stop bothering their obviously tired guests.

Moriko sighed sadly. "You may get more southerners coming up this way, escaping the south. There was a coup in the castle. The entire southern Royal family was murdered." She felt the tears slip from her eyes and down her cheeks. She gritted her teeth together and tried to push away the feeling of overwhelming sadness.

A warm cup of mulled wine was pressed into Moriko's hands. "It has been a long, hard road for you, then." The woman was perhaps a year or two her elder, but for an instant, she had the all knowing look all the Moon Goddess' priestesses somehow managed to pull off once in a while.

She took the wine and offered it to Valdis, only to have the woman ignore her. Moriko sighed and sipped the wine, smiling slightly as it warmed her. She reached over with her free hand and tickled the baby's stomach until she received a toothless grin. The child had a thick shock of blond hair that stood up no matter how much she tried to smooth it, and soft gray eyes.

The priestess studied them both, raising her own mug of wine to sip it. "What is the child's name?"

"Her name is Kai. It means the sea, her mother loved the ocean." She gritted her teeth and tried to ride out the wave of grief that rolled through her again.

A hand warmed from the cup of wine that it had just held clasped over Moriko's, lending silent support. "Come, I will show you to your rooms. You can rest, and tomorrow, you can make your way to the base of the pass. If you wish, you can take a boat from there to the Queen's Island, or follow the road."

"Thank you," she said.

 

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The smithy was larger than it had been. A wall had been knocked down and a second kiln had been installed. It was almost full dark outside even though it wasn't that late, a warning that winter was not far away. Many of the trees had begun to change color, and there was a definite bite of cold in the air.

 Cassia smiled at one of the fire warriors who passed her in the street, probably in the city with one of their shipments of stone or steel that floated up the Winderling on the new larger ships.

The woman hummed to herself, happy with the day's work, as she ducked into the smithy itself, shaking her head as she spotted her mother by the forge studying a piece of glowing metal held between tongs. "Mom, I thought you weren't doing any work anymore."

Nix looked up with a smile. "Shhhh. Don't tell your Muanya." She winked and thrust the item into a bucket, and thick steam billowed out. "Sometimes I still feel the urge to create things, the metal and the fire just call to me." She pulled the item out of the water bucket.

"I'm working on a crib for that baby Kealey's carrying around. She's going to pop soon." Nix smiled wistfully. She had been there when Kealey was born, and now, the town's first pride and joy was having her own child. She set the now cool metal down and wiped silver bangs away from her forehead, leaving a smudge of black.

"I keep telling you to come see the buildings we're working on if you want to create things." The younger woman moved around one of the large anvils to see what her mother was making. "It looks great though. I take it Muanya doesn't know you're out here again?"

"Oh, it's your Muanya, I'm sure she knows. There's not much she doesn't. But she lets me pretend I'm getting away with something." Nix set down the tools and walked away from the forge. Sitting gingerly down on a chair, her knees popped and she grimaced. "I only make small things now. I can't swing the big hammers with the strength I used to have. I leave that for those strutting young pups. So what's up, pumpkin..?"

Cassia winced in sympathy as her mother sat down. Nix's once raven hair was nearly all white now. "We finished putting the roof on the new Inn today. It looks just like I thought it would. I wanted to see if you and Muanya would like to come see it?" She smiled hopefully, having so far gotten both of them to come see each building she'd helped finish.

"Of course we'll come see it." Nix beamed with pride. "You know, pumpkin, these buildings you created, I never, well, they're simply amazing."

Cassia tried to hide her beam at the praise, but she still glowed under her mother's praise.

"Did those books the twins sent up with that rather quiet scribe help you out?" Nix asked, trying to hide a smile as she remembered the socially awkward woman, with the premature silver hair.

Cassia nodded in excitement. "Ryuu is perfect. She knows where to find everything. You should see the books that she brought up with her. I just have to show her a picture of what I want to do, and she knows where I can find out how to make it."

Nix brightened a bit. She hadn't heard her little girl blather on about a woman in quite a while. "She's perfect, huh? You ask her over for dinner yet?" Nix asked, poking her nose into Cassia's business.

Rolling her eyes, Cassia sighed. "Moooom..." she drew out the word, "stop trying to get me to bring someone home for dinner."

"Cassia, I know we built a bigger house and let this become the permanent forge for the town smith, but sooner or later, your Muanya and I expect you to move out into a place of your own, maybe even give birth to a future Princess as well," Nix said with a chuckle as Cassia's face got even redder.

"What? Why do I have to give birth to the future princess?"

"Well, your partner could, but that's not going to happen either, Œcause you refuse to notice all those looks the women around the town give you," Nix said with a sigh. "Honey, we want you to be happy. I know what Sable did was a crappy thing to do, but it was eight years ago. It's okay to have a little fun. You're twenty four, I think it's allowed."

Cassia laughed, taking a hold of her mother's hand and helping the taller woman stand. "I can't believe you just told me to go have fun. Wasn't it just a little while ago that you were yelling at me for wanting to get married?" Their old house was now the home to the full time smith. Their new house was a bit further away, and definitely an improvement, as far as Cassia was concerned.

Nix kissed her child's forehead and stepped back. "Pumpkin, that was eight long years ago, my hair is silver, and my joints hurt. And you are now a smart, lovely woman, instead of a pain in the ass teenager. Things change."

"I was never a pain in the ass teenager," the youngster laughed, wrapping an arm around her mom's side and giving her a hug. "Come on, I'm sure Muanya is waiting for us for dinner."

Nix followed her daughter out of the smithy, letting the subject drop. Her daughter was beautiful, smart, and driven. The town was improving in leaps, and slowly, her wife was letting Cassia take more and more responsibility, which made the retired smith happy. She loved sleeping in most mornings now with her wife. The new rule was, if there was a problem before noon, Cassia could handle it.

But ever since the called-off wedding, Cassia never had an eye for the ladies, seeming utterly driven to build her buildings, and learn what her Muanya did as a ruler. Nix wasn't so sure that was healthy.

"Besides, if I moved out, you'd miss me interrupting those early morning romantic moments that you and Selene sometimes have," Cassia said, with a mischievous look up at her mom.

Nix blushed. "Honestly, no, I can't say I'd miss those."

Snickering, Cassia waved to a few of the women who looked their way curiously as they walked down the street. "I can't wait until we can line the streets with stone. Imagine how much cleaner that will be." They made a detour around a muddy patch. That would have to be a project for later, there was only so much stone that they could quarry at a time.

Nix nodded, "After winter we'll get these paved roads started. I will admit it will be nice not to get those carts unstuck in the muddy season."

The house they headed towards was much larger than the one they had once lived in, and was made of stone. The thick stonewalls and large fireplace helped insure it stayed warm during even the coldest of winters. Light streamed out through the windows. That was another innovation from the south, glass to make windows from. It was definitely an improvement over the thin hides that had been used.

"Dinner first..." She held open the door, breathing in the nice smells from inside.

 

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Moriko awoke in the dark, fear drumming frantically on her heart, and sweat dotting her skin, soaking her night shift to her body. She checked on Kai. The baby slept peacefully, worn out by the cold, frantic struggle to get out of the south and up the pass. They had bypassed the trail to Abnoa, Valdis having felt certain the advisors dark-eyed spies would be watching that trail.

Watching the babe in the dark with only the light from the stars, gave her a sense of peace, and she felt the nightmare that clutched her recede. "You won't remember what happened, but I'll tell you everyday, so you'll know how brave your mom was. The coup was just the middle to this story. Someday your children's children will sit back on that lovely throne of Keshet's, and then the story will really be over,' she whispered softly, not wanting to wake Valdis, the poor warrior needing what rest she could get.

"I think the story begins,' she started again, "when the Royal advisor to Keshet suggested that the Queen and the twins go to the north on a Royal goodwill trip. I think it was in Keshet's absence that the Royal Advisor wanted to test the future Queen, Brody, and see if she would be malleable to the advisor's way of thinking. By the time Queen Keshet returned, this advisor had found out that Brody was much too stubborn, and in general, had a good heart, which was not what the advisor wanted at all. So she started on Plan B. A petty noble in Thullis, which is a horrible pit of slavery and vice, so you, young lady, should never go there, this petty noble, while verbally praised the Queen, in her heart she wanted the Queen's blood.'

 She rearranged the blankets. "The advisor nurtured this anger and hatred, slowly laying the groundwork for Alina to take the throne.' She paused and cleared her throat. Kai still slept, oblivious to the story Moriko told.

"The advisor had Eira join the Royal Guards soon after the Royal family returned from the north. Valdis' mom, Penka, quit in disgrace that her actions had put the royal twins in danger. Everyone knows she was set up. She stayed on in the manor as a trainer, and she trained the young warriors to be fighters. But more and more of the new recruits had these scary black eyes and serpent tattoos. You must remember to watch out for women with such marks, Kai, those are the marks of the Goddess of Shadows. And she is a Goddess of dark deeds and black hearts.'

Moriko yawned, but continued on. "Now, you probably want me to get to the part with your mom. I came to the south with the Royal family. Why I left the north isn't that important, it's actually kind of silly now. Too many teenage hormones and a need for drama is all I'll say on it. Keshet was kind and let me stay at the Royal manor, but I couldn't just sponge off of them, I had to earn my place. Valdis was very patient as she tried to teach me to wield a sword, but even a daughter of the War God couldn't make me a soldier. So, to make a long story somewhat short, let's just say that after trying various things, I found my place in the stable taking care of the warhorses. Caitlin, Caron, and I were close, and only got closer as the years went by. I often times went out with the army, taking care of the horses and dogs. And I'll admit I saw more than enough bloodshed, and sometimes I was safe away from battle, but most of the time I wasn't. That's how I got my scar, some petty wannabe noble with a plan to burn the horse tent down. I was sleeping in there and woke up. We wrestled, and she tried to cleave my head open. Lucky for me Valdis was wandering home from a night, um, err, well, you're too young for such things. Anyway, she came in and saved my life, pushed that woman away so I only got nicked, would have been dead otherwise. So I owe her my life. Sorry for the rambling road there, but I wanted you to know where I fit into all this. "

"Your mom, your aunt, and I were all real close, if things had gone differently, you might have actually been mine. Your mom and I were really close for awhile, but then something happened and she told me she thought we made better friends. It hurt, but I got over it. She fell in love with some ship builder in Lucin, and that is where you came from. Your mom just had to visit when she did, although knowing that bitch, the advisor, she was waiting for the moment the entire Royal family was together to strike. Your mom was so brave. She made me promise to get you out alive, and it broke my heart when she took your blankets and ran across the courtyard pretending to hold you. For a moment I thought she might make it, took all those two-faced bastards by surprise. I guess that's what I wanted you to know, how much she loved you, and what she gave up so we could be here.' She stroked the soft cheek with her finger then went back to her bedroll.

She could still see them stabbing the swords into Caron's body over and over again. She had run to the stable and grabbed her Alcen, Oscar. He had been a gift from Crow. The only time the woman had visited, she had brought him as a fawn. They had stormed out of the stable, taking the invaders by surprise, many of them having never seen an Alcen before, and were quickly cut open by his dangerous horns. That was probably the only reason they had escaped. Kai had been so quiet she had been afraid the baby had been hurt in the desperate fight. But Kai was just fine.

They hid in the woods for the rest of the night, and then the next day, not moving until the sky started to go dark again. She found Valdis strung up along the road with a few other warriors that had been loyal to Keshet. Only because of her divine heritage was the woman still alive. But Moriko hadn't known, she looked just as dead as the rest.

Not wanting to leave her friend's body for the animals, she had cut it down, only barely hearing the smothered groan of agony. Her hands were broken, and she had been stabbed multiple times and was covered in blood and dirt, yet she lived. Moriko had done what she could. They hid in a small temple dedicated to the War God until Valdis had tried to grasp a sword and rush back to the manor.

It had ended badly, with Kai crying, Moriko spitting blood, and Valdis passed out. It was then that she decided to make a break for the north. There was nothing good left in south, and she had a promise to keep to Caron.

She rolled over on her side, knowing sleep was far away, but watching for the sky to lighten.

 

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Bloodshot eyes stared at the bridge that hadn't been there before. The wood looked weathered, but strong and sturdy.

She was tired, and all she really wanted was a hot bath and a warm bed. She was sick of changing and washing out diapers, and tired of sullen warriors who couldn't even speak two words to her. "We're almost there, I think. This used to be where the ferry was, but now there's a bridge," she said to nobody, not really expecting a reply.

She kissed the fuzzy blonde hair under her chin. Kai was strapped to her front so the cold wind at her back would not hit the child. "I can't wait until you can speak," she mumbled.

Valdis had insisted that Moriko ride the Alcen down from the pass, saying that she was well enough to walk.

A small building had replaced the one that the ferry owner had lived in, this one built from stone and had a small garden planted in front of it. A woman looked up from harvesting the last of the garden's herbs to dry before the winter and wiped sweat from her face. She waved to the strangers as she spotted them, taking a break from her work.

"Hail, travelers," the woman in the garden called out. "You're in luck. The new Inn is open, if you're looking for a place to stay."

"Really, a new Inn, what happened to the one that Valla and Kelsey ran?" Moriko asked, slowly getting down from the Alcen.

"Valla and Kelsey?" the woman frowned. "Well, their daughter, Kealey, is running it now with her wife. The old one burnt down after the chimney caught fire last winter, so the Princess designed a new one for them."

Her legs wobbled and she realized how exhausted she was, but after a second she was fine. That made her pause, happy that Cassia had followed her dreams. She coughed then cleared her throat, "How far to the Inn?"

The woman pointed towards the island, "Just over the bridge, go straight past the temple of the Goddess and you'll find it on the other side of the main street. They should have plenty of room, not too many travelers with winter coming."

"Thank you." Not feeling like remounting Oscar, she took the lead from Valdis and started walking over the bridge. Their footsteps sounded odd on the wood, but they disappeared quickly under the noise of rushing water. The first thing she noticed was the packed dirt trail turned into smooth cobblestones, and the next were the buildings.

She sucked in a breath and stopped moving. "Goddess," she breathed out.

 Valdis looked up from her contemplation of the river, letting out a breath as she saw what had startled Moriko. "They've been busy." Gone were the simple wooden buildings that had made up the town. There were more buildings now, and almost all of them were now made of stone.

The temple to the Goddess was the tallest, although its main dome was still being built. Another large building was under construction at the other side of the island, opposite the temple, although only the foundation was being worked on.

"Yes, they have." She made her legs start moving, and Kai awoke and started fussing. "Sh, sh, there, there, please, for the love of the Goddess, don't start crying, or I may have to join you."

Moriko may have practically raised her four other sisters, but she never had to travel over the pass in the fall wind with them, feeling hungry and tired.

With a wince, Valdis slowly started to follow after the other woman, her face expressionless as they crossed onto the street. There were more people about than when Moriko had left, although still by far less than in any of the southern cities.

"No guards," the older woman remarked, not entirely surprised after her first visit years before.

"No, there aren't. I guess they still don't really need them. But unfortunately, I think with us being here, that will change. That advisor wants all the royal blood. I doubt she'll rest until she gets it. I'm surprised she's not up here already making demands. It's no secret how much she hates the north," Moriko said, kissing Kai's head. "Lets find that Inn, there's a whole mountain pass where I want to wash off my body.'

The inn was right where the woman by the bridge had said it would be. The same old wooden panel hung outside from the old Inn, but that was where the similarities ended. The front had good quality glass windows, and a full stable was set up next to it.

Moriko handed the Alcen to the young stable girl and made her way to the front doors. "Do you want to continue to share a room, or would you like one of your own?" she asked the soldier.

The southerner paused, sighing as she considered her answer. "I should be close to the princess," she nodded towards Kai, one of the few times she'd actually acknowledged what had happened.

Moriko just nodded and made her way inside. "I'll get us a room, then. Do you mind watching her I really want a hot bath?" She looked hopefully at Valdis, hoping that playing nursemaid/guard to Kai would get the soldier to snap out of her mood.

It was hard. All Valdis wanted to do was withdraw into herself as she had for the entire trip north and ignore everyone. She managed a short nod, agreeing to her new role. If she couldn't die fighting against the usurpers, at least she could keep the true heir to the throne safe.

Moriko wasn't surprised that she wasn't recognized, since she had been a quiet, shy girl who would only talk to animals, not people. She quickly got a room and left Kai and Vladis to get settled.

The youngster who was tending the bar directed Moriko to the bath house that had been built down the street. The long, low building ensured that everyone who wanted to could have a hot bath, even in the depths of winter.

Moriko smiled at the design, and merely stood and stared around at the inside of the building. The attendant at the front just smiled at the woman, "Your first time here?"

"Um, no, well, yes. I guess. This wasn't here when I left home eight years ago."

The woman just smiled and nodded. "Yes, Goddess praise that Princess of ours, she has quite the head on her shoulders. She designed this."

Moriko just smiled and took the offered towel then entered the common bathing area. Privacy wasn't a big deal to her, she had grown up in a small house with four other sisters. And when in a battle camp, well, privacy was a thing of legend.

She was happy to see only four other women using the area, and quietly slid into the shallow, warm water. It was all she could do to hold back a groan of pleasure. For the time being, she ignored the thick, brown soap and the course washrag, content to just sit and soak.

The central bath was ringed by smaller baths that were isolated from the main one with simple curtains to give a measure of privacy. Several of the curtains were drawn across the opening, indicating that they were in use. Others were open, and a few attendants moved through the room, cleaning up and bringing things to the bathers.

From the closest of the semiprivate rooms, two voices could be heard talking about shipbuilding and current trading prices for goods such as wheat and wood. One of those voices was familiar although it had changed from the high-pitched teenage voice it had been years ago.

Moriko did let out a groan and sat up. "Of all the people to run into," she mumbled then grabbed her soap and cloth and started to quickly clean herself. She had waited years to hear the Royal wedding announcement, but it had never come.

Finally, she had asked the twins about it, and they had rolled their eyes at her. "They didn't get married," was all Caitlin had said. When she had pressed for more details, they told her to write a letter to Cassia if she wanted to know what was going on in the woman's life.

She had about a dozen letters that she had never sent.

"We're going to need another big barge to keep bringing all that stone into the city if she's really serious about all those new buildings. I think that the fire warriors are going to have to open a new quarry just for this new castle she's building. Sable's voice carried as the two women behind the curtain stood up, preparing to leave the bathhouse.

Her companion responded. "We could always buy some smaller ones from the southerners. We'll have to wait to summer to sail them north though, the ocean crossing is always tricky."

A moment later, the two stepped out, pushing the curtain open. Sable was still toweling dry her hair and didn't notice Moriko, until she lowered the towel and paused, staring at Moriko as if trying to place her face.

"Good luck getting anything from the south," Moriko muttered before she could stop herself, instantly feeling her face heat up.

She busily went back to cleaning herself, ignoring the woman staring at her. Sable annoyingly looked even better as she got older, Moriko couldn't help but notice.

Sable's companion paused, realizing she wasn't following, and turned back to look at the two of them curiously. Sable and her companion had the bronzed skin of people who spent their time outside. Where Sable was still tall and thin, her companion was smaller and more muscular, long hair tied up behind her in a simple braid.

"Do I know you?" Sable asked with a smile, obviously still trying to place Moriko's face.

Moriko looked up at Sable. It was on the tip of her tongue to lie, but instead, said, "I see you finally had a thought that was your own." She nodded at the woman at Sable's side.

The confused look cleared, "Moriko?" She stared at her as if she were seeing a ghost. At that, her companion moved closer, possessively wrapping an arm around Sable's waist.

Moriko looked down at the water. "Um, yes..." She awkwardly stood, grabbing her towel and wrapping it around herself.

The other woman looked a little uncomfortable as well. "Welcome back." She hesitated. "Moriko this is Sonia, my wife."

"Really..?" Moriko looked confused. "I thought...errrm, when I left..." She left her awkward attempt to make a sentence. Instead, she held out her hand, "Nice to meet you."

The shorter woman grabbed it and gave it a hard shake. "So you're the famous Moriko."

"Famous?" Moriko looked at both women confused.

Sable smiled weakly, grabbing her wife's arm to stop her from saying anything more. "She just means she's heard a lot about you." She started to back away, seeking to make her escape. "You know, we've all told stories about that girl who could talk with animals and got me to realize I wasn't meant to be with Cassia."

Sonia was staring at her wife in obvious confusion as Sable babbled.

"It was nice to meet you!" Sonia managed to get out before Sable pulled her out the door.

The blonde just blinked, getting even more confused, and watched them leave. She dropped the towel and slid back into the water.

The four other women who were in the central bath watched her with obvious interest, talking quietly to one another as they stayed at the opposite side of the pool from Moriko.

Feeling uncomfortable with the attention, she quickly finished washing and exited the bathhouse.

 

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Moriko looked over at Valdis. "I know you want to go out and pout in the woods, but I need you to watch the little Princess. I want to go talk to Selene."

The warrior looked up from where she was checking the edge of her sword then reflexively looked over to check on the infant. After waking them up before dawn to demand food, the little one was now thankfully, taking a nap. "Fine..." She looked back down at her blade.

She wanted to talk to Selene so the Queen knew what had happened. The north was slow to get information from the rest of the world that had been created by the women of the Exodus. She rolled her eyes at the warrior's flippant response.

"I need you to change her and feed her. After I talk to the Queen, I'm going to see what I can do to secure more permanent lodging. We can't stay here too much longer. What money we have will run out."

She finished lacing her leather boots, and stood up, grabbing a warm fur-lined winter cloak. While the snow still hadn't fallen yet, the days were now very cold.

"I'll take care of her," Valdis answered, not looking up from an imagined nick that she had found in the blade.

Moriko frowned at the door. "Okay. I'll be back as soon as I can." She opened it and left their room. Quietly, she slipped down the stairs avoiding most of the small staff of the Inn.

They had to leave the Inn soon, not because of the money, but because of the memories. She hadn't known that during the brief stay of the southerners in the north, Vladis had been courting Keasly in her own way. Having comeback to find Ellis dead and Kealsy happily married and expecting had sent the warrior on another sharp downward spiral of depression.

It was early, the sun having just begun to rise above the horizon, and the streets were still relatively empty. Only those who had to be were out in the coldness of the early morning. The wind carried the smell of snow on it, promising the arrival of winter soon.

Moriko frowned as she stared at what had once been the family home of the Royal family, now it was just a smithy.

The door to the house opened and a stranger stepped out, stretching and yawning as she started towards the smithy. "Morning," the woman called to Moriko, stopping at the entrance to the smithy. "You looking for me?" She wasn't as big as Nix, but she had the build of someone who worked with metal all day.

"No, I was...this used to be the Royal family's house. You don't happen to know where I can find them, do you?" she asked.

The smith rubbed a hand through her close-cropped hair. "They built a new house after Nix let me take over most of the smithy work. It's a bigger house, stone, nice and warm for the winter."

Moriko blinked in confusion.

The smith pointed north "You head towards the castle, and you'll find it near the baker's place. You can't miss it.' The smith started to duck into the smithy to start up the furnaces then stopped. "If you see her, tell Nix that she can finish off her piece whenever she wants."

"Castle?" she frowned, looking in the direction the smith pointed. "Alright, I'll let her know." She started down the path the smith had pointed out, hoping she would know a castle when she saw it. Once she figured out that the huge stone foundation that was being built was to one day be a castle, she easily found the royal house.

She stood outside, staring at the place, which was much larger than their old place. She paced, wondering if she was too early, maybe she should have waited until later in the day.

"Can I help you?" a voice suddenly asked from just behind Moriko.

She turned her head, looking at the speaker. "No, I was just here to talk to the royal family." Her brown eyes studied the woman in front of her. "You look familiar."

The woman was just as tall as Moriko, with intelligent blue eyes and pure silver hair loosely pulled back behind her ears. She was dressed in elegant dark leather clothing that contrasted with her pale skin and hair. In one hand she held a thick, leather book that was bulging with papers. "I don't believe we've met before," she said, her accent not one that Moriko had heard before.

Moriko frowned in thought while she tried to place the woman. "I'm Moriko," she said, finally.

"Ryuu," the woman replied then nodded towards the house. "If you wish to speak to the royal family, I have an appointment with them right now to review the plans."

"Oh..." Her posture drooped. "If you have an appointment, I guess I can comeback later." ...If she had the courage to try and do this again.

Quick blue eyes studied Moriko's face. "Why don't you just come inside with me now? I just need a few minutes before I have to go back to the construction site."

She blew out a breath. Relenting, she nodded, "Okay.'

Ryuu nodded and quickly walked up to the front door. Without knocking, she opened it and held it open for Moriko to follow her inside.

The house was warm and smelled of baking bread, which caused her stomach to growl. Embarrassed, she held her hand over her stomach.

The other woman smiled for the first time at that, and made a detour to the kitchen to grab a fresh piece of bread. "I'm sure Selene won't mind," she said, offering it to Moriko. "Come on, she's probably upstairs." The silver-haired woman started up the main staircase.

 

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Nix looked over at her wife. "Honey, it's before noon, let Cassia handle it. Remember that was the agreement. Besides, it's probably a builder or worker for her anyways," Nix said, trying to be reasonable.

Selene hesitated halfway to their bedroom door. She'd heard Ryuu's voice, along with someone else's, which meant they had a visitor. And on reflex, she had started to get up to greet whoever it was. "You're right." Selene turned around and climbed back onto the bed. "Cassia can get us if it's something important."

Nix just nodded. "Finally, after all these years you start to listen to me." She wrapped her arms around her wife, hugging her.

The Queen laughed. "I always listen to you."

 

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Ryuu led Moriko up the stairs, past a window that dominated the upstairs hallway and was obviously positioned to let in the morning sunlight, to the first room on the right. She rapped twice, waiting for a voice from inside to call out before opening the door and stepping into Cassia's room.

Moriko blinked in surprise, not expecting Cassia. "Where's Selene?" she asked, almost panicked. Had the woman died or been hurt?

"Ryuu, I had some thoughts about the library last night. We could..." Cassia trailed off as she spotted the visitor standing behind the silver-haired woman. When Cassia continued to stare without answering, Ryuu sighed and turned to answer for her. "Cassia handles things before noon unless there is an emergency."

"Oh," was all Moriko managed to say. Cassia looked good. She had grown into an adult woman beautifully.

"I brought back your sketch book." Ryuu pressed the thick book into Cassia's hands. "I'll see you this afternoon." She turned and started to leave. It might have been Moriko's imagination, but she might have winked at her before closing the door behind her.

She swallowed a couple of times trying to coat the dryness that had suddenly overtaken her mouth and throat. "I need to talk to the Queen," she said dumbly.

"Moriko..." Cassia was well aware that they were staring at one another like idiots. "I...didn't know you were back," she finished, wincing at how stupid that sounded. She'd imagined Moriko returning for so long and pictured hundreds of different ways they could have met again, none of them involved the other woman simply walking into her room.

"Valdis and I got into town yesterday." She felt like a teenager again, all awkward and gawking. She blew out a breath and nervously brushed a few braids behind her ear.

"Oh." Cassia shook her head. "Sorry, you wanted to see the Queen?" This could rank getting Selene for. "Did the twins send you?"

There was a flash of pain in her brown eyes. "In a way, I guess. I... Cassia, something horrible has happened." Unshed tears watered her eyes. "I really only want to tell this once, can we get your parents, please?"

A tight feeling settled in the pit of Cassia's stomach. Quickly, she nodded and led the way back out of the room. "They should be in their room. I haven't seen them yet this morning." She knocked on the door to the master bedroom.

Moriko followed, trying to focus on what she needed to say, her brain frantically trying to figure out the best way to say it. Her mouth was dry again.

 

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Inside the room, Selene sighed and sat up from where she'd been trying to enjoy some quality snuggling time with her wife. "I guess it's serious. Come in!" she called, getting out of bed.

"You have a visitor," an unusually subdued looking Cassia announced, stepping inside then out of the way so that Nix and Selene could see who was following her.

Nix blew out a breath and slowly got out of the bed, running a thick hand through her hair trying to get it under control. She blinked as light spilled into the room and studied the woman who followed her daughter in.

"Moriko," Selene smiled at the girl, no, a woman now. She'd obviously grown into womanhood during her time in the south. Crossing over to her, she took both of the other woman's hands in hers to greet her, frowning when she noticed the faint tremor in them. "What is it? Something's happened, hasn't it?"

Cassia stood off to the side, arms crossed, full of conflicting emotions at Moriko's sudden appearance. Glancing towards her mother, she offered Nix a faint smile. "Sorry, she asked to see you both."

Moriko nodded and swallowed a couple of times. "I always meant to return home. I just didn't want to come bearing such bad news." She coughed and cleared her throat. "Something horrible has happened to the southern Royal family. They were attacked, a coup at the palace, everyone was murdered." She could feel a few tears escape down her cheeks.

Everyone froze at that, staring at Moriko in shock. They'd known something must have happened, but this was worse than they'd expected. The two royal families had stayed in touch over the past several years. Selene had been comforted by that connection to those in the south. Cassia was staring at Moriko, mouth open in shock. Selene gently squeezed the other girl's hands "I'm sorry. What's happening in the south now?"

"The royal advisor, I'm sure she is involved somehow." She shivered, remembering the woman dressed all in black with the cold, dead eyes. "I'm not certain, I was in the stables taking care of the horses, we had just returned from a campaign to put down a minor rebellion. I had finished what I could, leaving the rest for my stable hands when I returned to the manor. There were sounds of battle and of the dying. I recognized the colors of a minor noble lady Alina. Her women were attacking the Queen's warriors."

She paused, taking a breath, her stomach rolling as she remembered the smell of blood and the screams of the dying.

"Most of the troops were already tired and had their thoughts on warm food and a bed, and the troops that were fresh in the manor, many were double-crossers. Eira led them against all of them with black, soulless eyes like the advisor, followers of the Mistress of Shadows. I made my way up the servants' stairs to the twins' rooms. I ran into Caron. She said her sister was dead. We ran back down the stairs." She paused again, unsure what to say in regards to Kai.

"We were separated, and I watched them kill her. I ran to the stable and got my Alcen, and I will admit I ran away like a coward." She stared out the single window in the room, not wanting to see their faces. She couldn't deal with pity or the sorrow of others right now.

"I hid until the next morning. I found Valdis, left for dead. We hid for a few days then made our way here," she finished softly, feeling worn out. "I wanted you to know. I'm not certain what that murderer has in mind, but she's probably crowned herself Queen. And the advisor has never made a secret of how much she loathes the north. I didn't want to you be blindsided."

There would be time to mourn soon, for good friends who were now dead. "Moriko..." Selene waited until she had the other woman's attention again, "thank you for warning us." She looked over at Cassia, meeting the young woman's stunned look. "Cassia, make sure that they have what they need. Then go get all the family leaders, we're going to need to tell them what's happening. We better send word to Abnoa, also."

Moriko nodded. "Trust me, I wish I wasn't here right now telling you this. I wish it had never happened." She turned, feeling unsteady, like the first time Valdis and her troops had gotten her drunk. "I'll leave you to your business."

Within a step, Cassia was there to take her hand, steadying her. "I've got you," she whispered, holding on even when Moriko started to pull away. "Come on, I'll walk you back to the Inn. Is that where you're staying?" Valdis was with her; it would be nice to see the roguish woman again.

Moriko nodded, a small grin breached her lips when she couldn't pull away from Cassia's grasp.

 

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Once they were outside, the cold wind felt good and she felt herself become more grounded in reality. Sometimes the memories of what had happened were still too strong, and she felt herself taken over by them still. She studied Cassia as they walked towards the Inn. "You look good, Princess. Womanhood has been kind." She flushed, realizing what she had said sounded like she was flirting.

Smiling, Cassia slowly let go of the hand she'd been holding once they were outside. "You look good, too. I like your hair like that." That wasn't the only part that Cassia thought looked good. She'd filled out quite nicely in interesting places.

The smile died as she remembered why the other woman had come north, which hadn't been to come visit her. "I'm sorry," she said as they stepped out into the street. "I promised myself I'd tell you I was sorry if I ever saw you again, so there it is...I'm sorry."

Moriko looked at her puzzled. "Cassia, I'm not certain what you feel you need to apologize for, but whatever it was, it's the past." She missed Cassia's hand, but didn't know how to take it without looking silly. But for a brief moment, she felt connected to another woman, and everything didn't seem so overwhelming.

She cleared her throat. "The buildings look amazing. I was speechless when I crossed that bridge thing and saw them."

The smile came back at that, and Cassia looked undeniably proud. "I'm glad you like them. I can't wait to show you the drawings for the castle to see what you think of those. Ryuu's been helping me with the actual engineering part, which is good, because I really didn't know anything about engineering at the beginning. Do you know how hard it is to get huge stone blocks to stand up in an arch?"

"No, not really, I can say that's something I've never thought about." She grinned slightly and bumped her shoulder into Cassia's.

The smile disappeared a bit at the way Cassia talked about Ryuu. "I'm glad she could be helpful."

"I think my parents would be happy if I decided to date her." She gave Moriko a sly grin. "Too bad I don't like her like that.'

"Oh," she said sadly then followed it with a happier, "Oh." She looked at the foundation that would one day be a castle. "Speaking of dating women, I ran into Sable at the bathhouse. Now, the twins told me there was no wedding, but imagine my surprise when she introduced me to her wife, and it wasn't you."

Cassia grimaced at that memory. "Speaking of things that are in the past..." she sighed, both of them pausing to allow a cart loaded down with slabs of rock, and pulled by several Alcens, to rumble past them, "...turns out that she fell in love for a Boat Wright."

Moriko reached over and gently touched her elbow. "That must have hurt, I'm sorry." For the longest time her parting meeting with Sable had hurt because Sable had been spending the night in Cassia's room and had seen her go into the barn from Cassia's window.

"It's for the best. I'd convinced myself that I loved her." She smiled sadly then started to walk once the road was clear again. "What about you? I know Caitlin liked you."

Moriko stumbled as they started walking again. "Errm, no...Caitlin and I never did anything." She easily caught up. "Caron and I..." She swallowed as the pain loomed up and she saw Caron murdered before her eyes. "...we, um, for awhile then she decided we made better friends. It hurt, but I survived. She married a Merchant Sea Capitan from Lucin, they had...they were very happy."

"You and Caron..?" That was a surprise, a bitter one at that. Cassia forced a smile, glad that they were almost to the inn. "I'm glad you enjoyed your time in the south, then. I always wondered how you were doing. All the twins would say in their letters was that you were fine." It still hadn't hit yet that they were both gone.

"They wouldn't tell me about you. Caron said if I wanted to know how you were doing I should go and ask you myself." She reached up and lightly grabbed Cassia's shoulder, to stop her. If they got to the Inn, then they would have to say their goodbyes. "Cassia, I'm sorry. I wrote you a dozen letters that I never sent. I'm sorry I let teenage hormones build everything up until it was more important than it really was. The truly sad thing was...I had told Keshet I was leaving in the summer. I was going to return home. I missed a lot of things here in the north."

Cassia turned to face the other girl, tilting her head to one side as she watched the early morning sunrise highlight the other woman's features. "I'm glad you're back, even though the twins are..." She couldn't say it, not yet. She closed her eyes then shook it off. "You aren't the only one who did stupid things. I should have realized Sable didn't really love me."

Moriko shrugged her shoulders. "Live and learn. We were kids, what did we know about the world?" She felt her heart flutter in her chest and realized she still had feelings for Cassia. She had always assumed it was a teenage crush, and that time and distance would reveal it for what it really was, the passing fancy of a fickle teenage heart. Maybe this was what Caron saw in her and had ended their short romance.

She nervously cleared her throat then wet her dry lips. "Cassia, would you..." She was interrupted by Valdis, who was making her way out of the front doors of the Inn.

"Moriko, take her, she won't stop crying! I can't, I thought..." The flustered woman fought to make a sentence as she dumped the wailing baby into Moriko's arms.

 For a moment, Cassia felt like she was back in the clearing, dancing. She had even started to lean closer, when suddenly, Valdis was there and Moriko was holding a crying baby. Instead of kissing her, Cassia jerked back in surprise, eyes wide as she stared at the girl in Moriko's arms. "What in the name of the Goddess?"

It didn't take a genius to figure out what was wrong. "Goddess, Valdis. She's swimming in her diapers. You have to change her. Remember we had this conversation." She blew out a breath and held the crying child away from her body so it wouldn't leave a wet stain on her tunic.

Cassia and Valdis took a hasty step back from the screaming child with almost identical looks of worry and complete cluelessness as to how to deal with the situation. "Umm...Moriko..?"

Moriko sighed. "I'll take care of it." ...Like she always took care of it.

Valdis looked conflicted for a moment, before she turned and walked away.

Resigned to her fate, she carefully held the infant in her arms, feeling the wetness soak through into her clothes. "Shhhh, shhhh, it's going to be okay. I'm sorry the grumpy warrior is afraid to change a diaper."

There was a definite odor coming from the young one. Cassia held open the door to the Inn. "Want help?" She wasn't sure what was involved in the helping thing, except whatever it took to get the baby to stop crying.

"Sure," Moriko said absently, concentrating on comforting the unhappy child. She rushed them to her room.

"Umm...do you need me to go get something?"

"Ask the cooks for a pot of warm water, please," she said, opening the door to the room.

"Right, warm water..." Now, if only she could get Moriko to answer where the baby had come from...

She quickly got the child settled and removed the soiled cloth. She pulled an empty washbasin over and gestured for Cassia to fill it when she brought the pot of water in. After checking the temperature, she gently lifted Kai up and put her in the water. "I bet that feels good," she said softly. Kai just looked at her with her big gray eyes then smiled toothlessly at her.

She looked up at Cassia. "Thanks."

Cassia smiled back and watched her bath the squirming infant. "You're good with her." There wasn't much of a resemblance, Cassia noticed with relief.

She took a soft cloth and began to clean the baby. "After taking care of four younger sisters, it's easy."

"Are you going to tell me where she came from?" The other woman offered her a clean piece of cloth to dry the baby down.

She finished washing Kai. "There you go. All better." She lifted the infant out, dried her off, and put a new cloth diaper on her, "Much better." She turned and looked at Cassia.

The dark-haired woman watched the two of them curiously, noting how easily Moriko shifted her grip on the baby, holding her with a sort of unconscious ease that she'd seen mothers do.

She bit her lip in thought for a second before looking back at Kai. "She's mine."

It wasn't a lie. Kai was hers ever since Caron had made her promise to take care of the baby.

There was a flash of pain through Cassia's eyes then she forced a smile. "Oh." She stepped back, shaking her head with a sigh. "Was Caron her Muanya?"

She reached over and took Cassia's hand, thinking about lying before she hedged the truth. "Her mother gave her to me to watch over, before she died."

"Will you come by tonight? I'm sure that my parents would like to see you again when they have things a little more under control. You could bring the little one and Valdis?" She had to go, there were things she had to take care of for Selene.

Moriko squeezed Cassia's hand and let go. "Sure." Standing up, she held a much better smelling Kai. "I need to find a more permanent place for us to live, but I should be free tonight."

Cassia nodded and started for the door, pausing with her hand on it. "What's her name? The baby's, I mean?'

"Kai," the blonde responded. "And, Kai, this is Cassia. She's a princess, just like you." Realizing what she had just said, she flushed, and played it off. "Kai's our little princess. My whole life seems to revolve taking care of her needs."

Kai just grinned as drool rolled down her chin.

Cassia gave them both a small smile tinged with sadness. "Hello, Kai." She met Moriko's eyes "Will you come tonight?"

"Of course..." She noticed Cassia's sad face. "I'm sorry I brought such sad news."

"I'm just glad that the three of you are safe." With one last fond smile for the child, she stepped outside.

 

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Moriko once again stood nervously outside the Royal home. She held Kai in one arm, and a skin of spiced, mulled wine to be heated in her other hand. Valdis was not with her. The warrior preferred her pain to socializing.

"So what do you think, Kai? I know it's silly to still hold a torch for the woman after all these years, and you're right, young lady, we are completely different people than when we were teenagers. For one, my chest is bigger, though not as big as Cassia's. Crap, shit, shit, I said shit. Ignore that part, you're too young to be hearing about that stuff."

Sometimes Moriko really missed Talon, who had been a lot easier to talk to than a baby.

The first few lazy flakes of snow twirled down from the sky, melting as they touched the ground. The infant grabbed at one of them, squealing as it melted the instant it touched her skin.

Moriko laughed at the infant's delight, feeling lighter for the action. It had been so long since she had laughed.

"That, young lady, is snow. It's something you'll have to get used to."

"Moriko..?" Cassia opened the door, having heard what sounded like laughter outside. Not that she'd been lurking near the door waiting for her or anything. "Is it snowing?" She smiled at the sight of the child in Moriko's arms trying to grab snowflakes out of the air with her chubby hands.

"Yes." Moriko grinned and twirled the infant carefully around, before walking over to the house. "First snow of the year, I take it."

"The first snow," Cassia agreed, grinning as she reached out to brush a white flake from the other woman's hair. Blushing, she stepped back and gestured inside. "Sorry, come in, we have a good fire going, and it looks like enough food to feed a gang of fire warriors."

Moriko grinned back and held the child out to Cassia, "Can you hold her a second while I take off this over tunic? I'll over heat if I don't."

"Umm..." She tried to think of an answer, only to find herself suddenly holding the baby. Gingerly she held Kai in front of her, tentatively smiling at the gray eyes that stared up at her. "Hey, you...ouch!" she winced, as small hands grabbed a hold of her black hair and tugged, hard.

Moriko stifled a laugh, but quickly reached over and removed the tiny fingers from Cassia's hair before taking off the heavy winter coat.

"Okay, you can hand her back now."

"She's strong." Cassia handed her back, laughing as the small one kept trying to grab onto her hair.

Nix came into the room carrying another log for the fireplace. "Moriko, good to see you again, dinner will be ready shortly."

"Thank you. Oh, I brought, um, wine." She handed the wine to the tall smith. Nix removed the stopper and sniffed.

"Ah, some of the famous wine made in Abnoa. Thanks, I'll go heat it up." She moved back to the kitchen. "Honey, our guest brought wine."

"Tell her she didn't have to and to bring that child that Cassia was talking about in here so I can fuss over her. Is Valdis with them?" Selene's voice floated in from the kitchen, which was no longer part of the sitting room as it had been in their first house.

Cassia leaned closer, dodging small grabby hands. "I told them about Kai, I hope that's all right?"

"Um, sure..." Moriko felt a stab of panic before she let it go, trying to relax. She moved awkwardly towards the kitchen, unsure. "Um, Valdis didn't come. She hasn't really been herself since..."

She hadn't told anybody about how she found the woman strung up left for dead in the trees lining the path to the Royal manor. "She still needs time, I guess, to work through everything."

Selene wiped her hands on the apron she wore, moving over to see the child. "Ohhhh...what pretty eyes you have, little one," she cooed, grinning as the baby waved her hands at her. "Cassia, you still haven't set the table."

Cassia sighed, instantly reduced to that awkward teen again as she muttered and went off to set the table for dinner.

Nix looked up and grinned from where she was heating the wine. "Honey, why don't you take the baby, I'm sure Moriko could use a break. I remember when Cassia was born. I loved it when folks would come and visit. They always wanted to hold her and take care of her. It was great. I'll finish up dinner."

"Can I?" Selene asked, waiting for Moriko's reluctant nod before accepting the baby. It had been a long time since she'd held a child, and the Queen instantly remembered how much she'd enjoyed holding Cassia when she was young.

Moriko fidgeted but smiled as Selene took Kai. There was a moment of panic, but she took a deep breath and let it go. They were safe now; the last person who would hurt Kai was Selene. "Thanks," she mumbled, and sat stiffly on a wooden chair.

Cassia finished setting the table and poured a mug full of wine for Moriko. "Here, you look like you could use some of this."

Moriko smiled and said a quiet thank you as she took the wine. She blew on the hot liquid for a second before taking a drink. As soon as it hit her stomach, warmth spread out to her limbs, and she could feel her pale cheeks flush. "I like your new home." This place was much larger than the last dwelling the royal family had lived in. "I guess you can entertain large groups now."

"Tell Cassia that, she seems to think this isn't good enough," Selene spoke up from the chair she was sitting in with Kai. "Have you seen her ambitious project?"

Cassia rolled her eyes, starting to bring plates of food out to the table. "It's not because I think this isn't good enough."

The Queen smiled, tickling Kai until the baby was shrieking with delight. "That's what you keep saying, but I'm not so sure," she teased her daughter, looking up to give Nix a wink.

Nix winked back. "Now, if we can just get her to start building her own place."

Moriko smiled. "Her buildings are wonderful. More impressive than I thought they would be. Don't get me wrong, they looked amazing on parchment, but to walk next to them and see all that stone so perfectly balanced. It's humbling. All I've managed to do is train a few of the hounds to pee someplace other than the stable."

The other young woman could feel her face heating at the compliments, and she shook her head. "I doubt that's all you did. You were always amazing with animals. I bet you had horses asking you where they could jump.'

Moriko laughed. "No, the southern horses are stupider than the Alcens." Her face brightened. "But the horses from the plains were amazing. There, riders had this bond with their horses. It was like they could talk to each other." She sipped her wine. "I missed the north," she mumbled out, feeling at ease for the first time in a while.

Once all of the plates were out on the table, they gathered around it, Selene still holding Kai on one side, with Nix, Cassia, and Moriko on the other. The autumn harvest had been good this year, and there was rabbit stew to go along with it. "It is good to see you again, Moriko, no matter what brought you here.'

Cassia nodded in agreement. It was strange sitting around the table with Moriko again. It brought back memories of years ago, when they'd been younger, and probably more ignorant, although some days she wasn't sure.

"It's good to see all of you, too, and you'll be seeing more of me, err, us. I bought that old shack of Ethel's, near the river. I guess she died last winter, and her family moved down to Abnoa. It's not much, but once I get fixed up, it will be home." Never once had she thought about going north to her family.

She had heard, three years ago, from one of her sisters that her mothers had separated, and she wondered how much her absence must have hurt them, making them finally act like adults. This, being with Selene and Nix, was as close as she had gotten to a family moment.

"I'm sorry I didn't make it back for Crow's pyre. I got the letter too late. By the time I got it, a month had passed." She didn't feel sad about Crow's passing; the woman had had a full, rich life than any could hope to have.

"The Goddess called her onwards in her sleep. I hope she enjoyed the time she spent here." Selene tickled Kai, much more interested in playing with the baby than eating dinner.

Nix smiled then turned to Cassia, teasing her. "Look how happy that makes your Muanya. Now, if you could just find a woman to settle down with and give us a few grandkids, we'd be ecstatic." She grinned, watching her daughter sputter.

Feeling herself blushing, Cassia did her best to ignore the guest who was sitting next to her. This would be a lot easier if Moriko wasn't so pretty and charming. "Mom...." She looked to Selene for support, but found none, as the Queen was bouncing Kai. "Mom, I haven't found anyone to have grandkids with."

Nix grinned at Moriko, "It's her own fault, really. She's too picky and too focused on those buildings of hers."

"Which are great," a distracted Selene added. "But grandchildren would be nice, wouldn't they, Kai," she asked the baby, grinning as the child giggled and tried to grab the Queen's nose.

Moriko grinned weakly back, "Being picky isn't a bad thing. There are a lot of scary women out there." Some of the scarier ones were the few that followed the battle camps trying to catch a soldier. She suppressed a shudder remembering some of the women who had tried to corner her.

The dark-haired woman flashed Moriko a thankful smile. This was going to be a long dinner.

 

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It was with a sense of relief that Cassia let the door close behind them as they stepped outside. The dinner had been interesting, but one filled with its share of awkward moments. "That wasn't too bad, I guess," she commented, taking in a breath of nice, cool night air. She'd promised her parents that she'd make sure that Moriko and Kai would make it home safely.

Moriko gently cradled the sleeping infant. "It was great. Your Muanya wiped her out." She smiled softly at Cassia. "It was really nice. The best memories I have of a family dinner are at your place with your mothers. It was nice to feel that again."

"Wellllll...." Cassia smiled hopefully, "you could always keep coming back for dinner. That way you wouldn't have to pay for dinner at the inn." She frowned. "I can't believe you bought Ethel's place!"

"Maybe, I'd hate to wear out my welcome. But it's nice to have someone else entertain peanut here." She stroked the shock of blonde hair that just would not lay down flat on the baby's head. She chuckled and started moving towards the Inn. "It's not like I grabbed a lot of my belongings when I ran away from the manor. Ethel's place is the best I could afford. It will be fine, just needs a little work."

"A little work..?" Cassia was horrified by the thought of them in that shack. "Let me help? I don't think I could stand seeing the two of you living there." She paused. "Three of you, I guess. Is Valdis going to go with you?"

"I would assume so, she doesn't really have anything. Well, she has the notion she needs to protect Kai and me.'

The other woman was silent as they walked, thinking over Moriko's words as they moved through the dark streets. Idly, she wondered how they could light them so people could walk around without holding torches. "I'm sorry you had to go through that." She paused, considering her words carefully. "Moriko, does that mean Kai is heir to the throne?"

 Moriko nearly stumbled, her eyes darting around, and she felt panicked. "She's..." The blonde stopped moving. They were almost certainly alone, but she had learned that wasn't necessarily true, looks could be deceiving. They hadn't moved that far from the Royal house, and she pulled Cassia back to the house, ducking around the side. Her brown eyes searched the night making sure no one could see or hear them.

She moved in close to the northern Princess' personal space. "You must keep it a secret," she pleaded. "I thought I was doing so well keeping it a secret. She's Caron's child, and as far as I know, the last living heir to Keshet and Morgan's throne."

 "You aren't that good at lying," Cassia whispered, smiling a little sadly as she touched Moriko's shoulder. "I knew you weren't telling the truth. And why else would Valdis want to protect her?"

Moriko sighed and looked down at Kai. "I guess I'm not offended that you find me a poor liar. But I can't help but feel scared I'm not up to the task of watching out for her."

"That's all right, we'll help. You aren't alone here. People will help watch out for her, so will my parents. I think they love her already." She smiled, sliding her hand down Moriko's arm to hold her hand, "All right?"

Moriko nodded and gently squeezed Cassia's hand. "Thank you." She could feel tears in her eyes again, but they were more from relief than sadness this time.

 

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The day was warm, an unusual event, but it seemed that winter's icy grip was going to be stayed a little bit longer. It had snowed off and on for the last week, but waking up this morning and finding the day tolerable had sent Moriko headed towards her humble new home. Actually, as she stared at the pathetic building, she figured humble was a kind word.

Kai screamed and giggled, and patted her tiny hands on Moriko's braided hair. The blonde winced and unstrapped the infant from her back, and grinned at the happy child. "No comments, peanut,' she told the child then blew a raspberry on the child's rosy cheek, which caused another shriek of laughter.

Moriko stared at the shack, which wasn't much: a dirt floor, three rooms - including the kitchen - and ratty animal skins hanging loosely over two small windows. A little ways away, there looked to be an outhouse. However, she could hear and smell the river from where she stood, and the forest spread out behind her house. She was tired of the odd looks from people, and the knowing looks whenever she and Cassia were anywhere near each other.

"It's not much, but, Kai, you are looking at your new home.' The infant spit up on her tunic in response. Moriko sighed and looked up for a second before looking back down at Kai. "I can tell you aren't impressed.'

Gently, she lifted Kai out of her child carrier and went over to Oscar, who was examining some of the shrubs with interest. She took off the simple braided halter. "There you go,' she murmured and gave the beast his freedom to roam, knowing that with a whistle he'd be back at her side. "Go explore.' Looking down, she frowned at the infant. "What am I going to do with you?'

 

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A half hour later found Kai back in the child carrier that Moriko had set up like a swing from a low tree branch with the rope from the halter. The child kicked and moved, giggling, Moriko checking on her every once in awhile. She was currently up on the roof inspecting the boards when she saw a woman walking down the path towards her. She moved quickly from the roof to the ground, and immediately went and picked up Kai, uncertain.

Her mood got darker when she saw who it was. "Mother,' she said icily.

The older woman flinched, and didn't meet her daughter's eyes, but she didn't turn away, either. "Moriko...' she started, lamely, before letting the rest of the sentence die.

Moriko was unhelpful. She just stood giving her mother a dark look.

"You wrote your sisters, but never your mothers. I didn't even know you were back, until Nix wrote us. Do you hate us that much? We weren't bad parents, were we?'

"You weren't parents. You were too busy fighting with each other. And you,' she pointed a finger at her mother, "were too busy chasing everything that moved and feeling sorry for yourself, because your one great love got away. I'm sorry, Mother. I've met Nix and Selene, and they have eyes for no one but each other. You weren't even a passing fancy in Selene's head.'

Yuri blanched, and tried to stutter something out.

"Why couldn't you have just loved us and Muanya?'

"I was a good mother, don't you make this all my fault. You're the one that ran away to the south. What, we weren't good enough for you? I knew I should have just kept you home as punishment for almost burning down the stable. But no, Crow convinced me you were just acting up.'

"Me, burn down the stable. That's rich. It was you. You came into the barn drunk and smelling like that barmaid. You're the one that tried to have a mother/daughter talk in the middle of the night. You're the one that passed out and knocked the lamp over. I didn't want you two to fight again, so I took the blame.' Kai began to cry, getting upset over all the shouting. Yuri looked stunned, like she had been struck.

Gently, she rocked the crying infant, trying to sooth her. "Look, Mother, I don't want to be doing this. We have nothing to say to each other.'

"Your Muanya and I separated a few years ago,' Yuri said quietly. "It got so hard after you left. Our fighting got worse.'

"I know, Marianne told me in a letter. But I was raising everybody, you two weren't being parents. I was tired of it. I had nothing in common with any of my friends. They had all these wonderful experiences, and I raised four kids and animals. I needed a childhood.'

Yuri flushed, "I, I'm sorry. I didn't realize we did that to you.'

"Yes, Mother, you did. Can you really be surprised that I didn't want come home?'

"I guess not.' The older woman blew out a breath and looked lost. "I have a lot to think about. Can I come back, can we try again?' She stared at the infant in her daughter's arms, aching to ask if she was her granddaughter. But felt she didn't have that right, at the moment.

Moriko's first response was to say no, but seeing the lost look on her mother's face, relented. "I can't make any promises, but maybe.'

Yuri sighed and ran a trembling hand through her hair. "Okay.' Knowing they were done for now, the woman turned and walked back down the path.

Moriko held Kai and sat down at the base of the tree. She checked the ground then set the infant down. She gurgled and tugged at the blades of grass. "Of all the things I expected, Kai...that was not one of them.'

Moriko played with Kai for a little bit then she put Kai back into her impromptu swing. The day was starting to get cooler, and she wanted to get the wooden roof slats checked out before there was another storm.

She lifted herself back up to the roof and with one eye on her work and another on Kai, got back to work.

"Hey!" a familiar voice called from the path that led up to the small shack. Cassia shielded her eyes from the sun so she could look up at the figure on the roof. "Did I just see Yuri in town?"

Moriko jerked, but kept her balance. "Hey." She looked up at Cassia. "Yeah, my mother was just here." Her face betrayed how unhappy she was with the visit.

Kai squealed and held out her arms at her new playmate, her tiny legs kicking.

The dark-haired woman pursed her lips. She'd been about to ask how that visit had gone, but the look on Moriko's face stopped her. Instead, she very hesitantly picked up the baby, terrified she was going to drop her. "Uh, well, I came to see how things were going?"

"If the weather holds, it should be going well. The roof's not too bad. There are a few spots that need to be fixed," she said, moving to another spot, and frowning when her foot almost went through a board.

Kai giggled and grabbed at Cassia's nose.

"Ack!" Cassia blinked, grinning at the little one. "Yeah, about that, I have something I wanted to talk to you about." Her voice was muffled, since Kai got a good hold of her nose.

Moriko looked over and chuckled before marking the weak spot with a white X with the small piece of chalk in her hand. She pocketed the chalk and made her way to the edge. She crouched down, grabbing the lip of the roof, and then lowered her body over the side, hanging by her arms. With only a three-foot drop, she let go, landing easily. She grinned happily at the pair and made her way over.

Gently, she took the infant from Cassia and blew a raspberry on Kai's cheek, getting the infant's attention. Kai giggled and let go of Cassia's nose then grabbed at Moriko's blonde braids.

Glad to have her nose back Cassia rubbed it; trying not to be impressed by how fit Moriko looked lowering herself from the roof. "Thanks, she has a strong grip." She looked over her shoulder then smiled back at Moriko. "So, about your house..."

Behind her, a line of people started down the path to the house, many of them carrying building supplies.

"Uh huh, about my...um, Cassia, those people look like they have building supplies?" She looked at the princess, an eyebrow arched like a question mark.

Checking over her shoulder, Cassia smiled and waved to Ryuu, who was at the head of the procession. "They do?" She grinned at Moriko. "You know how I said I'd help you before?"

"Yes, I remember how that may have been worked into a conversation." She nodded at the quiet woman with the silver hair, and as she had learned, a wicked sense of humor.

"Well, Ryuu here said something that made a lot of sense to me. She said we couldn't leave Kai to live in such a..." Words failed Cassia as she glanced at the rundown thing of a home. "...place. Then I realized we had all these people working on the castle." She waggled her eyebrows "Imagine that."

"Um, I..." She was stunned by the gesture. "I guess when you're the Princess, stuff gets done." She leaned over and impulsively kissed Cassia's cheek. "Thank you."

"Hello, Moriko." Ryuu bent close to Kai and produced a piece of honey candy from somewhere for the child. "Here you go, child. I'll see about setting up the scaffolding." She left the two women to themselves with the child.

Cassia blushed, smiling as she pulled out a piece of parchment. "I drew a picture of what it could look like if you want?"

Kai said something in her baby language, and bounced in Moriko's arms. Moriko took the candy and examined it. It was a long, thin stick of baked honey that Moriko was certain would get both her and Kai messy. With a mock glare at Ryuu, she gave it to Kai. The child happily sucked on it, occasionally pulling it out to smack her surrogate mother in the cheek or nose with it.

Ryuu smiled innocently and went about getting the workers organized.

Moriko grinned at Cassia. "Let's see what you have there. It's only a simple shack, really, what can you do to it?"

The other woman coughed a little at that, opening up the parchment to show the drawing to Moriko. "Well..." she smiled, "I might have gotten a little carried away." The shack was still there, but it was attached to a rather large extension.

Moriko arched an eyebrow and laughed, "A little? Cassia, that's wonderful, but it's a bit much." She studied the drawing. "I like the expanded kitchen and the extra room so Vladis, Kai, and I can have our own sleeping area. And the barn so I can have a place for the animals." She looked at the dark-haired princess. "Can we compromise?"

"Actually," the other woman looked more than a bit sheepish, "that is the compromise. I wanted to rip it down and start fresh."

Moriko laughed. "It's not that bad."

"Hmmm..." Taking Moriko's hand in hers, she tugged the woman out of the way as a pair of Aclen's pulled a cart with lumber on it past them. "What sort of compromise?"

"Bah." Moriko waved off an attack from the honey stick. "I'll let you tear it down and rebuild, but what you have is too much, unless I have a war unit I don't know about, that's going to be living here as well."

"About that," Cassia smiled, "I was thinking maybe Valdis should train some people to keep an eye on Kai?"

Moriko frowned. "Wouldn't that just be pointing out that I have something that needs to be protected?"

The other woman frowned, she hadn't thought about that. "Oh. Well, how about we just remove this part then? That would make it smaller?" She held up the picture, wincing as Kai managed to get honey on it.

"Kai, candy goes in the mouth, not on Cassia's nice drawings," Moriko said, trying to get the honey stick away from Kai, and winced when she got smacked in the nose. "That's it." She took it away only to have the infant start screaming in her ear. "Goddess have it back."

Cassia tried to remove the honey from the picture, only succeeding in tearing it. "Ryuu," she grimaced, glaring at the back of the silver-haired woman. "She seems nice, but she's evil."

"Yes, yes she is." Finally, she got the child interested in candy as a tasty treat, not as a weapon. "I think, though, having Valdis train some women in weapons is a good idea. It might give her a purpose and draw her out of her depression. The women who are trained can do patrols of the town, handling problems.'

The princess shook her head. "Selene hates the idea of guards, wearing weapons, walking through the streets. She never liked to think of us hurting one another." The woman shrugged. "It makes sense to me though, especially if things turn even worse in the south."

"Hmmm, I can see her point. I guess I'm just used to the south. Keshet always had guards around her. Then there were guards who were in charge of patrolling just the town. They took care of arguments, fights, drunken brawls, and wild animals. So maybe just play up the town safety aspect. As the town gets bigger, people have to share the lessening space."

It made sense, although she was sure that her Muanya would hate it. Cassia looked a little shy suddenly. "So, what do you think? Will you and the little one like it here?"

Moriko just smiled at Cassia. "We already do." She blushed, realizing she was staring, and bounced Kai. "Isn't that right, little one?"

"Well, that's good." She shared a smile with the other woman then looked away as she started to play with Kai. "Let me show you where the stables will be?"

 

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Nix smiled over at her wife then nodded her head at their daughter, who was frantically trying to get her snow boots on. "So, having dinner with Moriko again tonight?" she asked casually.

"What?" Cassia nearly fell over then managed to catch herself on the doorjamb. "I'm late. I told her I'd be there earlier. But then we had that problem with the south wall at the castle..." she rambled on, finishing tugging on her boots.

Selene watched her go with a more than amused expression on her face. She shook her head and leaned back in her chair, enjoying the warmth of the fire radiating from the fireplace. "How many times does that make?"

"Three, I think, wife, maybe four if you want to count that day they had lunch and dinner." She just avoided bursting out laughing when Cassia glared over at them.

Cassia harrumphed and pulled on her coat. "I'll be back later," she called, opening the door then slamming it shut. A blast of cold air swept in, carrying with it a whirl of white snow.

"I wonder why they can't just admit they're dating. They do everything together but spend the night." She leaned over and put another log on the fire.

Selene shivered, pulling the blanket a bit tighter around her shoulders. The cold was getting harder and harder to deal with as she grew older, finding each winter a little worse than the one before. She reached over and patted Nix on the shoulder. "You know she warned us not to meddle."

"I know, love, but I don't want her to be alone. And if we didn't meddle, she'd never do anything but draw those drawings of hers." She winced and got up, grabbing another blanket. Coming back, she draped it over Selene's shoulders. She kissed the now white hair. "I love you so much. I just want our daughter to know this feeling I feel every time I'm with the woman I love so much. Is that so wrong?" She sat down, content to sit next to Selene in silence and the warmth of the fire.

"Of course not..." Selene leaned against the warmth of her wife and sighed with contentment. "I think things will happen as they happen, though. I pray to the Goddess she'll find her way." Deciding to switch topics, the Queen turned so she could see her wife's face. "The pass snowed in yesterday. There's no way to get any more news from the south now."

Nix nodded, "Have you noticed that a lot of the refugee's bare a striking similarity to you, my love, same hair and eyes, and body type? This new leader seems a bit blood thirsty, but that could be my bias, because we know how she really got the throne."

The smaller woman nodded. "Maybe she doesn't like blondes." She closed her eyes. "The stories they have of what's going on in the south. How could it have become so bad so fast? Did we forget what we fled from so fast?"

She gently stroked the flesh on the back of Selene's hand. "Some were babies or children when we fled. They don't remember much from the trek here, so that sin is repeating the past." She shook her head. "The boat smiths say, though, that trade is still going well with those horse lovers, so it isn't as bad as I feared."

Nodding, Selene settled back against the taller woman. "True, at least they haven't gone insane." She took Nix's larger hand in her own. "I was thinking of writing down what happened, so that we don't forget. Ryuu mentioned she'd be happy to help me if I wanted."

"That, my love, sounds like a wonderful idea."

"I was also thinking of stepping down in the spring." She studied the large hand in hers, noting the differences that age had brought. "I want to enjoy more time with you, and our grandchildren, whenever we get them."

"No argument from me. I think I've been trying to convince you of that for a while." The smith grinned and lifted up her wife's hand, kissing it.

Selene smiled and rested her head against Nix's shoulder. "Good."

 

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Moriko looked down at the small puppy that was looking up at her with huge, scared gold eyes. Next to it was a small puddle. "Valdis, for the last time, the puppies need to sleep in the barn!" She was starting to regret the day she'd found them. But the bigger one had looked at her with such a stupid expression it had reminded her of Wraith. She had to wonder if Wraith hadn't left a little present of himself behind after he'd visited the north.

Valdis had come out of her depression slightly with the puppy. Moriko had kept his brother for herself, hoping to train him to kill rats in the barn. Valdis' puppy was certainly running away from his crime to hide with his brother.

"I have company coming," she muttered, grabbing a rag to clean the floor.

The warrior in question scooped up the puppy, giving Moriko much the same look as the puppy had. "He's sorry, aren't you?" She held the squirming puppy up towards Moriko, where it promptly started to lick her face. "See, he's really sorry."

Moriko sputtered, and pushed the wiggling puppy away from her face. "Fine, but please potty train him." She cleaned up the mess and tossed the towel in a pile to be washed out.

The southerner smiled; a rare thing ever since her trip to the north. "Should I guess who is coming over?"

She put her hands in a basin of warm water, washing them before checking the huge stone fireplace that was used to heat the house and for cooking. She had a large pot sitting on a metal tripod over the flames, a chicken stew bubbling away. She looked at the warrior. "Cassia's coming over for dinner."

"That's a surprise," Valdis said, a touch of her old cockiness surfacing, before she nodded towards the fancy crib not far from the fireplace that Nix had made. "You want me to keep an eye on Kai?"

"It's just a friendly dinner, just like last night." She stirred the stew for a moment before she pulled it away from the fire.

"And the night before that and the night before that..." Valdis tucked the blanket up around the sleeping baby inside of it.

A knock banged on the stout, wooden front door, and Valdis grinned crookedly. "I think I'll call it an early evening." She straightened up and headed towards the room off the kitchen that was hers. "Don't do anything I would," she called over her shoulder, closing the door to her room behind her.

Moriko snorted, "That limits my options." She checked on Kai before rushing to the door.

A rather cold looking Cassia stood on the doorstep, despite the heavy coat she was wearing. Dark hair was frosted white with snow from the storm that was well and truly raging outside. "Hi," she smiled, shifting back and forth, shivering.

"Get in here," Moriko pulled Cassia inside. "I told you, you don't have to knock."

"Didn't want to barge in," she said, gladly stepping into the warmth of the house. It was hard to see the shack that had used to stand in its place. She smiled, as she always did, upon seeing the wrought iron and wood crib that stood not far from the fire. "Pumpkin asleep already?" she asked as she started shrugging off the heavy coat.

Two small puppies came bounding out from the small straw-stuffed canvas that Valdis had put together for them to sleep on. They yipped and sniffed at the new presence in the house.

"Hey, you two, get back.' She scooped up the two wiggling, yipping masses. "Apparently these two are grandchildren to either Wraith or Rage. Valdis has named hers Thorn, and I named mine Rugor."

Shaking out her wet hair from the melting snow, Cassia managed to pet both of them, laughing as her hands got licked. "They're a handful."

The puppies kept trying to lick the exposed skin. Laughing, Moriko put them down. "Go lie down. Go on."

"Where is the brooding warrior?" Cassia finally managed to kick off her snow-covered boots, leaving them by the door, and followed Moriko towards the fireplace.

"Not so brooding. Thorn seems to be cheering her up. She actually smiled earlier." She took Cassia's coat and hung it on a hook with other winter clothes near the fire.

"She smiled?" That was indeed news. Cassia paused by the crib, her smile gentling as she watched Kai sleeping inside.

She took some metal tongs and pulled the pot of stew off. "Hope you're hungry." She grabbed some wooden bowls, quickly checking to make sure they were clean. Humming quietly, she pulled a cloth off some bread she had made. "I remember the first time I made bread. It was with you and Selene. Nix was really nice. It was burnt, but she still ate it." She chuckled at bit at the memory.

"That is because my mother will eat anything after working in the forge," she stated, brushing a hand across the unruly hair on the baby's head before moving over to help carry dishes to the table. "This smells great though. Your cooking has gotten a lot better since then."

"When you travel around in a war camp, you either cook your own or eat from the cook's tent. Now, the cook can't necessarily cook."

Cassia made a face at that mental picture. The entire idea of a war camp was still hard for her to picture, even after both Valdis and Moriko had explained them to her. "So, any suggestions for improvements to the house..?" She'd already come up with a few ideas for springtime, when construction could start again.

Moriko blinked and looked around the house. "It's great. I have my own room, it's not a barn or a tent, and I don't have to share it. It's warm, no leaks...it's perfect." She sat down at the small table in the kitchen after checking the crib. She rubbed the scar on her forehead, hoping that it wasn't aching because they were in for a horrible storm.

"Does your head hurt?" The last time Moriko's head had hurt, it had rained for nearly a week straight, and the Winderling had very nearly flooded its banks.

"Yeah, my scar is throbbing. It's probably just the cold. It is winter, after all. I was spoiled down in the south." She forced her hand away from her head and smiled.

"At least it's not going to rain," Cassia offered, helpfully, taking a hunk of bread along with some of the wonderful smelling stew. Her stomach growled as she took in a deep breath. "Ooooh..." she nearly purred.

She fiddled with her spoon for a moment, looking like she might say something, before smiling again and started to eat. She paused between bites. "I'm glad you can come over to eat. I like spending time with you." She winced and stuffed her spoon back in her mouth. All she had to say was, "I'm in love with you, or I'd like to kiss you.' All day, while she worked in her barn or the Inn's stable, she practiced how she would tell Cassia, and every night she froze up.

"I'm glad I can too." The other woman lowered her spoon, staring intently across the table at Moriko. For a moment she, too, looked like she was going to say something, then she smiled and looked back down at her stew. "I like...umm...your cooking." Mentally groaning, she forced a smile at the other woman. "You'll probably get sick of having me over for dinner soon."

"Okay, but we could go to the Inn sometimes. Valdis told me they have a storyteller, and other nights a musician." She looked at their entwined hands. "It could be like a...uh...date." She said the last part softly.

"A date..?" Cassia's squeaked in surprise, eyes wide as she looked across the table at the woman of whom she was very aware was still holding her hand.

That wasn't the response she had hoped for. "It was just a thought. It was silly." She forced a laugh and moved her hand out from under Cassia's.

"No, wait, it wasn't silly." She tightened her fingers around Moriko's fingers, trying to keep her from pulling away. "I mean, I'd like that." She smiled. "You just caught me by surprise. I thought..." she trailed off, biting her lip. "I thought I'd missed my chance after that time in the forest."

"I thought I'd missed it, too. I thought you were going to marry Sable, and I didn't even try. I just ran away from everything." She laughed. "Teenage hormones are such a wonderful thing." She paused then said quietly, "I think Caron knew, knew that I still loved you. We weren't together very long. She would just stare at my face then seem sad, like she couldn't find what she was looking for. Then after a month, she said we made better friends. I didn't understand, not until I came home and saw you again. What I felt seeing you, I think that's what she was looking for in my eyes."

Cassia smiled, feeling tears gather in her eyes as their fingers entwined. "I missed you. I thought about running away to find you, to tell you what a fool I'd been. But I wasn't sure if you'd even listen to me."

"I may not have listened at first, but who knows, I bet you could have worn me down. There were a lot of times I got scared and homesick, especially my first battle. I think, looking back, I needed that time away." She didn't mention that the thought of coming home was always deterred by the thought of Cassia marrying Sable.

"You'll have to tell me about that, these battles that you've been in." The dark-haired woman still couldn't really picture anything like what Moriko and Valdis had alluded to. Neither had been particularly interested in talking about it very much. "No more running away, then?"

"I wasn't planning on it. I have a nice house, a nice job, good friends, and maybe a great girlfriend." She looked hopeful. It was perhaps presuming a lot, but she was relaxing. The hard part of actually asking Cassia out on something other than a friendly dinner was behind her.

"Girlfriend, huh..?" Smiling, Cassia let go of her hand and helped herself to something to eat. "I like the sound of that. It helps that my parents already like you, of course." She mentally crossed her fingers, hoping that comment didn't send Moriko running. Of course, how fast she could run through a snowstorm carrying Kai was up for debate.

"Yeah, that helps. I'm sure Nix can be scary if she doesn't like someone." She grinned foolishly then started to eat her food.

"I baked a couple of sweet apples." She got up and lifted the lid on a ceramic pot on the stones next to the fire, checking on them. Nodding, she grabbed padding for her hands and lifted them over to the counter before returning to the fire and tossing two more logs on. She sat back down. "Gretchen from Abnoa brought in a shipment of apples to the Inn. Kealsy let me grab a couple then I just added some honey and cinnamon. It's really tasty, trust me."

"It smells like it." She leaned forwards, sniffing the air as Moriko brought the pot towards the table. "I think I like having a girlfriend who can cook delicious things." She enjoyed watching the way Moriko moved as she walked.

Moriko just blushed. "It's not that hard to cook." She cleared the table and set out a plate then dished one of the bubbling, gooey, messy baked apples on to it. The smell of apples and cinnamon invaded the air.

"I can't wait to see what else you can cook," Cassia grinned, getting up and picking up her chair and scooting around to Moriko's side of the table. "Mind some company?"

"Um, no, company would be great." She smiled shyly and sat down.

It took only a minute or two before Valdis had invaded the kitchen with her sleep tossed hair. "Honey apples, you made honey apples." She nodded at Cassia while eyeing the apple in the pot. Moriko sighed and dished out the last apple onto a plate and handed it to the warrior. Valdis beamed a smile at her housemate. "You're the best," she chirped happily before taking a bite, only to hiss and try and cool her overheated mouth.

Cassia let out a half laugh before managing to stop herself from going on to full-out laughing. "Hi, Valdis," she greeted, a little annoyed that her emergence from her room derailed her plan to kiss Moriko.

The warrior nodded. After she was finally able to swallow, she said, "Hi, Princess. Looks like you're spending the night - finally."

Cassia nearly choked on her own bite of the apple dessert at that.

Moriko hissed out, "Valdis."

"What? It's a whiteout outside. If you care at all for the woman, please tell me you're not going to let her walk home in that."

"What? No, no. Of course Cassia is going to spend the night, if it's dangerous." She gulped a bit and her palms started sweating.

Cassia couldn't help it. She started laughing at the outraged expression on Moriko's face and the innocent one on Valdis'.

"Good woman." She looked at Cassia and shrugged. "Be gentle with her, her heart's in the right place, but she's just a little slow to get to the point, if you know what I mean."

Moriko buried her face in her hands. "Valdis, please, just go do something somewhere else."

The warrior grinned and winked at Cassia before turning to the crib. "Hey there, peanut...look at you, being all quiet and playing with your toes. Looks like you get to sleep with Auntie Valdis tonight, Œcause Auntie Moriko is having a sleepover."

Moriko blushed until her ears turned red.

Even Cassia could feel her face turning red. "Good to see you again, Valdis." It was always interesting interacting with the other woman, who had a wicked sense of humor. It reminded Cassia of Ryuu most days, although at least her assistant wasn't so depressed all the time.

Valdis picked up the infant, who cooed, and then tried to teeth on a honey-coated finger. "Hey there, I see no need to take my finger off." With Kai in one hand and her apple treat in the other, she grinned wickedly at the two of them before leaving the kitchen.

"Well," Moriko squeaked out, "at least she's smiling and joking again." She cleared her throat then picked up her fork and nonchalantly stabbed a piece of apple off of Cassia's plate.

"She's becoming more like her old self. That's a good thing." The princess mock frowned, pulling the plate away from her. "Who said I have to share?"

"But..." She stared sadly at the plate. "It's good to share," she said hopefully.

"Hmmm..." Cassia took her own bite, closing her eyes for a moment at the taste. "That tastes delicious." Then she used her own fork to pick up another piece. "What do I get if I do share?" she waved the piece between them.

"What do you want?'

"What will you give me?" Cassia leaned closer.

"Well," Moriko scooted over closer to Cassia, "how about a kiss? Would that be a fair trade?"

Cassia looked down to stare at Moriko's lips. "That sounds reasonable." She let Moriko take the piece of apple. Licking her own lips, she set aside the fork, leaning forward to taste the apple on the other woman's lips.

A part of Moriko's brain wondered how one night so many years ago could have such a lasting impact on her. But this is what she missed, Cassia's lips. Other than Cassia, she had only kissed three other women, and all of them paled to this.

Cassia was certain that she would always remember the taste of apples on Moriko's lips as slid a hand behind her head and pulled Moriko closer. When they finally pulled apart for air, the dark-haired woman was gasping, unsteady. "Yeah, that was worth it," she whispered.

Slowly, they pulled back and Moriko sighed happily. "That's even better than I remember."

She giggled. "I'm glad. I wouldn't want to think I didn't pay my end of the bargain."

Picking up her fork, Cassia got another piece of the apple dish on it. "Good thing we have this entire apple to trade for."

 

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Moriko was up early, and even the arduous task of breaking a trail through the snow to the barn couldn't wipe a smile off her face. She quickly went to work, feeding Oscar and the two breeding females her Muanya had given her. With one last pat to Oscar's horned head, she was back outside, straining through the snow. Even though it was a few feet, it felt like a mile. Breathing heavily, she opened the door and stepped inside. She knocked the snow off her and started shedding layers. She had a guest, a romantic type guest sleeping, warming her bed.

She grinned foolishly.

"I'm so glad I talked you into getting a big bed," Cassia murmured, cracking open her eyes to watch as Moriko quietly entered the room again. "Do you always get up before sunrise?" It wasn't even light out yet, which was early, even by Cassia's standards.

"Now I see why you were so insistent. You had some sneaky motive." She rubbed her hands and her nose trying to warm them up so she didn't get booted right back out of bed. She slid under the covers. "Yep, I always get up early. Animals need to be fed, and then I go to the Inn, but not today. Keasly probably figured out late last night I wouldn't be able to get over there this morning."

"Ahh...you're cold." Despite that, Cassia slid closer, wrapping herself gingerly around the other woman. They were still hesitant in touching one another, awkward, but they got settled. "Better," she whispered, tugging the blankets a bit higher up over them.

Moriko fidgeted, "Sorry." They bumped awkwardly together for a second before easing into a comfortable position. "I tried to warm myself up. I'm not used to having company...well...Kai or the puppies don't count."

"Is the little one still with Valdis?" Cassia yawned, finding it hard to resist falling back asleep. She could hear the wind whipping around the house outside, and the room was cold, while under the blankets she had a warm body to cuddle with.

The yawn was contagious, and Moriko returned one of her own, "Yeah, as far as I can tell. We're the only two people awake. Even the puppies ran out of energy." She snuggled into Cassia's body, finding the warmth under the covers was making her sleepy again. Normally, once she was up, she was up for the rest of the day. A habit forged in youth working for her Muanya, and then again during war. There was a lot to do in a war camp, and not enough time in the day. "It's windy out, but stopped snowing. I was able to break a path to the barn."

Cassia mumbled something in response, although even she didn't know what it was. Instead, she pressed her lips to Moriko's in a sleepy kiss and decided she didn't want to get up to face the day yet. This was much too nice to give up. With just a little more rearrangement, she found a comfortable position, with her leg tossed over the warm body next to hers and an arm draped over Moriko's chest. Making a sound that was nearly a purr, she snuggled down into the warmth and let sleep claim her.

 

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Nix was staring out the window, something she'd been doing most of the morning and afternoon, ever since she realized her little girl hadn't made it home. The storm had passed, leaving a dump of snow almost to her waist. Logically she knew it was best that Cassia hadn't tried to come home last night, and she new her daughter was smart enough not to even try, but still, her little girl spent the night at some strange woman's house.

She frowned as Selene laughed at her. Looking at her wife, a sheepish grin broke out on her face. "I know, I know, I'm being silly. Still, our baby didn't come home last night. You know I have to scare Moriko on sheer principle now?"

Selene laughed again, coming up behind her wife and wrapping her arms around her waist to hug her. "I know you will.' She'd had no doubt that was going to happen ever since she realized that Cassia hadn't come home last night.

"But do you really want to scare her too bad? Maybe this means that they are finally ready to admit that they're dating?' She liked Moriko, a lot more than she'd liked Sable, and she hoped her daughter was finally going to find someone to spend her life with.

"Well, no, not too bad," she hedged. "I do really rather like Moriko, she doesn't know how to be dishonest. Please tell me you figured out Kai is the last southern royal alive, with all that stuttering and back stepping every time you ask about the baby. I thought the poor woman was going to give herself a headache."

Nix chuckled and turned around in her wife's arms, kissing her gently on the lips.

As she had gotten older, her eyesight had gotten worse. Now, she rarely had to wear the protective cloth. It was odd. At first she had freaked out, but her wife assured her that this was how most people normally saw the world.

"I know I've forgotten things recently, but I know a grandchild of Keshet when I see her. She doesn't look a thing like Moriko.' It was nice to able to look up into Nix's eyes without the cloth blindfold in the way. "I don't think we should tell her we know. She's already nervous enough about Kai. Do you think Cassia knows?'

Nix chuckled, "Yes, Moriko can be as skittish as a Pouncer in a room of rocking chairs. So we can keep pretending we don't know who Kai is for right now." She blew out a breath. "I think she knows, but as intelligent as our daughter can be, she sure can be clueless in some areas."

The Queen laughed, reaching up to tenderly pat Nix's cheek. "I wonder who she gets that from.'

Nix scowled at Selene and pretended to get annoyed. "Can't be me." She was just about to pick up her wife and carry her upstairs when she noticed two figures breaking a path in the snow. "Well, they aren't sleeping together, yet?" She shook her head. "Not that I want to think about my little girl doing such things, but I was hoping they at least took a step in the right direction. The whole town knows they're crazy for each other. I think there's even a bet going when they're going to get brave enough to be a couple."

"I wouldn't be surprised.' Selene was even pretty sure she knew who would have started such a bet.

 

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Outside the house, Cassia and Moriko were slowly breaking a path through the snowdrifts. They hadn't seen a single other person since leaving Moriko's place, mostly because everyone else was taking the opportunity to stay inside and avoid the bitter wind and tall piles of snow outside. That would change soon enough, but for now, the two trudged along alone.

 "You didn't have to come along with me.' Cassia watched her breath frost in the air in front of her, pausing at the bottom of the steps to the front door.

Moriko shrugged her shoulders, barely moving under all the layers she was wearing. "Of course I did. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I let you walk home alone in this? Plus, I want to go on over to the Inn and make sure those two Alcens are okay. It is what Kealsy pays me to do." And she was baby free, Valdis having actually offered to watch Kai. When they had left, Valdis, Kai, and the puppies were crawling on the floor, playing. She took a step, breaking through the virgin snow, only to step down further than she was expecting. Her arms wind milled for a moment then she fell over, taking out Cassia. "Sorry," she mumbled then laughed when she saw how coated in white Cassia's hair was.

The princess let out a startled yelp then laughed as they both tumbled into the snowdrift. "You did that on purpose,' she accused, laughing, and then impulsively leaning in closer to kiss Moriko. Now, if only she wasn't lying in the snow, with a very overdressed Moriko lying on top of her.

"Whenever you girls want to come inside, we have hot tea,' Selene's voice called out from the front door. Moriko jerked in surprise, craning her neck to see Cassia's Muanya and her mother smiling at them from the door. With a wave, Nix shut the door. Groaning, Cassia let her head flop back into the snow.

Moriko's face turned bright red, and she quickly stood up, trying to get her snowcap back on, as well as brush snow off her and Cassia. "They're not going to poison me, are they? They still like me, right?" Flustered, she momentarily thought about fleeing.

"Yes, they like you.' It was actually really cute how flustered Moriko was getting. "I promise they like you. You don't have to come inside right now if you don't want to, though. I can tell them you had to go see to the Alcens at the Inn.' She reached out and took the other girl's hands in hers, chaffing them to warm them through the mittens.

The blonde took a deep breath and let it out. "No, I'll come in for a little bit. Tea sounds good, plus, I can spend a few more minutes with you." She swallowed nervously, and stared at the house.

She wasn't certain why she was so nervous; she had spent plenty of time with Selene and Nix.

"It's going to be all right." Cassia clasped her girlfriend's hand, smiling even wider at the thought. "They like you, remember that." She pulled her towards the stairs up to the front door.

Nix opened the front door just before they reached it and leveled a glare at Moriko. "Do I want to know why my little girl is just getting home?" She nearly started laughing when the young woman looked like she might turn and run.

"Uh, hmmm, well...ummm, snow, lots of snow," she finally blurted out.

"Mom," Cassia glared at Nix, "stop trying to terrorize Moriko!"

The glare melted away. "Aww, Cassia. You never really brought anybody home for me to terrorize." She looked sheepish for a second, then opened the door wide to let them in. "Don't track snow in the house, you know how that bugs your Muanya." The ex-smith retreated into the kitchen.

"See," the dark-haired woman whispered, tacking off her boots in the hallway and closing the door behind them, "she likes you." Well aware that she was blushing, she realized that Nix was right, Moriko was the first girl she'd brought home to her parents.

"That's good." She smiled weakly and shed the thick cloak and overcoat she was wearing, and then finally the boots. Noticing they were alone for the moment and feeling her courage return, she leaned over and gently kissed Cassia. She blushed and mumbled against Cassia's red lips, "Not sure when I'll get to do that again today."

The smile that the other woman gave her was wide and very happy. "Hopefully a lot." Reclaiming Moriko's hand, she held it up, "You mind this?"

Moriko, quirking a blonde eyebrow in question, asked, "Mind what?"

"...If I hold your hand?" Cassia mentally crossed her fingers, not sure if she'd mind it in front of her parents.

"Why would I mind?" She looked over at Cassia. "Is there some new odd northern tradition that started after I left?"

She shrugged. "No, I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable." She paused then grinned. "Well, more uncomfortable."

Moriko snorted and pulled Cassia to the kitchen. "I survived someone trying to take my head off, how bad can it be having tea with your mothers?"

"I'm going to remind you that you said that." Keeping hold of her hand, Cassia let herself be pulled along, straightening up to face the knowing looks on both her parents' faces.

Nix was sitting at a table with three other mugs of tea. "What took you so long? Honey, what ever do you think these two were doing in the other room?"

Selene had to struggle not to laugh as she picked up her mug of tea and sipped it. "I haven't any idea."

Cassia, for her part, stuck her tongue out at her parents, feeling like a teen again as she took a seat next to Moriko. "My boot laces were frozen, Moriko had to help me get them off."

Moriko wrapped her hands around her tea and studied the cup's contents. She frowned for a moment before looking up and catching everybody's eyes at least once. "Selene and Nix, I, um, just want you to know, that your daughter and I are dating. I know you're probably having a lot of fun ribbing your daughter and me, but I just want you to know that I take what we are just starting here very seriously. I'm not certain where we'll end up, but I will treat her well and with honesty." She cleared her throat and nervously took a sip, ignoring her bright red face.

Moriko sounded so earnest in her declaration that Nix didn't have the heart to make any more jokes. "Thank you, Moriko. That's the best I can ask." She nodded and picked up her own tea.

Smiling at the shocked expression on her daughter's face, Selene reached over and patted Moriko's hand. "Well said. You realize that we both like you, and Kai." She was almost ready to tell the young woman that they knew who Kai really was, but she took pity on her and instead patted her hand once again.

"Thank you." She smiled up at Selene, before reaching over and taking one of Cassia's hands in hers.

 

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Winter had grown mild around its halfway point to spring, and the paths had turned to mud, with dirty snow piled high alongside, framing the mud. Moriko opened the door to her home with a gentle shove of her foot. In one hand she held a muddy Kai, in the other she held a muddy Rugor, the adolescent puppy wiggling and trying to look pathetic. "Stop it, you two."

Kai cooed and made a grab for the puppy, managing to smear more mud around on Moriko's jacket.

"I swear," she grumbled. "Hello, anyone else home?"