Free The Gathering by S L Dearing Page A

herself.   Alia lifted her arms and turned to her daughter.
    "There you go.   You've got me all to yourself."
    Sara smiled.   Alia sat down on the bench next to Sara and they looked out the window.
    "So tell me, Daughter, have you any favorites among the Squad for the evening festivities?"
    Sara rolled her eyes.
    "No, Mother."
The “Sara Squad”, as Chris had dubbed it, was a group of local boys ranging in age from fifteen to nineteen who followed Sara around, the majority of the time.   It wasn't an official group, they all just happened to gather, trying to goad one another into asking Sara out.   Although to most young girls it would be slightly frightening, Sara's brothers, Chris and Tanner, had made sure the Squad knew the rules.   On occasion, a member of the Squad would work up the courage to ask Sara on a date.   She usually declined, but on the rare occasion where she did accept, the date started very early, ended very early and there was never a second date.  
The boys in the Squad would come and go.   The only constant for Sara was Elian Merganser.   He asked her to dance at every Gathering and would drone on and on about how his colony's conversions were going, which Sara had no interest in, but since he was a dignitary's son and she was single, she always felt obligated to dance with him.   Sara looked at her mother.
    "Is the jackass Stephan Merganser?"
    "How'd you know?"
    Sara smiled and looked at her mother.
    "The real reason I’m waiting to go out later…Jackass Junior."
    Alia laughed.  
    "Poor Albion.   At least when his mom was alive he had her, now he's stuck with them."
    Sara laughed with Alia.   Sara was just glad to have her mother to herself for a moment.   As they sat talking and laughing, Sara realized sometimes she really missed the quiet days when she had both her mom and dad.
    Alia saw the sadness on her daughter's face.
    "What's the matter, Baby?"
    Sara smiled and let a tear run down her cheek.
    "I miss them."
    Alia looked at her girl and wiped the tear away.   Alia wrapped her arms around Sara and rocked her gently.
    "Me, too, Baby.   Me, too."
    Alia rested her head on top of Sara's and they sat quietly, rocking back and forth, allowing themselves a moment of sadness.   After all, the Gathering was a time to remember.

 
     
     
     
     
    16
     
Kaley Stark had finished changing out of her ceremonial dress and was sitting in the main turret of the east side of the castle and looking out over the festivities when she saw him- Ian Turner.   He looked exactly as she remembered, but somehow he seemed older and more like a man.   She marveled at how much they differed in appearance.  
Kaley looked like her grandmother, with dark hair, long and straight and green eyes with flecks of gold.   Her body was thin and willowy, so much so that her father had taken to calling her the lady ghost, because he said she floated when she walked.   Ian was tall and strapping.   His blond hair was long all around and reached to just above his shoulders.   His eyes were as blue as the sky and he had a dimple on his left cheek just below his mouth.
    Kaley felt her face flush and she groaned at her behavior.   She wasn't like other girls.   She had things to think about besides boys.
In spite of herself, she looked out the window again.   He was standing in the sun, helping his father set up a tent for one of their people.   The sun was bearing down and he had leaned back, the wetness of his hair sticking to his face and she could see the sweat glisten around his forehead.  
    She watched as Chris and Tanner walked over to greet Ian.   They spoke for a few minutes and she watched as they nodded and shook hands.   Her brothers then walked off towards the castle, leaving Ian to go back to work.
    He picked up a hammer and walked over to where a tent stake had been placed loosely in the ground.   He then looked back at the sun and laid the hammer down.   He grabbed the back of his shirt