"Yes, I know," she said with a mysterious smile.

"I'll see to your stew, my Keeper. It should be on the table in a few moments."

"Thank you, Golin," she said. "And go to bed. You have to get up early tomorrow."

With a deep bow, Golin excused himself. Jenna looked at Tarrin, at his amused expression, and she turned a trifle perturbed. "What?" she demanded.

"Quite a change from the little sister I remember," he told her honestly. "But I'm glad to see that you're keeping your head about it. Some girls would get wrapped up in all her newfound power. It's good to see you're keeping your feet on the ground, even if your head is in the clouds."

"Why thank you, brother dear," she said with a teasing smile.

They could only spend so much time talking about serious things before the subject changed to reminiscing about life back on the farm, and that was probably the part of the night that Tarrin enjoyed the most. Golin brought Jenna her stew, and she ate as they talked about old times. But the smalltalk abruptly ceased when they both sensed a surge in the Weave, a surge that was curiously familiar to them as a presence inside the Weave. Then, just to the side of them, they both saw a spell pull itself out of the strands and weave itself into an Illusion. It was an Illusion of a rather tall, shapely redheaded woman wearing a low-necked blue gown and a small golden tiara, her thick hair entangling the tiara like an overgrown weed before tumbling down her back in crimson waves of unmanaged curls. The Illusion seemed to brighten, and then it began to move, as the maker animated the spell with her own mind.

Tarrin was mildly surprised. That was a Weavespinner trick, and this woman was completely unknown to him. But Jenna didn't seem all that surprised. She smiled at the projection and put down her spoon in the nearly empty bowl. "Alexis," she said fondly. "I see you figured it out."

"You're not much of a teacher, Jenna," she teased.

"Tarrin, this is Alexis Firehair, Keeper of the Tower of Abrodar. Oh, she happens to be the Queen of Sharadar too," she added nearly as an afterthought.

"I've heard much about you, Tarrin," she said with a graceful bow.

"I'm not much one for ceremonies, Alexis," he told her calmly. "I didn't know you crossed over. I didn't feel it."

"I'm half a world away, Tarrin," she smiled. "And it was about two months ago. Not long after the Weave was restored. I think that was while you were suffering from amnesia."

"It was," he agreed.

"I meet Jenna in the Heart every day, and she gives me lessons. But she's not very good at it," she winked at the young woman.

"Be nice, Alexis," Jenna fussed.

"Never," she said impudently, then she looked at the two of them. "Well, I was going to talk to you a while, but if you're busy, I can come back later," she said.

"You're lucky you got me at all," Jenna said accusingly. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"It's about two hours to noon," she said.

"It's nearly midnight," Jenna told her.

"I know what time it is there, Jenna," she said patiently. "When I came over, I could feel you were awake. If you'd have been asleep, I wouldn't have disturbed you."

"I think you were trying to catch me asleep," Jenna accused, but she had a sly smile on her face.

"You'll never know," Alexis said with a swaggering grin.

"I take it you two are rather good friends," Tarrin observed.

"I'd say we are," Alexis agreed. "Enough to play pranks on each other. Your sister brings out the worst in me," she admitted with a wolfish smile.

"You're like a little girl that never grew up," Jenna accused.

"I am," she admitted shamelessly. "It keeps things from getting dull. When you're as old as I am, Jenna, you'll do the same thing to keep your mind entertained. Things get kind of boring after about four hundred years," she said with a sour expression.

"I won't find that out for another three hundred and eighty four," Jenna said with a wicked smile.

Alexis winced. "It's not fair to bring up my age like that."

"You're the one who brought it up," Jenna told her smugly.

Alexis wasn't lying. They did act like a couple of girlfriends when they were together.

Alexis was about to say something else, but she looked beyond them. Tarrin followed her gaze, and to his surprise and delight, Triana was padding into the dining hall. And sitting sedately on her shoulder was a tiny blue-skinned creature with mottled multicolored wings. Sarraya. Those wings began to buzz as she lifted off Triana's shoulder and zipped in a direct line towards Tarrin, calling out his his name happily. Tarrin lifted a paw and let her land in it, then he brought her up to his face with a gentle smile, a thousand memories, some of them actually good, flowing though his mind about his little Faerie companion. She could be a terrible pest sometimes, but she was a good friend and a solid, dependable partner. He felt better with her with him already.

"Tarrin!" she squealed again happily, leaning forward and kissing him soundly on the end of his nose. "It's so good to see you! Triana told me all about what happened, and why you asked me to come back, and-"

He cut her off before she could say anything in front of Alexis. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but he didn't know her yet, and he knew that their enemies could be listening even now. "Careful," he warned her in Sha'Kar, then he reached up with a finger and very tenderly and carefully pressed it up against her side. She grabbed his finger with both hands and pulled it up her her face, nuzzling it. Tarrin had often marvelled at how exquisitely tiny Sarraya was, how tiny and yet how perfectly formed, and that wonder hadn't simply ceased because she'd been away. Seeing her again only made him marvel at her anew.

"A rare treat for me," Alexis smiled. "I've always wanted to meet a Faerie. How do you do?"

Sarraya looked at the woman, and then her eyes seem to peer through her. "I see you've been teaching them tricks, Tarrin," she said. "She feels far away."

"This one is from Abrodar," he told her calmly. "This is Alexis Firehair, Keeper of the Tower in Sharadar."

"Oh. Nice to meet you," she said casually, then she zipped over and landed on Jenna's hand, then kissed her on the cheek. "Jenna!" she said happily. "You've grown!"

"Only a little," she said wryly in reply. "How are you, Sarraya?"

"I'm well rested and raring for another go," she said with a bright, enthusiastic buzz of her wings. "A couple of months back home, and I'm feeling good as new and ready for action!"

"I think now would be a good time for me to go, Jenna. It looks like you'll be busy, so I'll come back another time."

"That would be a good idea," Jenna agreed.

"I'll see you later, then. Good to meet you, Tarrin," she said with a smile, and then her projection vanished, and the sense of her raced away from him within the Weave.

"Mother," Tarrin greeted, taking her paw as she approached. "That was good time."

"We would have been here sooner if Sarraya wasn't so fidgety," Triana grunted.

"I've never done that before!" she said indignantly. "It was so bizarre!" she laughed to Tarrin. "It was like were travelling a hundred leagues a second! The whole world went by so fast it was like a blur!"

Tarrin raised an eyebrow at his bond-mother. She just smiled and patted him on the cheek. "Don't worry, I'll teach it to you when we have the time," she told him.

"I can feel it in him, Triana. When did he get so much stronger?"

"Didn't you listen to a word I said on the way, bug?" Triana asked in a tone that, for her, was exasperated.

"It was hard to hear with all that rushing in my ears. And besides, I wasn't paying attention to you," she answered. "I had more interesting things to pay attention to."