Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or places or names. Sadly, they all belong to Tamora Pierce, and I have stolen them from her for my story because I can't think of good characters on my own. (actually I can, it's just I really like using characters that you love and that the whole world knows about! :D)

Saturday, March 10, 453 H.E

Yesterday, Numair gave me another gift. This time, it was a journal. He said that he wants me to keep it because "When we get married, we might want to go and see what went through your head at age seventeen." I did it not because of that, but because, a lot has happened in my life, and I realized not too long ago that it's not just that big events that matter, but the little ones that make me who I am. I don't want to forget even the tiniest of things. Truth be told, I don't want to marry yet. I love him, but I think that I don't want to give up my freedom quite yet.

As soon as I got this, I went to the stables, and holed myself up among the bales of hay. Of course, I was sitting above Cloud's stable, but she was napping, so I didn't wake her up. I've basically caught up with all that happened today. It's still early, and the dew is still cool. I think that I'll go around and talk to the new horses. They'll need to know what's expected of them. One of the palace cats has holed herself up in here as well. She gave birth two weeks ago, and her kittens are getting very big. I want to talk to her to make sure she's getting all the food she needs for herself and all five of her young. However, I doubt that she'll need any help, because she is a rat catcher.

I just love the sweet fresh smell of hay, and how well it goes with the musty, horsey smell that's always in the stables. I think that this journal entry wil-

What made my hand jerk was the mother cat (she goes by the name of Baskin.) She was tired of being ignored, so she very politely tapped my arm. I was so absorbed in my writing that I didn't notice her, and so I jerked. She wanted advice on how to get one of her kittens to stop trying to jump out of the loft. I gave her a few tips, and I'm positive that she'll use them. Baskin is a good cat.

Anyway, I think that this journal is a good idea. I'm going to go and speak to Numair. I know that he's going to go and try to do some old spell that he found. I want to try to convince him not to because it is some powerful spell that can give the viewer sights of the past. Numair has wanted to find out about one of George's ancestors. He (George) wants to know more about her, because she's famous, but there are questions he wants answered about one of her mage friends.

I know that Numair is doing it for a friend, but it seems too dangerous. The spell he found came from an old book that is falling apart. There are some parts of the instructions that he has difficulty reading. There is one word he has to say that is a large part of the spell. It's hard to read, and Numair has done a tiny bit of guessing. I'm worried that he might get the word wrong. Maybe I can convince him not to do it until he's more certain about it as a whole.

-Daine