I'd like to make certain that people understand why exactly my reaction to seeing Shorty was to pick him up and hug him. It wasn't because I was in love with him, so please don't go getting worried about something like that. While Shorty might be a useful fellow and is overall friendly, plus good in a fight, I doubt I could ever fall in love with someone twice my age.

So the reason I leapt down from the wagon and twirled about the poor little Shorty wasn't due to love, it was more of a feeling of happiness that he hadn't died. After splitting up there had been a continual nagging fear at the back of the mind. What if the Plague had gotten ahead of them?

If it had been before my encounter with the Plague there is no doubt that the thought of the Plague out maneuvering someone wouldn't exist. The Plague simply couldn't do it, was the common thought of that point in my life. Then I had met Her and learned quite fast that sometimes the Plague moved due to coordinated thought, she controlled them like puppets and used them like a personal army.

Thus when I saw Shorty standing in the street looking quite unharmed I was extremely relieved, and to let loose that feeling of relief I twirled him around like a little kid brother. The reaction from Taryn was in turn quite controlled, he nodded his head in greeting and remained seated on the wagon. Maria had moved forward at my explosive reaction to Shorty, then smiled while watching the entire antics.

People in the street stopped and looked, some talked to each other in low whispers about the odd girl and the weird midget man. A few even commented about how the midget man had been lurking in the town for a while, and they wondered if this was why. All in all though I didn't care what others thought. Shorty was still alive~

The response from Shorty was a grumpy "Put me down now," before he looked about with a red face at all the onlookers. When I deposited him gently on the ground he pointed a finger at me, frowned with such fierceness I thought that the frown was almost audible, and then lowered his hand with a sigh.

"Please don't do that again," Shorty finally said to me, before he walked over to the wagon. Without warning he hopped up onto the wagon seat next to Taryn. "Hey there kid, nice job keeping the lass alive."

Taryn looked at Shorty with those calm eyes, no words came from his mouth though he did nod ever so slightly in response. "Lily, lets go," he said toward me, as he studied the crowd that had begun to gather.

A quick glance around and I realized that there were far more people than one might expect, at least two dozen onlookers that had all begun to partake in the gossip. I blushed a bit in embarrassment at that moment, before darting to the wagon and leaping back up onto it. Settling down next to Taryn, a glance over the shoulder reminded me that Maria was still there.

"Maria, this little guy is Shorty," I told her politely, as I motioned with one hand past Taryn and toward the diminutive fellow. "He's a friend, so don't worry."

Maria attempted at a smile, though you could almost feel her uncertainity. Shorty on the other hand snorted after a glance was sent toward Maria's direction. "So the rumors are true," Shorty commented toward Taryn. "You collect the slaves from all over and bring them back here."

"Yes," was the simple response. Taryn clicked his tongue and shook the reins, the single horse in turn began to tug the wagon along behind it. Thankfully the added weight of Shorty was so minimal that it would barely strain the poor animal.

"Where's Skara?" I asked, while leaning forward and peering past Taryn at Shorty. My ponytail was still wrapped about my neck, so I had no need to worry about it falling down and getting tangled in the reins that Taryn was holding.

Shorty laughed at that question, before he looked at me. "I sent on him on ahead with the little girl to the orphanage. Thankfully it's outside of the town and a bit of a distance to the north," Shorty told me. He scratched at his head, then leaning back against the wagon he continued on. "I could tell he wanted to stick around town, but given his attitude toward women and booze it'd be a disaster."

I could only frown at that, not quite understanding what he meant. Ah, the naivety of youth, sometimes I wish I could return to that way of thinking. "What do you mean?"

"Uh...how about the next time you see your parents you ask them," Shorty said, as he shook his head. "That's definitely not something I want to explain to a child."

It took me a little bit of time to wrestle with his words before understanding the meaning, and in understanding my ears burned a bit as they turned very red. "Don't you idiots ever think of things besides that?" I questioned, a bit of bite to my tone as I stopped peering past Taryn.

The response from Shorty was a chuckle, while Maria simply looked on in confusion. Taryn kept his calm, quiet expression permanently on his face as he guided the wagon toward the north gate of the city. For the remainder of the trip he never said anything else, he merely kept the wagon moving forward.

In the eery silence of the ride I began to wonder what else he hadn't told me.

♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪

The orphanage at that time was a small little house with a second housing section a bit of a distance away. The secondary building was quite long and had two floors, multiple windows which looked out across the surrounding forest. Whomever had built the orphanage had also constructed a stone wall that was ten feet tall around it, with only one access point built into the front.

While the wagon creaked through that access point I noted the splendor of the gate itself that served to protect the orphanage. It was crafted from iron with spikes built into the side that faced out toward the forest itself. Anyone who ran up to it would suffer cuts, if not impalement, on the spikes. It looked heavy enough that even Skara would be strained to pick it up while being assisted by another.

The trees all about the orphanage grounds had begun to turn red and brown, the fresh green fading away as the coming of autumn sapped away at the forest. Leaves had started to fall which created miniature mounds in various spots, mounds that at times seemed almost to quiver as the wagon passed by.

At one point Shorty reached for one of his knives he kept hidden up a sleeve, while I felt the urge to bring out the Shatterblade. The mounds were worrying, especially with the weight of eyes on us. Taryn clicked his tongue, then shook his head at us both. "Don't," was the only word from his mouth, before he moved the horse through the gateway.

The gate itself lead into a wide tunnel, with a simple rough overhead that had holes cut into it. To call it impressive in regard to defense would be an understatement, for a single orphanage to have gained such complex architecture was unspeakable. When the wagon emerged from the tunnel the noise of someone calling out could be heard, and I started to notice the people.

Two young teens each armed with a bow stood on top of the tunnel, one crouched while the other stood straight and had an arrow notched. Neither had pointed their bow at us, though they both smiled like the youthful innocents they most likely were.

The wagon rolled up toward the main house of the orphanage, which had a single floor and was elongated to allow for multiple rooms. It made me think of a cottage rather than anything else. Children called out and the crowd began to pour from everywhere. Some were very little and others were quite large, and a few were quite obviously adults in full battle gear.

From the forest behind came three people, two women and a man. They each wore suits that were interwoven with leaves and weeds, they almost naturally blurred into the background due to odd clothing. All three held crossbows which were loaded, though none were pointed in our direction but rather at the ground.

"Taryn!" called out one of the youngest of the children, a little boy with dirty blond hair and a few missing teeth. He tottered forward along the gravel path which lead up to the cottage, obviously a bit unsteady on his feet due to his youth.

As the wagon came to a stop, the horse obviously nervous, Taryn leapt down from the wagon and scooped the kid up in a single motion. He smiled one of those pure smiles that I almost never got to see, and then rubbed the head of the toddler. "I'm back everyone!" he called out in a loud clear voice, as the children continued to run forward and cling to him.

In a matter of moments he was buried in children who all wanted to hug him. It was fairly obvious why, as some still had scars on their necks and one or two had permanent brands etched onto their arms. They were all victims of slavery, and while I helped Maria out of the wagon she also noticed it.

"What a family," Shorty said as he hopped down from the wagon, and then walked over to join me while watching the avalanche.

"Ho, a new member already?" one of the girls wielding a crossbow commented from behind me. It was a bit of a shock, one that caused me to whirl about while lifting an arm up in defense. Her footsteps had been so silent even on the leaf covered gravel that it was obvious she was well trained in stealth.

"Calm down there," she said, while she kept her crossbow pointed directly at the ground. "The name's Saris. Alise found me twelve years ago and brought me here along with a few others."

Lowering my arms to my side I studied her, she was a fierce looking woman with red hair that fell to her shoulders. The hair had a few leaves in it, and her face had dirt smudged onto it. The green eyes that sparkled past the dirt held a distinct sense of intelligence. "I'm Liliana Rose. This is Maria, I helped her when her family was attacked."

Maria had crept up to me and hid a little to my side, imagery of a scared little rabbit coming to my mind. I could only wonder if it was common for the victims of slavers to always turn out this way, much like Wumi had back in Vicna. "Hello," she said in a quiet voice, not quite certain of how she should handle the situation.

"Liliana? Fancy name, alright I'll take Maria to Phil," Saris stated, as she looked over her shoulder and called out to the other girl who held a crossbow. "Going off watch for a bit, got a newcomer who needs to be decollared!"

Without waiting for a response Saris turned toward Maria, and then offered her free hand to the young girl. "Come on, we have a guy who can take that thing off your neck and then we'll talk about what you want to do," Saris told her with a tone of such gentleness that I almost wanted to hug her. It was obvious that Saris was accustomed to handling victims.

"Oh ho, here comes our good friend now," Shorty said while Saris carefully walked along with Maria toward what I expected was the main living quarters. That larger building which looked capable of housing everyone had to be it, otherwise the cottage would be quite cramped.

At the comment from Shorty I looked where he was, only to smile in response at who was coming along. Skara walked, with Wumi walking along behind him. He still carried that ridiculous sword of his, casually laid across his left shoulder as though it weighed nothing.

"Liliana, Shorty!" he called out with that large grin of his still plastered on his face. I smiled, before I waved toward him as well. I had already gotten my excitement out on Shorty, and so refrained from embarrassing both Skara and myself with a noisy celebratory welcome.

While he walked up to us Taryn continued to be playing with the kids, he had started to wrestle on the ground with a few as though they were extremely strong and he was a weakling. I knew how wrong that was, and could only laugh at the image of him being bested by six year olds. "So you enjoying the place, Skara?" Shorty asked of his far larger friend.

"Ah, it's a bit nice but there are only a few girls here who catch my interest, and one who makes sure none get interested," Skara stated honestly, a serious look on his face while he talked about this. "I tried to get her interested as well but she told me to come back when I wasn't a weakling."

Shorty laughed at that, and then patted his friend on the shin. "It's okay, I'm sure one day you'll find that special someone who wants to entertain you day and night without asking for money."

A tingle went down my back, which forced me to whip about and look in fear. All I saw was the forest behind, with the trees shedding leaves and one of the kids who was on guard looking out into it. He walked casually along the length of the wall, a small walkway having been built on the interior to allow for easy patrolling.

"Felt it too?" Shorty asked, his voice low and his eyes wide in fear. It was a look I was not accustomed to seeing on the seasoned veteran, a look that made my own fear increase by a few notches.

Taryn at some point had stood up, and lead the children toward the direction of the dormitory. Barracks. Housing building. Whatever you wanted to call it. He motioned for them, and then talked in a quiet voice to them all. So quiet was the voice that even straining my ears the only word i heard was "go".

Every child sighed, and then began to totter away, while the older ones stood back a bit and made certain they all left. Each walked along in what seemed to be random positions, yet my experiences with the Legion had taught me that they were in a protective formation. A well trained protective formation.

When all of the children had left, including the still quiet Wumi, Taryn looked toward Shorty and I and then sighed. "Good luck."

Before I could even ask a question the abyss opened beneath myself and Shorty, and we started to fall to our deaths.

♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪

Now I would like to point out that we did not actually fall to our deaths. In the first place it'd be impossible to tell you this story if I was dead, wouldn't it? Also exactly how would a giant hole have appeared in the middle of an area next to an orphanage? Preposterous.

Yet as Shorty and I stood there that is indeed how it felt, there was no more ground beneath our feet and we were falling. I almost cried out in horror, while Shorty's eyes bulged and his own voice started to leak out in fear. It was a sensation of permanent falling while a giant gaping hole opened below us, hungry to devour our bodies and souls.

Four years prior my mother, a wonderful woman, had decided to see how tough I had become from my training with Sciroco. To that end she decided to show me her Presence at the fullest capability. She was called the Blizzard Princess in her youth for a reason, one that she demonstrated when my lungs stopped functioning and I almost died from hypothermia.

Mind you that it was a nice sunny day with clear skies, and I was as dry as a bone at the start of it. My father in turn was able to cause weaker people to actually suffer from burn marks on their skin, and one person actually caught on fire and died. Thankfully I had avoided that fate when I made my father very angry, mostly I think because he felt nearly cutting me in half was enough of a punishment.

If one wants to even survive against a Presence of their level you need to have a soul that was toughened by experiences, as well as the willpower to overcome it. When I was younger I had neither, and when I turned sixteen I felt I had at least made strides in that direction.

What I never took into consideration was the impact of Taryn's soul on me, and that was a very immediate impact as I snapped almost instantly out of the Presence of whomever had ensnared me. Shorty continued to suffer, his eyes bulging while his breath quickened. Most likely if he ever hit the bottom he would die, and to stop that I slapped him across the face. "It's an illusion!" I yelled at him, trying to shock him back to reality.

Shorty responded well, he crumpled backward and then gasped for air. He stared up at the heavens, and then his voice came out in a tremble. "I can't believe it, I can't believe it's her," he said, before he started to stand up. His face had gone pale, and his eyes quivered in fright.

Before he could say another word a hand rested gently on his left shoulder. The woman who had appeared in front of my very eyes without warning leaned forward and whispered gently in the ear of Shorty, before she looked at me.

Her hair was a combination of red and white, it changed as I watched and fluctuated in such an odd fashion that I couldn't understand what was happening. Her eyes were dark green, while her face was a slightly pale white. She was not exactly what I would call beautiful, but she was not too far from the mark.

"My apologies, but I wanted to see how strong my son's friends were," she said in a voice that whispered out like the breeze about us. Her clothes moved, black on black which made it impossible to tell where one piece started and the other began. She lifted one hand out toward my direction, then moved it in and below the chest. With a small bow she offered a greeting that held a somewhat courtly feel to it.

"I am Alise, and welcome to my orphanage," she quietly spoke out. As she stood up she glanced at me, especially at my eyes and hair. "I see. Taryn, you didn't tell me you were planning to do this."

Taryn had stepped up next to me at some point, and with a gentle touch on my shoulder he looked directly at Alise. "Nixi didn't give me much choice in the matter, besides...it's my choice," he finally said after a noticeable possible. He gripped my shoulder a little, then let his hand drop away from me.

"Apologies or not, you could've killed us!" I exclaimed, as I glared at the woman called Alise.

"My Presence is not able to kill, only paralyze people," Alise commented with that ghostly voice. She looked toward Skara, and nodded her head at him. "You can ask him, when I tested him he was frozen for an hour. A bit of a weakling, I hope he grows sometime soon."

Skara's normally grinning face had grown dark at those words, though he broke through it via sheer willpower and laughed. "And when I do I'm going to bed you," he stated without any concern for his own well being.

I never did see the movement, I merely heard Skara's gasp for air and then noticed he was flat on the ground, while Alise stood next to him. "Only if you learn to be civilized," she whispered at him, before she flashed a light smile in my direction. "Now then, Liliana Rose, daughter of Vandross Rose and Esmeralda Rose, we need to deal with you."

Her hand was on my face, a light touch that felt almost as though a ghost was embracing the cheek. Her eyes locked onto my own as she peered deeply into them, studying them and most definitely the crimson sliver that nestled within. "My my, I never thought Taryn would ever do this, I suppose he told you everything then?"

With a great deal of mental strength I managed to not wrestle away or lash out at the woman. It was not hard to figure that if it came down to a fight between us she would best me ten times out of ten. "I believe so, he said who he is and what he did to me. That you'd probably be able to help me too."

Shorty had grown quiet and almost grumpy, his face locked in a permanent frown. As Alise slipped about like a phantom he never once looked surprise, instead he had a look of recognition on his face. To be precise a face that screamed recognition, fear and a great depth of respect.

"Ho, but nothing about me? Good, I don't like to talk about the past," Alise told me as she leaned in even closer. She inhaled a bit, as though trying to catch a scent that I might be producing, before she pushed me away gently. "Yes, you'll do fine. It might take a while but I'm sure I can teach you how to not kill someone on accident."

A bit of relief went through me, muscles relaxed ever so slightly. it was at about that point that I started to wonder a simple thing...how did she know my parents? I had yet to tell anyone my mother's name, and I was certain that only Taryn knew who my father was.

"Mom, I'm sorry but I might have lost your sword," Taryn spoke up from the side, though from the look on his face it was obvious he didn't feel the slightest bit of guilt.

Alise paused, she had started to walk away with full intent to go toward the cottage when Taryn said that. She turned to her son, and then sighed loud enough that it exceeded the volume of her words that came next. "At least you remembered to tell me, alright where did you leave it?"

"In the forest to the west of Vicna, we were attacked by the Plague," Taryn told her. He glanced in my direction, though said nothing about how I was the one who had forgotten it.

"Hmm, not too far away then, alright. Shorty, come here for a second," she said as she looked directly at our small friend. He winced, and then walked next to her.

"Oh, don't act like that, I didn't kill you then and I won't now!" Alise chided Shorty. Neither Taryn nor I seemed to understand what she meant, though Shorty nodded his head and regained a bit of his confidence.

"What do you need of me, my lady?" he asked, as though speaking to a noblewoman. It was a first for me, and only compounded to the mystery of why he acted like he did toward Alise.

"I need to borrow a little of your vitality, don't worry it won't hurt," Alise said as she placed her hand directly on his head. "I'd borrow from Skara but he needs his energy to help with training the children later."

As Alise placed her left hand on the head of Shorty she lifted her right hand, fingers opening up. She closed her eyes, a look of concentration on her face while tingling ran up and down my body. The air around us whispered, a breeze stronger than before pushed through and moved the leaves.

In the distance an audible sound of thunder rolled across the forest, while clouds could be seen forming. Alise turned her right hand, palm facing upward while fingers spread wide open. "Mathias," she stated in a calm, quiet voice. "Bring it back for me, my son was stupid again."

The leaves ripped up around the entire area, trees went naked instantly as a powerful blast of wind roared across the orphanage grounds. The guards at the walls all flinched and raised their weapons, and then upon looking toward the direction of Alise relaxed. It seemed this was a common event for her.

When the leaves had all settled back onto the ground in the right hand of Alise rested a black scabbard, old and battered. The hilt of a sword rested there, one that I could recognize with little difficulty. Alise tossed it gently toward Taryn, while Shorty staggered a little from her. "Don't lose it again, you know I don't like asking Him for help."

Taryn caught the weapon, unsheathing it slightly so as to look upon the blade. The weapon sang a little, like a fairy girl rested within, and then he fully sheathed it and gripped the weapon tightly. "I will, I'm sorry," he said, his tone apologetic as he bowed his head toward Alise.

"You said Mathias," I said, my voice a bit uncertain. It felt like a million questions had popped up and I was unsure which one to start with.

Alise smiled as she turned away and walked toward the cottage. "Did you think your father was the only disciple?" she asked, as she casually strolled into her house and closed the door behind her.

So it was that one of the main chapters of my life came to a close. I had over the course of a handful of weeks learned a few new things, I had made a new family and gained someone more important to me than anyone else.

In truth if I was to decide how important this chapter of my life was in regard to all the rest it would be near the very top, it changed everything and shook me to the very center of my being. Skara, Shorty and I would spend months at the orphanage, each of us learning or helping in a certain fashion.

Taryn and I would continue to maintain our distance for those months, sometimes I wondered if he was afraid I hated him over what he had done to me. Still every so often I could feel his presence when he wasn't there, and it was somewhat comforting.

Thus ends my tale of how I met Taryn and my second family. However that doesn't mean it was the end of my journeys. I would encounter something I never wanted to see again half a year later, and it would be thanks to my mother.