Strings of Fate

3/4 Strings of Fate 205- Sweethearts and safeguarding My automatic reaction is to panic and to mentally scream NO ABSOLUTELY NOT! She is just a child. She is way too young to already find the person she is fated to be with, not to mention she has been through too much.

What if he is immature or goes through a jerk phase as he grows up? Or worse, what if he is a lot older than her? Four or five years might not mean much when she’s an adult, but at her age that is a LOT. And who could it be? Is he going to be good enough? What if | don’t approve of him, what if he’s a bad influence. I've seen people with red threads who hated each other and were terrible for each other when they were young and as they matured becmore right for one another. Is it too soon for them to meet? She’s just gone through an incredibly traumatic circumstance and she does NOT need sguy messing with her head right now. | take a deep breath and try to relax. | don’t know who it is, we might not even be meeting him right now. The thread just tellsthat he’s sort of nearby. That could mean anything! There are people who end up together who pass by each other for years before they actually meet. Or they meet but don’t interact much or becclose until much later. This is no reason to panic. I've seen tons of kids who have already met the person they're fated to. Mostly they barely notice each other. Sometimes they're childhood sweethearts, like the two Shifter kids | saw at Megan's engagement party. Normally this wouldn't botherat all. | think I'm just feeling overprotective towards Kiara right now, There’s no need to see problems that aren't there. I look up and realize that Aaron is watchingin the rearview mirror with a furrowed brow. | must look stressed. | give him. what is probably a poor excuse for a smile then pull out my phone to text Bellamy.

Ryann- BELLAMY | CAN SEE KIARA’S RED THREAD AND | AM FREAKING OUT!!! Bellamy- What the hell! But she’s a kid! Who does it lead to?!? Ryann- | don’t know. We're driving right now and | haven't had a chance to follow it. I'm not sure | even want to. She’s so young.

Bellamy- True. Maybe we should keep them separate. At least until we know who he is... She's been through so much already.

Ryann- Exactly! But... We can’t do that. | do my best not to interfere, remember? Plus we're focussing on the negatives. It COULD be a good thing.

Bellamy- How could it be good? 1/4 205- Sweethearts and safeguarding Ryann- Well... This is someone who will be a constant in her life, someone we can guarantee is not likely to be cruel or treat her really badly. Not to mention if they're fated they probably ARE He might be someone who can support her. Maybe fate wants them to meet young BECAUSE she’s been through so much and could use the extra care and attention. It could be good for her to have a friend to comfort her while she recovers and works her way through the trauma.

Bellamy- | suppose so....

Ryann- I'm not completely convinced either to be honest. But all we can do is wait and see how it goes. not our place to question this, even if we did get an early warning.

It's Bellamy- | get the feeling this is going to suck. Is it wrong forto hate this guy when | haven't even met him? Ryann- As her current guardian/ fill in parent, | am fairly sure it is part of your job description.

Bellamy- Good point. At least she’s not a teenager, I'd be forced to greet him with a shotgun, or at least growl at the guy a bit. It’s the rules.

Ryann-You bet. Note to self- Bellamy as a father is overprotective. Shocker that one ;) Bellamy- | have a reputation to maintain, and I'm not a father just yet but you just go ahead and letknow if or when you're interested in changing that. ;) Yep okay, I'm bright red. Although he did manage to distractfrom worrying about Kiara, I'm now imagining Bellamy with kids and all I can do is pull Kiara into a hug while | duck my face so that Aaron doesn’t notice. Not that he would actually SAY anything, but he definitely knows too much. | had better keep him close and hope | never piss him off. Aaron parks the car and I'm so caught up in my thoughts that | don’t even notice until Kiara tugs on my arm. gently and tilts her head curiously.

‘Sorry sweetheart, | was distracted. Shall we head in?” A glance at her showsthat her red thread is still visible, so whoever it joins her to is still nearby. We both climb out of the cart and | do my best to keep my anxiety off my face. I'm halfway through my fourth deep calming breath when | realize that her red thread is leading right up to Maggie's door. | find 2/4 205- Sweethearts and safeguarding myself starting to relax. | can only think of one person who might be in Maggie's hthat Kiara could be fated to, and if I'm right then we have absolutely nothing to worry about. Still, | don’t want to get too hopeful yet. Not until I'm sure. We reach the front door and it swings open before | can knock. Immediately I'm struck with the smell of sugar, cinnamon and the homey smell of baked goods. Mmmh | am so glad that | had a small breakfast. | have definitely been missing Maggie's treats. Maggie pullsinto a tight hug. She pats Aaron on the arm affectionately in greeting to him and for Kiara she leans down towards her with a big smile.

m50 “Hello dear, my nis Maggie. I'm so pleased to meet you. Why don’t you cinside. My grandson is here too, he’s about your age | think.” Maggie glances up atfor confirmation.

“She’s nine, so two years difference.” | smile. We all head inside, Kiara clinging to my hand and trailing in, half standing behind me.

“Ryann!” Logan jumps up from where he was sitting watching tv in the corner and runs at me, presumably to hug me. He stops short when he sees Kiara cringing back though. He's at smart kid, bright enough to know when someone is uncomfortable. He peers aroundcuriously at her. | can’t help the little smile on my face as the two of them meet and the red thread joining them solidifies. | can’t think of a better friend for Kiara. Or a better partner for her when she’s older. MUCH older. Maggie smiles happily as she busies herself getting something out of the oven. Aaron watchescuriously, his eyes darting between the two children. Yeah, he definitely knows.

He doesn’t need to be able to read their fates, he can read far too well.

“Ryann, is she the girl you were looking for? The one you were worried about?” He asks quietly. His expression is solemn. | give a small nod and a sad smile. Logan stiffens up for a moment and he frowns. | don’t know how much he knows, but he cover at spoint during the search, so I'm sure he heard quite a bit since we were using this place as a hbase. He would have put a lot together. Probably more than he should have to be honest. He stays deep in thought for a moment then straightens up and pushes his shoulders back. At this moment he looks far more mature than his eleven years would suggest. | wait to see what he’s planning to say next.