Opening note: This story, although influenced by places, themes, people and events from the books in the Immortal series, will be a little different (as such options are the joys of fanfiction). As you will notice very soon I have added a fictional character of my own, Zaillen... I'm sure that those familiar with the books will probably know that when reading the story.

Another little warning, Daine will not be playing a large roll in this story. It is not because I do not like her or anything (she is actually one of my favorite fictional people ever), but because I just had this idea and wanted to do something a little outside the norm with one of my original characters and Numair.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy my story!

Disclaimer: The only Character I can claim to own in Zaillen Hillenguard... the rest belong to Tamora Pierce!

Ch 1: Outcast

Zaillen Hillenguard lounged in the overstuffed chair in her small study room. She held a small spell book in her hands, and sighed unhappily as she was bord with it as soon as she laid her eyes on the pages. This book contained simple spells that she had mastered before she even was sent to the university. That had been over ten years ago. Unfortunately, for Zaillen, that was the only spell book her parents allowed in the castle.

She tossed the book aside and sighed again. She missed living at the university, where he had access to an almost unlimited amount of books and was allowed to read them. Now that she had returned home, she found that she was in a state of depression most of the time. She had only arrived three months ago, but it seemed like years.

The large door to her study creaked at the door opened. A young, blond haired maid stuck her head in. "Ma-master Zaillen," her small voice stuttered. "I-I'm really s-sorry to disturb you, b-b-but your mother is requesting your p-per-persence." She stammered.

"Thank you, Jill. Tell her I will be along shortly." She smiled at the maid, to try to put the young women at ease. It didn't work, and the maid hurried away, wiping the nervous sweat off of her forehead. Zaillen took notice of this, and let out another unhappy sigh.

This encounter was nothing foreign to Zaillen. Ever sense it had been discover that she had the Gift, and a strong one at that, she had become the outcast of her parents fief, Bells Port. The servants of the castle, the villagers, the other children in town even her older brother all kept their distance from her. Ever her own parents tried to avoid her as much as they could when she was a child.

She could remember how happy every one, including herself, when she was finally 10-years-old and she was sent to the convent to begin her training as a mage. Then after two years at the convent she was sent to the University at the City of the Gods. Those had been the happiest years of her life. For the first time Zaillen had not just been accepted, but liked by her teachers and fellow students. Instead of being shunned for her Gift, she was encouraged to use it and to become stronger.

Those happy days all came to a screeching halt as soon as she arrived back in Bells Port. Now she was even more of an outcast and feared. Her parents fights about what side of the family she had gotten this 'curse' grew worse. Zaillen figured out that it was probably from her fathers side, because the Hillenguard family were distant relatives of the royal Conte family. She had done research one day when she was bord and discover that the last Gifted person in her blood line was where the Hillenguard line split from the Conte. She decided to keep this knowledge to herself, because she knew that if her parents figured that out, her mother would probably up and leave.

As Zaillen walked towards her mother's chambers she noticed that the servants all hurried out of her way. Others would whisper to one another, eyeing the mage suspiciously. Zaillen wondered if maybe the people of the fief were thinking about regressing to the old ways when Gifted people were burned at the stake. Despite the sick feeling this gave her, she held her head up proudly. She was not going to let them know that they bothered her.