Belladonna

Sebastian's arms, Lynnea looked at Glorianna. "I think this girl doesn't know who she is. They called her a sor —" She looked at Yoshani.
    "Sorceress," he said.
    Lynnea nodded. "Sorceress. So the people in her landscape have already decided that she's a bad person instead of seeing who she really is."
    Like me, Glorianna thought, remembering the way the Landscapers and Bridges who had reached Sanctuary had looked at her.
    "If she's a Landscaper and her heart wish is to find her own kind ..." Lee said.
    "Ephemera opened an access point, but she didn't recognize it as a way to cross over to another landscape," Glorianna said, finishing the thought.
    "So this time, Ephemera took what the girl had discarded and brought it to us," Nadia said softly.
    "She can't find you in order to fulfill her heart wish," Lynnea said, "but you can find her."
    Can we? Glorianna wondered. Another Landscaper. Someone who didn't know that she, Glorianna, had been considered a rogue all these years. Someone who had access to another part of the world.

    A part now under attack by the Eater of the World.
    A different understanding of the world. A different base of knowledge. Maybe even a clue about how to fit the shattered pieces of their world back together. Assuming it would be safe someday to put those shattered pieces back together.
    "Mother, I'll need your kitchen shears," Glorianna said.
    While Nadia fetched the shears, Glorianna untied the blue ribbon and divided the tail of hair into two pieces. "Since Lee and I are the ones who would recognize this resonance, I think we should both have a piece of hair."
    "I don't feel anything now," Lee said. "Bringing it to the house seems to have fulfilled the need."
    She wasn't feeling anything from the hair either now, but Ephemera had brought it here, as the world had brought her the bowl-shaped stone and silver cuff bracelet.
    Nadia brought the shears. Glorianna cut the blue ribbon into four pieces.
    When the two tails of hair were secured at the top, Lynnea said, "We should braid it. It will stay neater that way if you or Lee have to carry it."
    Glorianna held up the tails and looked at Lynnea and Nadia, then rolled her eyes to indicate the four men who were doing the awkward-male foot shuffle.
    "Why don't the four of you go out and get some air," Nadia said. "I've got a stew simmering that will be ready soon. Lynnea and Glorianna can help me finish the meal, and then we'll all enjoy some pleasant company."
    There was a noticeable lack of movement. Finally Lee said, "You want us to leave the kitchen?"
    "Yes, dear," Nadia replied. "I want all of you to leave the kitchen."
    Sebastian hovered near Lynnea, whose teary moment had long passed.
    "You'll be all right?" he asked, brushing his lips against Lynnea's temple.
    "Don't be such a collie, Sebastian," Lee said as he walked out of the kitchen.
    Glorianna snickered. She couldn't help it. And it wasn't helping any that Lynnea was turning red with the effort not to laugh and Nadia, who was displaying an admirable amount of control, just stared at the hair instead of braiding it.
    "That's the second time he's said that to me," Sebastian said, giving the three women a sour look as he followed Jeb and Yoshani out of the kitchen.
    Glorianna glanced over her shoulder. "You don't think Lee will actually tell Sebastian what that means, do you?"
    "Of course not," Nadia said, swiftly braiding the two hanks of hair and tying them off with the other two pieces of ribbon.
    "Jeb will."
    She laughed. "He's fitting in just fine, isn't he?
    Nadia looked out the window and smiled. "Yes, he is."
    "So what does that mean?" Sebastian demanded as soon as the four men were standing around outside.
    Lee winced. He should have known better than to say it twice. "It's just a saying."
    "A saying usually has a meaning," Yoshani said.
    I guess being a holy man isn't the same as being helpful, Lee thought.
    Sebastian gave Lee a narrow-eyed glare, then swung around and looked at Jeb.
    Jeb scratched his head and shrugged. "Haven't heard the saying before, myself, but a collie is a herding dog. Protects a flock of sheep and keeps them from straying."
    Sebastian swung back around to face Lee. "You're comparing me to a dog?"
    "Protective," Lee said. "I just meant you're being a little too protective."
    "Don't go ragging on the boy, Lee," Jeb said, giving Sebastian's shoulder a friendly pat. "He's just practicing to be a good daddy is all."
    Lee watched all the color drain out of