Refugees

         Talara knelt on the threshold of the ruined lab. She held on to the door frame for balance.
         "I am assuming there was a room here." Glancing back at the shrouded figure behind her, Talara gave a weak smile.
         "The lab." Was the whispered response.
         A few inches from where the former thief stood, the floor and walls ended, replaced by open space. Where once a room with lavish furniture, strange experimental equipment, and ancient tombs of magic had stood, was now a charred doorway to nothing.
         The explosion from Teran's failed attempt to open the portal had completely destroyed the room and everything in it.
         "Including Elanna." Talara finished the thought aloud.
         "And Teran." The figure lifted a hand and pushed back it's hood.
         Talara turned to face her companion. "You care? She was the mindless twit that started the whole damn mess!"
         "There are a few." The figure, that could now be recognized as Elspeth, revealed a two year old elven girl-child. Bright blue eyes shone from beneath neatly trimmed jet-black hair.
          As the tiny girl regarded Talara, tears gathered, and the small chin quivered when the toddler asked, "Momma?"
         Maternal instincts made Talara take the child. "Who-?"
         "Her name is Shalimar, for her father, who thought she should have an elven name." A slight smile came to the Portal Guardian's lips. "But her mother called her Rianne, because it was pretty."
         "No, I meant-"
         "I am aware of your meaning." Immortal eyes settled on Rianne. "I think you know the answer."
         "Teran."
         Hearing her mother's name, the tears pooled in Shalimar's eyes spilled onto her plump cheeks. "Momma." In a kind of exhausted sorrow, she laid her head on Talara's shoulder.
         "She knows?" The ex-mercenary asked.
         Elspeth's own eyes misted over as she nodded. "Yes. She is very aware that her mother is never returning."
         The afternoon breeze, so gentle throughout the city, sounded more like a wail of grief as it passed the open doorway where the trio stood.
         A cold shiver ran down Talara's spine at the thought of her children motherless and alone. "What will happen to her now? Her parents were outcasts, no one in the elven cities will want her. Here she would be just another orphan."
         "Actually, Cassinth survived the explosion. He will need rest for a few months, and he will eventually regain his sight. She's not a complete orphan. When Cassinth is fully recovered, he can care for her."
         "Cassinth? That old battle hound? Take care of a girl-child? All that portal jumping really has scrambled your mind." Talara held the infant protectively.
         "Think of what motherhood did for you. You finally have a stable home and a family that loves you despite your past deeds. I would wager it has been quite a while since you were running with the lizard men, or caught thieving, or paid to kill someone, or-"
         "All right! Thank you for reminding me." Talara sighed heavily. "It was my choice, though. Jerem and I decided to have children. The results of just thrusting them on people are extremely unpredictable. Yes, for some, they become responsible and learn to love and teach as they go, but others . . . . I have seen it get ugly, Elspeth. Not all of those beggars out there are orphans. Some have been abandoned, some have parents too lazy to work themselves . . . . It is terrible." Looking out the door, Talara shook her head sadly.
         "I know, dear. That is why I intend to put 'that old battle hound' in a learning environment while he recovers."
         Something in Elspeth's voice made Talara suspicious. There was little the immortal did without reason, and she was beginning to figure out why she'd been brought here.
         "You did not drag me out of the healer's clinic this morning just to show me what was left of the lab, did you?"
         The guardian snorted. "What a waste of time that would have been! You can see there is nothing left to show. No. You are right. I did have an ulterior motive." She ran a finger down the side of Rianne's face as she slept on Talara's shoulder. "Already she trusts you."
         "I think she is too tired to care." Talara murmured. She knew it was too late to refuse. As soon as she held Rianne in her arms, she knew she had to do everything in her power to protect this tiny life.
         "Jerem is going to be furious."
         Elspeth smiled broadly. "I knew you would do it. There is something else you should know."
         "Lay it out now. Tomorrow, I will have no time for surprises."
         "Shilmistra, Elanna's daughter, is also Cassinth's."
         Talara nodded a wary encouragement to continue.
         "It was Elanna's wish that her child live with her true father should anything happen to her."
         Talara held up her free hand. "Let me guess; I take on one; I take on both, right?" When the demi-god remained silent, she laughed softly. "Why the hell not?"
         As the two climbed down the stairs and left the castle, Elspeth asked Talara, "What are you doing tomorrow?"
         "Why? Planning on getting me to bring home the local orphanage as well?" Talara wrapped her cloak around herself and Rianne to keep out the chill wind that was building.
         "No. You said you would be too busy for surprises."
         "Oh." The younger woman laughed. "You have not any idea how many arrangements I have to make. The house is not big enough for two - three - editions to the family. So, I will have to buy lumber, nails, glass, et cetera for the new rooms. Rianne's cradle and things will have to be brought as well as Shilmistra's and Cass's. I am sure there are things of Elanna's Shilmistra will want. How old is she anyway?"
         "Shilmistra? In her forties I think."
         "Forties! Should she not be able to- ugh. Elves. That would make her, what? Fourteen? Fifteen?"
         "Something like that. Be forewarned. She is bound to be extremely bitter. Towards everyone."
         "I can understand why. I just hope she does not take Teran's idiocy out on Rianne."
         As if, in her slumber, she heard her name, the tiny elf stirred, reaching up to clutch the gold locket hanging about Talara's neck.

         "They're what?!?" After seven years of marriage to Talara and the births of two children, Jerem's face found a completely new shade of red.
         "They have to, Jere. They have no where else to go." Talara knew the only way to convince him - or at least get him to see it from her perspective - was to show him the baby. Once he got as attached as she was to the infant refugee, she would introduce him to the blind warrior expected to care for the child. If she knew her husband as well as she thought, a few moments with the babe and a casual comparison to their own daughter should do it.
         "What about Elspeth? If she's so damned concerned, why doesn't she take them?" Jerem's voice rose a few notches, trying to catch up with his blood pressure.
         "Keep it down, you will wake the children." Talara hissed as she went to close the door to Jerem's study. She caught sight of Cassinth in the living room. He sat on the edge of the chair she'd led him to earlier, the long fingers of his right hand turned a plain gold band on his left. Closing the door the rest of the way, she added, "And Cassinth can hear you."
         "I don't care!" He roared. She'd never seen him this upset before. "I don't care if the whole world hears me!"
         A loud cry from the nursery broke Talara's stunned silence. She whipped the door open and ran past Cassinth to the children. The elven warrior was on his feet, unsure, in his blindness, where to go. Jerem paled and quickly followed his wife.
         Talara came to a halt just inside the doorway. Four year-old Pacien was sprawled out on the floor. The stool he'd obviously been standing on was tipped on its side next to him.
         A quick once-over told his mother he was fine. Glancing at the crib, she found two pair of blue eyes smiling at her from between the bars.
         "Are you all right, Pace?" She asked, lifting the boy to his feet.
         Jerem appeared in the doorway, with Cassinth a moment behind. "What happened?" He went to the crib and picked up who he presumed to be his daughter.
         Talara bit back a smile. He was right where she needed him.
         "I was just sayin' hi to the baby." Pacien turned hazel eyes up to his mother while he pointed to the girl his father held.
         Jerem glanced at the infant, smiling. "Wha-?" The smile vanished. The eyes that met his were brighter than his daughter's icy blue. Jet-black locks tucked behind tiny elven ears, replaced the unruly copper curls.
         "Jerem. Meet Rianne."