Premise: How things could have developed if only one small thing had changed. Lorlen does not find out about Akkarin's use of black magic during the truth read, leaving their friendship unblemished for now and Sonea without knowledge of what she has seen as well as no known reason to avoid further truth readings.

Chapter 1: The Hearing

"From the accounts given today, we can see clearly that Lord Fergun was the first to recognise Sonea's abilities," Lord Osen said. "Does anybody contest this conclusion?"

"I do."

The voice was deep and strangely familiar, and it echoed from somewhere behind her. Scraping and the rustle of robes filled the hall as all shifted in their seats. Sonea turned around and saw that one of the huge doors was standing slightly open. Two figures were striding down the aisle toward her.

As she recognised the shorter one she gave a cry of joy.

"Cery!"

She took a step forward, then froze as she saw Cery's companion. Whispered questions drifted to her ears from either side. As the black-robed magician neared, he gave her an appraising look. Disturbed by his gaze, Sonea turned her attention to Cery.

Though pale and dirty, Cery was grinning happily. "He found me and let me out," he told her. "Everything's going to be fine."

Sonea looked questioningly at the black-robed magician. His lips curled into a half-smile, but he said nothing. Moving past her, he gave Osen a nod then started up the stairs between the Higher Magicians. No-one protested as he settled into the seat above the Administrator.

"For what reason do you contend this conclusion, High Lord?" Osen asked.

The room seemed to tilt beneath her. She stared at the black-robed magician. This man was no assassin. He was the Guild's leader.

"Evidence of deception," the High Lord replied. "The girl has been forced to lie."

Sonea heard a strangled sound to her right. Turning, she saw that Fergun's face was white. She felt a flare of triumph and anger and, forgetting the black-robed magician, jabbed her finger at Fergun.

"He made me lie!" she accused. "He said he would kill Cery if I didn't do what he said."

From all around came gasps and hisses of surprise. Sonea felt Cery grip her arm tightly. She turned to look at Rothen, and as he met her eyes she knew he understood everything.

"An accusation has been made," Lady Vinara observed.

The hall quietened. Rothen opened his mouth to speak, then frowned and shook his head.

"Sonea. Do you know the law regarding accusations?" Lord Osen asked.

Sonea drew in a sharp breath as she remembered. "Yes," she replied, her voice shaking. "A truth read?"

Osen nodded, then turned to face the Higher Magicians. "Who will perform the truth read?"

Silence followed. The Higher Magicians exchanged glances, then looked up at Lorlen. The Administrator nodded and rose from his chair.

"I will perform the truth read."

As he descended to the floor, Cery pulled on her arm. "What's he going to do?" he whispered.

"He's going to read my mind," she told him.

"Oh," he said, relaxing. "That's all."

Amused, she turned to regard him. "It's not as easy as you'd think, Cery."

He shrugged. "It seemed easy enough."

"Sonea"

She looked up to see that Lorlen had reached her side.

"See Rothen over there, Cery?" She pointed to Rothen. "He's a good man. Go stand beside him."

Cery nodded, then squeezed her arm and moved away. As he reached Rothen's side, she turned to face Lorlen. The Administrator's face was sober.

"You have experienced a sharing of minds when learning Control," he said. "This will be a little different. I will be wanting to see your memories. It will take a great deal of your concentration to separate what you want to show me from anything else that you think of. To help you, I will prompt you with questions. Are you ready?"

She nodded.

"Close your eyes."

Obeying, she felt his hands touch the sides of her head.

—Show me the room that is your mind.

Drawing up the wooden walls and doors, she sent Lorlen an image of the rom. She sensed a fleeting amusement.

—Such a humble abode. Now open the doors.

Turning to face the double doors, she willed them open. Instead of houses and a street, darkness stretched beyond. A blue-robed figure stood within it.

—Hello, Sonea.

The image of Lorlen smiled. He strode across the darkness and stopped at the doors. Extending a hand, he nodded to her.

—Bring me in.

She reached out and took his hand. At her touch, the room seemed to slide under his feet.

—Don't be afraid or concerned, he told her. I will look at your memories, then I will be gone. He moved over to a wall. Show me Fergun.

Focusing on the wall, she created a painting. Within it she placed an image of Fergun's face.

—Good. Now show me what he did to make you lie for him.

It took no force of her will to animate the image of Fergun. The painting swelled to fill the wall and changed to show Rothen's guest room. Fergun strode towards them and placed Cery's knife on the table in front of her.

I have the owner of this knife locked in a dark little room that nobody here knows of…

The scene blurred and then Fergun was crouching in front of them, larger than reality.

Do what I tell you, and I will release your friend. Give me any trouble, and I will leave him there forever… When you tell them this, the Higher Magicians will have no choice but to grant me your guardianship. You'll enter the Guild, but I assure you, it won't be for long. Once you have performed a little task for me, you'll be sent back where you belong.

You'll get what you want and so will I. You have nothing to lose from helping me, but… he picked up the dagger and ran a finger along the blade, you'll lose that little friend of yours if you don't.

She felt a wave of anger from the presence at her side. Distracted, she glanced at Lorlen, and the painting faded into the wall. Turning back, she willed it to appear again.

Drawing on her memory, she filled the painting with an image of Cery, dirty and thin, and the room he had been imprisoned in. Fergun stood on one side, looking smug. The smell of stale food and human waste flowed from the painting into the room.

At this scene the Lorlen image shook his head. He turned to face her.

—This is outrageous! It is fortunate, indeed, that the High Lord found your friend today.

The painting changed again, now displaying the black-robed magician, a grim, brooding expression on his face. Fear welled over Sonea and threatened to swallow her.

—A bit intimidating, is he not? Don't worry, Sonea, he isn't as foul as he might seem.

Feelings of amusement emitted from the presence beside her. Lorlen obviously didn't think there was anything to fear from the High Lord, but Sonea wasn't terribly convinced.

—I think I have seen everything I needed now. Now I am going to release you and confirm Fergun's crime. Thank you, Sonea.

Feeling his hands lift from her temples, she opened her eyes. Lorlen regarded her solemnly, his eyes bright, then his expression smoothed and he turned to face the Higher Magicians.

"She speaks the truth," he said.

A shocked silence followed Lorlen's words, then the room began to buzz with exclamations and questions. Lorlen lifted a hand and the room fell silent again.

"Lord Fergun imprisoned this young man," Lorlen gestured toward Cery, "after he had told me he was going to escort him to the gates. He locked him in a room underneath the Guild, then told Sonea that he was going to kill her friend if she did not lie at this Hearing to confirm his story. Having won his claim, he intended to force her to break one of our rules, so that she would be publicly expelled."

"Why?" Lady Vinara hissed.

"From what Sonea understands," Lorlen answered. "To dissuade us from offering a place in the Guild to other commoners."

"She wanted to leave anyway."

All eyes turned toward Fergun. He stared defiantly at the Higher Magicians.

"I'll admit I got a little carried away," he said, "but I only wanted to save the Guild from itself. You would have us welcome thieves and beggars into the Guild, without asking whether we, or the Houses, or even the King we serve, wishes it. It may seem a small thing to let a beggar girl into the Guild, but what will it lead to?" His voice rose. "Will we let more of them in? Will we become a Guild of Thieves?"

A murmur followed and, looking at the magicians on either side, Sonea saw several heads shaking.

Fergun looked at her and smiled. "She wanted to have her powers blocked so that she could return home. Ask Lord Rothen. He will not deny it. Ask Administrator Lorlen. I asked her to do nothing she did not already want."

Sonea clenched her fists. "Nothing I didn't already want?" she spat. "I did not want to make the Novice Vow and then break it. I did not want to lie. You imprisoned my friend. You threatened to kill him. You are…" she stopped, suddenly aware that all eyes were watching her. Taking a deep breath, she faced the Higher Magicians. "When I first came here it took a long time before I saw that you were not…" she paused, not liking the image she saw of herself, standing in the Guildhall calling the magicians names. Instead she turned to point at Fergun. "But he is everything I had been taught to believe all magicians are."

Silence followed her words. Lorlen regarded her solemnly, then slowly nodded. He turned to face Fergun.

"You have committed numerous crimes, Lord Fergun," he said. "Some of them of the most serious nature. I need not ask you to explain yourself; you have done so quite well enough already. A Hearing to discuss your actions and decide your punishment will be held in three days. In the meantime, I suggest that you co-operate with our investigations."

He strode past Osen and climbed the stairs between the Higher Magicians. The High Lord watched him, a half smile curling his lips. The Administrator met it with a smile of his own.

"The issue we have gathered to discuss is now irrelevant," Lorlen announced. "I hereby grant guardianship of Sonea to Lord Rothen, and declare this Hearing ended."

The hall filled with voices and the thunder of booted feet as the magicians rose from their seats. Sonea closed her eyes and sighed. It's over!

"You should have told me, Sonea."

Opening her eyes, she found Rothen standing in front of her, Cery at his side. She looked down.

"I'm sorry."

To her surprise Rothen gave her a quick hug. "Don't apologise," he told her. "You had a friend to protect." He turned to regard Cery. "I apologise on behalf of the Guild for your treatment."

Cery smiled and waved a hand dismissively. "Get me my stuff back, and I'll forget about it."

Rothen frowned. "What are you missing?"

"Two daggers, a few knives and my tools."

"Tools?" Rothen echoed.

"Picks."

Rothen lifted an eyebrow at Sonea. "He's not joking, is he?"

She shook her head.

"I'll see what I can do." Rothen sighed, then looked over Sonea's shoulder. "Ah! Here's a man more familiar with the ways of Thieves – Lord Dannyl."

Feeling a pat on her shoulder, Sonea turned to find the tall magician grinning down at her.

"Well done!" he told her. "You have done me, and the rest of the Guild, a great service."

Rothen smiled crookedly. "Feeling particularly cheerful, Dannyl?"

Dannyl gave his friend a haughty look. "Who was right about Fergun, then?"

Sighing, Rothen nodded. "You were."

"Now do you understand why I dislike him so much?" Seeing Cery, Dannyl's expression became thoughtful. "I think the Thieves are looking for you. They sent me a message asking if I knew where a companion of Sonea's had disappeared to. They sounded quite concerned."

Cery looked up at the tall magician appraisingly. "Who sent the message?"

"A man named Gorin."

Sonea frowned. "So Gorin was the one who told the Guild where to find me, not Faren."

Cery turned to stare at her. "They betrayed you?"

She shrugged. "They had no choice. It was a good thing they did, actually."

"That's not the point." A gleam had entered Cery's eyes. Guessing what he was thinking, Sonea smiled.

I do love him, she thought suddenly. But right now it's a friend's love. Perhaps, if they had time together, without all the distractions they'd had for the last months, it would grow into something more. But that wasn't going to happen. Not now that she was joining the Guild and he was returning, most likely, to the Thieves. Knowing this, she felt a small pang of regret, but pushed it away.

Glancing around the hall, she was surprised to see that it was nearly empty. Fergun still stood nearby, among a group of magicians. As she looked toward him he caught her eye and sneered.

"Look at them," he said. "One consorts with beggars, the other with Thieves." His companions laughed.

"Shouldn't he be locked up or something?" she mused aloud.

Rothen, Dannyl and Cery turned to regard the magician.

"No," Rothen replied. "He'll be watched, but he knows the there's a chance he won't be expelled if he appears repentant. Most likely he'll be given a duty to perform that nobody wants, probably one that will involve working in some remote place for several years."

Fergun scowled, then turned on his heel and strode toward the door, his companions following. Dannyl's smile widened, but Rothen shook his head sadly. Cery shrugged and turned to regard her.

"What about you?" he asked.

"Sonea is free to go, Rothen replied. "She'll have to stay another day or two, however. By law she must have her powers blocked before she returns to the slums."

Cery looked at her, his brows knitting. "Blocked? They're going to block your magic?"

Sonea shook her head. "No."

Rothen frowned, then looked at her closely. "No?"

"Of course not. It would make it a bit difficult to teach me, wouldn't it?"

He blinked. "When did you decide to stay?"

"Only recently." She smiled. "Fergun made me realise what I was giving up, and someone told me just how stupid I would have to be to go home and give it all up." She took Cery's hand and squeezed it.

As they were clearing out the Guildhall, Lorlen turned to Akkarin and smiled. "You would not believe how much you have intimidated the poor girl."

The corners of the High Lord's mouth twisted up in a curious half smile. "So why don't you tell me? Over a glass of wine perhaps?"