"All men to their battle stations! Ready? Aim. FIRE!" yelled a man in a gold washed suit of armor.
As soon as he said "FIRE", a million arrows took flight to the other side of the field. The enemy shrieked as arrow after arrow made their mark. But then there was another kind of noise behind me. I swiveled around to see, but it was too late. An arrow hit the man behind me. He died. Then the man on my other side, and the next, and the next few until I was almost the only one left. The enemy proclaimed victory. But they where wrong. I took out my sword and fought until both sides were evenly matched. We made a tight circle around our king. We fought, but we still weren't strong enough to win. They took our king and killed him. I saw the killing blade swing down towards him.
I woke with a start. What a scary dream! It has been haunting me for the past two months, since I became a page at the royal palace in Corus, Tortall's capital city. I would hopefully become a knight someday. I would see the queen and king on a regular basis. Anyhow, I don't know why, but every time I have this dream, I would see an animal die, I would feel sad for it and cry; and as I cried, the animal would come back to life. It was the strangest thing I had ever thought of happening in my life.
I got out of bed into the darkness of the morning before sunrise. I got dressed to ride because today was finally the day I would become a page. I would travel to Corus in four days, so it would be best to get a head start. I have to bring my family's servant with me. His name is Griffin.
I ran out of the house and into the field to greet my horse Missy. Missy is a little brown horse with black stockings and a white nose. I brushed and groomed her, and tacked her up to go. My brothers, Tom Ali of Yamani Islands and John Ali of Yamani Islands, have successfully become knights of the court. I am the second girl to take advantage of the law that anyone can fight, even girls. The first lady knight is Alanna of Trebond and Olau, she had to hide that she was a girl for eight whole years. Then Kelly of Mindelan is still a page at the palace. She's a third year page to be exact.
"YASMIN!" yelled a big muscular man from the doorway with gray eyes, a rock smooth face, black hair, and sunburned skin.
"Yes Griffin. I'm here. I've been up since five thirty this morning," I answered with my face just as smooth showing no emotion at all.
It is a Yamani tradition to make your face show no emotion. Another tradition is not talking at suppertime.
"Yasmin, you are too weak to wake up that early," said Griffin, looking up at the thin tall five foot two ten-year-old girl. Her hair was as shiny as copper and her eye color changed with her mood. At this moment, her eyes were gold, depicting her excitement.
Griffin shook his head. "The other knights are going to laugh at me because of this idea of yours," said Griffin in dismay. (All the people in this area of the world don't think girls are strong enough to become knights.)
All of a sudden, my eyes changed from gold to taunting purple.
"Griffin, you just showed me your feelings. This is against Yamani law. How long have you been Yamani?" I asked with a perfectly smooth face.
"Exactly a year in one week," answered Griffin.
"Well then, what was your name before you came here?" I asked as my eyes changed from purple to silver gray signaling mystery.
"At the time, my name was Gordon of Pirate's Swoop. But, ever since I was adopted by the Yamani tribes, my name has been Griffin of Yamani," he answered.
"The place where the Lioness lives?" I asked as my eyes changed from gray to longing navy blue.
The Lioness is Alanna; she's just called "The Lioness" because of her lion on her shield.
Without a warning Griffin said, "Let's go or we'll be late for the boat to Mindelan!" His face smooth again.
"Griffin? Is princess Yadmal coming with us to see her sister?" I asked
"Maybe," said Griffin.
Princess Yadmal is my best friend. Her sister Padma is thirteen and is going to marry Prince Roald of Conte. He is the oldest child of the Queen and King of Conte.
"Actually, princess Yadmal isn't coming yet," said Griffin.
"Is she going with her father next week?" I asked.
"Yes I believe so," said Griffin.
"OK, let's go then," I said.