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Rhia and Free had been on the road now for a few days, and all they really wanted was a nice quiet place to spend a couple of days. Life on the road was not the easiest, and with all the talk of The Six stirring up trouble, being on the road could also be dangerous. Zander was off doing whatever it was her husband did without her, so Rhia was feeling a little lonely.

"You have me to keep you company. Isn't that enough?", said Free.

Rhia reached over and stroked the mares side. She still marveled at her luck in finding the wounded mare, and that Free had decided to bond with her after healing. She still remembered the look on Zander's face the first time she introduced the two of them. "You are a blessing to me Free, and you know how I feel about you. But I am human, and as such, I long for the feel of Zander's arms around me at night. It's something you just can't understand. I hope that if Zander evers bonds with one of your kind, it might be a male with a good nature. I just need to rest, and work on writing some new songs. Let's see if we can't find a nice secluded meadow around here to camp in."

They left the road and worked their way through the trees lining the road. After about an hour of walking, Free lifted her head and sniffed at the air. "Water, that way", and she pointed her head off to the right. They altered their course and made for what Rhia hoped was a place they could make camp. If not a meadow, then at least a clear place near the water. A few minutes later they could hear the stream, and see sunlight streaming through the tree limbs ahead of them. As they neared the stream, they could make out a large field on the far side of the calm, flowing water. However, the field was not empty. They could see both humans and Azrein off to the left.

"Well, what do you think, do we look for somewhere less crowded, or do we crash the party?"

Free looked at the Azrein off in the distance and said, "I vote we crash the party. As long as they aren't of questionable natures of course."

Rhia laughed at her mare. "Of course!" They moved downstream, looking for a place to safely cross the stream. They didn't have to go far, and they emerged on the other side. It took them about 5 minutes to draw close enough to the others to make their presence known.

"Hello!", she shouted, "May we join you?"

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Rhia was glad that the woman mentioned the King, for that meant that their nature was not evil. She herself remained neutral where the King and the Six were concerned, but if it came to a fight, she would side with the King. She had no choice really, seeing as Freezia's nature was good, and therefore she had to side with the King's Own. As they neared the woman and her bonded, she responded to the woman's greeting.

"We are indeed on the King's side, and wish you no harm. We are but traveling and saw you preparing a feast of some sort, so we thought we would stop and see if we could join you. We have fare of our own which we are more than willing to share with you. My name is Rhia, and this is my bonded Freezia." Rhia saw the way in which the woman looked at her bonded, and could hear the thoughts going through the woman's mind. It was the same at every hamlet and village they came to. No one had ever seen a Capra before, and Rhia was always having to explain to people how she had come to be chosen by the unique Azrein. "Freezia is not your normal Azrein as you no doubt have noticed. She is called a Capra, and as far as we know, she is unique. One of a kind."

Rhia was surprised to hear Deanna say that he had been chosen by three Azrein. She felt lucky to have been chosen by one. She'd never met anyone in her travels who had more than one bonded.

"Really?" she said, "I too have traveled extensively on the island, so you are luckier than I if you have seen another Capra besides Freezia. I am a bard, and my trade keeps me on the road most of my life. I tried to settle down once with my husband, but fate determined that was not the life for us."

Once Free knew they were welcomed in the group, she wasted no time standing around listening to the idle chatter between the humans. She walked over to the other Azrein and introduced herself to them. "Hello Serenity, Sterling. I am called Freezia, but you may call me Free if it pleases you." She could see that Serenity was attempting to help the stallion with setting up a table. It wasn't until the stallion turned at her voice, that she realized he was blind. "Is there something I can do to help out?"

"Here," said Free, "let me see if I can help you." She lowered her head until her horns rested against the edge of the table, and she pushed. The table slowly moved ahead of her. Not knowing where they were trying to move it, she stopped and asked, "Where would you like me to push it to?" She was very happy to be able to help, and glad to have them to talk to. It had been too long since she had last conversed with a fellow Azrein.

"Your husband?" Rhia asked. "Is he here with you today?" She glanced around, but she didn't see Deanna's husband anywhere. It was just like a man to disappear when there was work to be done. She'd experienced the same thing with her own husband.


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She did not know where her Chosen went. All she knew was that after meeting Flighty, she had been wandering the lands and finally returned to her homelands. Glad to be back was all she wanted, and that was what she got.

Little did she know that her Chosen was taken away. Killed. Placed under a bloody guillotine. Thank the spirits that the quiet one did not have to experience the sight of the murder.

After walking for a while, she saw a group of humans and azrein alike. They were all together. With a sign of company, she quickened her tired legs to join the small gathering. Nickering, she greeted herself to these strangers. They did look definitely nice, so wouldn't they like her?

Daria and her son, Damir, had decided to get away from their very dear meadow, with Daria's Chosen, Aila, for some very much needed alone time. Damir himself, the brilliantly swirled dark blue stallion, did not have a Chosen for himself, though he trusted his mother's very much. But Aila just wasn't for him.

Aila sat perched on Daria's back, just behind her creamy wings, as they came into sight of all the azrein gathered together. "Is there some kind of event or gathering going on?" Aila wondered aloud.

Damir shook his mane out and thrust his chest out, seeing all the females, maybe there'd be one that fancied him. "I don't believe so... I haven't heard anything during my wanderings, but this might be one..." He said in his sweet voice.

"Shall we go see?" Daria suggested. flexing her wings slightly.

Aila nodded and the trio worked on getting closer to the azrein, hoping that they were atleast good natured.

They'd moved the table under the tree, when Serenity's words made Free look up. It was then she saw the purple mare coming toward them. But then more movement caught her attention, and she saw two more Azrein entering the meadow with a human female. This place was getting crowded, she thought. She wondered if there were enough apples on the tree for all of them. "Look, over there. More are coming. Do you know who they are?"

Rhia could well understand Deanna's feelings where her husband was concerned. She wanted her relationship with Zander to be like theirs, but with Zander's profession being what it was, and the constant danger it put him in, he was loathe to spend too much time with her, for fear of her being caught with him. And this was not something she could just come right out and tell people. Zander was wanted by the King for too many crimes to name, and to even let it slip that she was his wife would be putting her life in danger. It was just something that she had resigned herself to live with. One day perhaps things would be different, and they would be able to settle down once more, in some secluded part of the island. Until then, she would continue to cherish the moments they spent together in each others arms.

She turned at the sound of voices, and saw the woman walking toward them with two Azrein. She always marveled at the beauty of these creatures. No two were alike, and she had yet to see one that did not take her breath away. She waited for them to approach.