Disclaimer for entire fic: I do not Tortall. it is the product of the excellent author Tamora Pierce.

Sabine of Macayhill looked pleadingly at her parents. Lady Amaline sighed. "Sabine, are you absolutely postive that you want to try for your shield?"

"Yes, Mother," said Sabine, blue-green eyes serious.

Lord Edric frowned. "Not that I don't think you could succeed, but I'm not certain this is a good idea, Sabine. You might be better off going to the convent and improving your riding and archery skills so you can one day be part of the Queen's royal ladies."

"Papa, I don't want to attend the convent," said Sabine passionately. "I want to become a page and try for my shield. Besides, the Macayhill line has produced lady knights before. Like the one I'm named after."

"True," said Lady Amaline, glancing at her husband. "But what if you get put on probation like that Keladry of Mindelan?"

"It doesn't matter," said Sabine stubbornly. "Besides, Keladry was allowed to return and everyone thought Lord Wyldon wasn't going to let her."

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't do her any harm to try it," said Lord Edric. "The Mindelan girl will be in the year above her, so Sabine won't be the only girl page. And she did prove herself, so I very much doubt Lord Wyldon will put Sabine on probation."

"All right," said Lady Amaline. "You may be a page for one year. If you do not change your mind, you may continue with your training, Sabine."

"Oh, thank you, Mother and Papa!" exclaimed Sabine. She threw her arms around her parents.

Three weeks later, the reply from the palace arrived. Sabine was allowed to train for her shield, and she was not put on probation. Preparations began for her journey to Corus and life as a page.

Finally the day came for Sabine to leave for Corus. Her parents traveled with her and they arrived the next day. A servant escorted the Macayhills to Lord Wyldon's office.

"Sabine of Macayhill?" asked Lord Wyldon, raising a brow. He looked appraisingly over Sabine's dark blonde hair, which was done in a sensible braid, blue-green eyes, and stature. "You don't look much like a fighter."

Sabine didn't say anything, though she would have liked to point out that the Lioness was a brillant fighter despite being on the short side. Lord Wyldon continued, "Well, you might change my mind about you, like Keladry of Mindelan did. Though I won't be surprised if you decide to give this foolishness up after a year. Anyway, I will not favor you. You will be expected to keep up with the boys and do your best. Also, if another page besides Keladry is in your rooms, or vice versa, the door must be kept open. Unless you have a chaperon, of course."

Lady Amaline drew herself up angrily and said sharply, "My daughter would never behave in an improper manner with a boy. And she is only ten. Hardly of an age to-"

"I realize that, Lady Amaline, but there are people who will think otherwise," said Lord Wyldon. "We do not want unpleasant rumors about your daughter spread around, do we?"

Lord Edric shot his wife a look, then turned to Lord Wyldon and said, "Of course not. My lady wife and I understand."

Lord Wyldon nodded. "Good. Sabine, do you have a servant?"

"Yes, my lord," said Sabine.

Lord Wyldon proceeded to tell her the duties a noble had regarding her servant, and added that the servant would not be considered a chaperon. Then he dismissed Sabine. The head of the pages' servants, Salma, led the Macayhills to Sabine's room. She handed Sabine two keys, and copies of them to Cadelina, Sabine's maid. She explained how to open the door and window shutters, explaining that it was necessary after what some of the other pages had done to Keladry's rooms. Then Salma left.

Sabine got settled in her room, then her parents bid her good-bye and left. "You can go get settled in your room now, Cady," said Sabine. "I don't need your help at the moment."

She sat down at the table and began reading a book until it was time for all the pages to gather out in the hall. Sabine spotted Keladry of Mindelan right away. Keladry had brown hair that was cut short, hazel eyes, and was a good three or four inches taller. She blinked upon seeing Sabine and turned to whisper to the boy next to her, who looked far too old to be a page, as he seemed to be about fifteen or sixteen. Prehaps he had started late.

Lord Wyldon demanded silence, then had each of the new pages to introduce themselves. Sabine didn't pay very close attention, and only noticed that Owen of Jesslaw was sponsored by Prince Roald and that Prosper of Tameran was sponsored by Merric of Hollyrose. She was last to be asked to introduce herself. "I am Sabine of Macayhill."

There were instantly whispers, and Sabine heard something about another girl. Keladry raised her hand when Lord Wyldon asked who would be Sabine's sponsor. Lord Wyldon frowned, but nodded curtly and said, "Fine. Mindelan, you will be Sabine of Macayhill's sponsor."

As the pages headed downstairs for supper, Keladry said, "Hello, Sabine. Call me Kel. Now, why did you want to become a knight? And how did you talk your parents into letting you?"

"I didn't want to attend the convent, and I prefer the fighting arts," said Sabine promptly. "I spoke with my parents, and reminded them that the Macayhill line had produced lady knights in the past. Like the one I was named after. They weren't so sure, but said I could try it for a year. If I hadn't changed my mind after a year, I could continue. And I have no intention of changing my mind."

Kel smiled. "You're stubborn, like me. I think you'll do well, Sabine. But not everyone is going to like you being here."

"I know," said Sabine, giving her a Look. "I'm not an idiot, Kel. There are going to be pages that will try to make my life miserable and drive me out. I shall simply ignore them when possible. Anyone that is so close-minded is not worthy of my notice, and I will not waste any emotion as powerful as hate on them."

Kel opened her mouth, then shut it again. She gazed at Sabine in surprise and as result stumbled on the stairs. She might have fallen if Sabine hadn't reached out a hand and steadied her. When she'd recovered from her shock, she warned Sabine about the stairs that actually went down for a long time before ending up in the cellars. "Don't let anyone try to tell you that's a shortcut to the Mess Hall, Sabine."

In the Mess Hall, Lord Wyldon said grace, then supper began. Kel introduced Sabine to her friends. There was Neal, who was sixteen, but was a second year page. The other second year pages who were Kel's friends were Merric of Hollyrose, Seaver of Tasride, and Esmond of Nicoline. Kel was also friends with Faleron of King's Reach, a third year page, and Cleon of Kennan and Prince Roald, fourth year pages.

They warned her about Joren of Stone Mountain and his cronies, though Joren was actually the worst. He didn't like the idea of lady knights, and delighted in taking hazing too far. Kel and her friends had put a stop to it last year, but it was possible that Joren would start it up again. Sabine thanked them for the warning and said, "I'll do my best to avoid him."

After dinner, King Jonathan came in and spoke to the pages. When he finished, everyone left. Sabine invited Kel into her room and the two girls talked. "I'm glad Lord Wyldon isn't putting you on probation," said Kel. "Though I suppose once I proved myself last year, the Stump decided that girls could make good knights." Seeing Sabine's questioning look, she explained, "The Stump is Neal's nickname for Lord Wyldon."

Sabine giggled and said, "It suits him." She then listened attentively as Kel told her about the classes and training and asked several questions. Finally Kel had to leave and Sabine went to bed.

Auhtor's Note: I don't have a copy of Page, so could someone tell me if Merric was Prosper's sponsor? And is it correct that Kel didn't hire Lalasa and rescue Jump until her second day back at the palace?