EM: A Circle story from my heart. Since I am fed up with waiting for Pierce to finish Briar and Tris' books, I am taking some things into my own hands. Hopefully you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: Everything Circle belongs to Tamora Pierce, a most beautiful story-teller.

The Circle Reforged: The Ties that Bind

Chapter 1: Part 1

The 14th day of Storm Moon, 1044 K.F.
Streets of Summersea, Emelan

"Tell me again why you're doing this?" She asked the bobbing head in front of her as she quickly dodged a donkey pulled cart about to release its dung. "My house is perfectly-" Where she backed up into a woman with a squalling baby on her back and a basket propped on one hip.

"Watch where you're goin!" She apologized, bowed and waited for the woman to move on.

"Kaq," she muttered. It was going to be one of those days again in Summersea. One of those days where she wished she didn't live in such a bustling city full of landsmen, one where she wished she was back on a ship with the salty sea breeze blowing through her braids and the sea all around her. She pulled her coat tighter around her, the cold air off the harbor blowing strongly. She would even take the quiet little house called Discipline with its thatched roof over her own forge sometimes.

"That is why I'm doing this," said her companion. She smiled in response. Her companion, with her cornflower blue eyes, maneuvered through the street like she was made for it. Of course, Lady Sandrilene fa Toren, in all her nobleness was as much a noble as she was, even if her blood deemed her one.

"Besides Daja, when you see this place you'll understand what I mean." Daja smiled at her. She wasn't sure she would, but she did understand the look in her saati's eyes all too well. Sandry only had that look when she had big plans that required plenty of time, money and large sums of clothing. Perhaps even some of her nobleness.

"We shall see," she responded as she walked around what looked like a merchant haggling for lower prices that vaguely reminded her of her other sister, her eyes softening.

I miss her too. How long do you think she'll be gone this time?

Who knows, she said. But she's a fast learner so perhaps it'll be quicker than one of her tempers.

Sandry turned her head and smiled.

One can only hope.

½ mile West of Summersea
Along the cliff of the Pebbled Sea

"Shurri defend me," Daja whispered. She gripped the staff she held before her in the saddle as she saw Sandry swing down from her mount and approach what Daja suspected was Sandry's surprise. She was afraid to get down from her horse. Surely Sandry didn't mean…

Daja looked around at the guards surrounding her and their guarded smiles met her eyes. Sandry did mean this.

Sandry propped her hands on her hips and smiled, turning to look back at Daja.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Daja gripped her Trader staff even tighter as her horse shifted nervously. Daja dismounted to save her horse some uneasiness. She walked slowly up to Sandry, standing next to her and leaned heavily against her staff.

"What do you think?" Daja's eyes widened farther than she had intended to let them at her sister's obliviousness to Daja's growing concern. She watched as Sandry turned her body towards her, the silence from Daja stretching painfully.

"Daja?" When she felt Sandry's presence at the edge of their bond, she quickly struck down on it like the hammer of Hakkoi, shutting Sandry out of her thoughts. She watched as the wrinkle she was quickly beginning to recognize as Sandry's puzzled but irritated one form between her brows.

"Why did you shut me out?" Daja reigned in her emotions and put on her best Trader face, the one she used when her family had told her to deal with lugsha, polite and smiling.

Sandry's wrinkle deepened further. "It's…going to be lovely Sandry. Once it's been fixed up a bit." A bit was an understatement, Daja thought. Where was Tris when you needed her? Daja smiled, using all her teeth and turned to the daunting structure before her.

Sandry seemed to move past Daja's initial reaction and Daja barely heard her as she began to talk numbers and how her Uncle thought it a wonderful idea to have a place of her own.

What Daja couldn't seem to grasp was how Sandry had managed to find the old thing nor was she going to thank whoever had helped her.

The daunting structure was a three story building that stood at the corner of what would be a landsmen's mess. There was another empty building some yards away down what she suspected to be the remains of a stone wall that must have stood at least one story tall before it had been reduced to rubble. It now only stood about a foot from the ground. Inside that remaining wall was a tangling mess of jungle that would give even Rosethorn a run for her money. Daja also noticed a small shed in the farthest corner of the jungle that had withstood whatever had taken the rest of the house down. She shook her head in amazement. Leave it to Sandry to find something that needed all this work.

She looked to her left and the Pebbled Sea stretched out before her, the breeze carrying smells she missed from her seafaring days. She noticed that the Duke's Citadel was a little more than a ¼ mile to the south, just down the road.

Perhaps in its youth this place had been beautiful but now it spoke of long days in repair and money.

Daja sat down and crossed her legs, placing the staff across her knees, thinking hard. She would have to think hard because Sandry had that look on her face. If Sandry had money and time, it would be a beautiful home. She had just been complaining that morning that living in the capital was often irritating. And it wasn't so far from the Citadel or Summersea that they couldn't pack up a cart in the morning and be in the city by midmorning or early afternoon which meant that Winding Circle wasn't that much farther away either.

"Saati, how is it that you plan on…fixing this?" Daja looked up into Sandry's eyes. When Sandry sat down next to her, she knew it would be useless to tell her no. Daja was just going to have to find a way to break this to her other foster-siblings.

"Uncle offered me extra money when I showed him this place, which he thinks is positively perfect for us by the way." Daja heard the cheek in her sister's voice but ignored it. If Sandry had seen Daja's initial reaction to her…new project then she didn't need to hide all the problems it could present.

"And did you accept?" Daja thought she knew her sister well enough to know that answer though.

Sandry lifted her nose at her, a gesture Daja hadn't seen in some time. She ducked her head and smiled. "Of course not," her sister replied.

"Although Uncle is the one who pushed me to find a new project. He seems to think I have too much time to worry about him at home." Daja felt, rather than saw Sandry's lip tremble at this. Though her Uncle's heart attack had been five years ago, it was still a constant source of her worries, especially when certain sons began to make it their priorities to be involved. "I think it may have to do with Yazmín to be honest. It's still a bit early to tell." Daja snorted, Sandry smiled knowingly. Though Daja was sure Sandry kept herself out of her Uncle's love life, she couldn't imagine having your great-niece present through that no matter how helpful she might be.

"What was your plan then?" Sandry's head perked up and a smile began to form again.

"You aren't mad then? That I want to buy a house where we all can live together, away from that-that beehive of busy bodies that I love but sometimes wish to clobber silly? Even though you already have a home for all of us already?" Sandry's eyes were large against her face and both her hands cradled one of Daja's own.

Just like Sandry to be worried about that, Daja thought and laughed.

"Sandry, saati," said Daja and she gripped one of her hands back. "There's nothing that says having two homes is a bad thing." Sandry's eyes filled with tears and then she too laughed.

"Oh I'm being silly aren't I?" Daja chuckled as she pulled out her handkerchief and passed it to Sandry. She wiped her face and blew her nose lightly.

"I had just thought that since you had gone to the trouble of buying us a home first…" She paused and waited.

"Sandry, it doesn't mean you can't buy your own home." Sandry nodded. "And you heard me this morning. I just may have to split my time between the two." Sandry smiled at Daja.

"And perhaps I can turn my house into a shop. The forge already is one in a way. And I'm sure you were thinking of Briar when you saw that garden and I have nothing of the sort at my house," she added. Sandry nodded vigorously.

"I do think he needs a different distraction. Something other than the female kind," Sandry muttered. Daja chuckled.

And this home being outside of the city has nothing to do with that?

Of course not, she replied innocently, her back straightening. Daja smirked.

It was never simple with her. For someone so small, she was always thinking big.

"You always have to think big, don't you saati." Sandry turned her face up into the sun and smiled.

"Daja, if I didn't think big, there never would have been a circle." She turned to her friend, the light behind her eyes spreading to Daja's, four sets of palms burning with heat.

"There never would have been us."

Reviews are a sign of your kindness.

A/N: I have been dying to do something for the Circle for a long time now and I believe I finally have it. Tamora Pierce is my favorite author, her Circle books my favorite and Briar and Tris are my favorite characters. There will be a couple in this story, it just isn't established here. Briar and Tris will be the main focus though. This story will have most all of the characters in it though. There will be an OC as well, since OC's are my specialty. But that's not for a while.

Also, for those who do not know, Storm Moon is the month of February. K.F. is after the fall of the Kurchal Empire.

I'm not a very fast updater either, for those of you not acquainted with my other works. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you in the future! Please review before you leave!