Chapter One

A little different

"Eva, are you done killing that dummy yet?" I heard my friend call from across the practice courts.

"Ease up and come around." I whispered softly into my horse's ear. "What do you want Alan?" I yelled, pulling my visor off. As Sea Dream, my horse, pulled up next to the fence, Alan started talking at an unusually fast rate, even for him.

"You know how we're squires already and how knights are coming in for the conference? Well a few more just arrived and guess what! One of them wants me as his squire. Can you believe it? I'm going to get to train with a field knight. I'm not going to be stuck mucking stables or shuffling papers for the rest of my squiredom" He jumped down and offered Dream a sugar cube as I dismounted.

"I told you someone would take your sorry butt." I said, grinning from ear to ear. Truthfully I was still hurt that no one had chosen me, and now I was the last unclaimed squire. Alan and I had been joking the past few weeks about the two of us being stuck at the castle as all the other new squires got picked, but now I was going to have to face it alone. "Now may I return to my jousting, o-great squire?" I said mockingly as I started to remount.

"NO! That's the other part of the news. You have to come with me right now, someone wants to meet you!" He grabbed my arm and started dragging me away. Dream snorted, being her typical sarcastic self, and followed after Alan, abet against my will.

"Alan, I have to clean Dream up first." I said pulling my arm out of his grasp.

"She's right, Alan." I heard a voice from behind me say. For a moment I thought it was Alan's sister, Aly, but then I realized it couldn't be, for she was in the Copper Isles, at least, as far as Alan and I knew. I spun around quickly to face whoever had snuck up on me. A lady, only slightly taller than me, stood there. She had on the costume of a knight at court, with her sword hanging by her hip. Red hair, the same shade as Alan's, was loose around her shoulders. Behind her stood a giant of a man who was my height plus half at least.

"Never mind, I can introduce you here. Eva, this is my mom, Lady Alanna of Pirates Swoop and Olau. Mom, this is my friend, Evaline of Falcon's Ridge." My mouth hung open for a moment, then I slid haphazardly off my horse and bowed. I had known Alan was the Lioness's son, of course, but I had never expected to meet her. I mumbled some sort of a greeting and was answered by a slight laugh.

"You were right Alan, I never thought I would meet a squire shorter than myself, but she is." I blushed and kicked Alan in the leg as I stood.

"OUCH! Eva!" He jumped a foot away from me, causing another round of laughter from his mom, and surprisingly the man behind her as well. The knight must have noticed my inquisitive gaze, because he stuck out his hand in greeting.

"My name is Raoul. I have the unfortunate fortune of being friends with this here hard head," he tilted his head towards Alanna, "and knight master to your friend there." Alan was still rubbing his leg and glaring at me jokingly.

"P…pleasure to meet you both." I managed to say. Dream, wonderfully fine horse that she is, finally rescued me by sticking her head on top of mine. It must have been a funny sight, my horse stands 6 foot tall to my 4 and a bit, and she has to bend down to rest her muzzle on the top of my head. They laughed again.

"If you'll excuse me, Lady Alanna, Lord Raoul, I must see to my horse." I bolted up the hill to the stables in record time. I swear Dream was laughing at me the entire way.


"Eva, let me in." Alan knocked on the door to my room in his usual frenzied rush. Just to spite him I took extra time in opening the door.

"Look I'm sorry I sprang that on you, I was going to tell you on the way up, honest. I didn't expect them to follow me, and what with Raoul taking me as his squire and mom being here I wasn't thinking clearly. Plus you always think clearly, but then you were riding Dream and you were more concerned with taking care of her and…" I had learned a while back that the best way to deal with Alan was to let him get everything he needed to say out, then wait for him to run out of air.

"It's fine." I said, after his monologue had ended. I returned to the knife I had been sharpening. "Next time though, give me some warning before introducing me to people you know I'm in awe of okay." Soundlessly I slipped my blade back into its sheath and picked up another one to clean. At that moment there was another knock on the door. With a sigh I got up and opened it.

The Lioness was standing just outside, hand raised impatiently to knock again, like mother like son. My mouth dropped open for the second time that day.

"Hi Mom, come in please." A chipper voice said from behind me. I looked straight up at Alan and glared.

"If I may, Squire Evaline." Alanna said.

"Of course milady." I said, holding the door open as she entered. "Would you like some tea, or water, or..."

"That's not necessary." She said with a slight smile. "You," she pointed to Alan, "Scram, and no listening at the door, I don't care if your dad did teach you how, my magic will show me if you do."

With a sullen expression my friend retreated from the room and I was alone with one of my biggest hero's.

"May I?" Alanna asked, indicating to a chair.

"Of course, I'm sorry I didn't ask earlier. Are you sure I can't get you anything?" My words came out in a barely understandable rush. I felt like I was turning into Alan.

"Please just sit Squire Evaline, there is something I wanted to talk to you about." I sat very suddenly on my bed, nearly squishing my cat, who had hidden himself under the covers.

"Indigo, if you keep doing that one of these days you're going to regret it." I whispered as I pulled the black cat onto my lap.

"Well if you were more careful about where you sat it would not be a problem" He replied. His purple eyes glared up at me, but I could see he was just poking fun at my klutzy nature, again.

"He has a point there." Alanna said with a laugh. I stared at her wide eyed for a moment, trying to figure out what she was talking about, and then realized she must have heard my cat. Until now I had only ever known me and Alan to hear him; must be a genetic thing.

"What was it you wanted to talk about milady?" I asked softly, still holding onto poor Indigo.

"Well, Alan says that you've come up short as far as knight masters go, and to be honest none of the squires I've met up till today have met my… needs you could say. I spend more time then I would like on diplomatic missions, so I would need a squire who could keep their mouth shut in tense situations, yet hold her own in the snake pit that is our current political state. Beyond that I also need someone apt in combat and tactics, it wouldn't do for me to lead a suicide charge in battle because someone didn't review my plans correctly." She laughed, I was still squeezing my cat. "I also need someone who can put up with my family, and someone who could speak her mind without hesitation when times called for it. Frankly, I've only met one person to meet all these criteria. I was wondering if you would be willing to be my squire?"

I stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out if it was a joke or not. "Yes." I finally managed to stammer out, after Indigo dug his incredibly sharp claws into my leg.

"Great." The Lioness grinned again. When she smiled I could see the resemblance between her and her son, who I had never known to frown out of a fight. "Now, you need to pack, we ride out for Pirates Swoop tomorrow. I'll send my son back in here to help." She rose quickly and left the room. After a moments hesitation I grabbed my saddle bags and started packing.

"Ha!" Alan said as he walked into my room. "I told you someone would pick you." I sighed and straightened up from the bag I had been filling.

"Now you're going to have to put up with me for another 4 years." I said with mock soberness. My grin probably gave away my amusement though. In the next instant Alan caught me off guard, he hugged me.

"My best friend is going to practically be my sister," He said, squeezing my shoulders together, he was too tall to hug my waist.

"That is if you don't kill her first." I said with a cough. Immediately he stepped back, still grinning stupidly. I glared and resumed throwing my needed supplies into saddlebags. "If you're going to stand there help me pack." I started to turn back around, call him lazy or somthing, but was caught up into another hug. "Alan." I said, and was cut off.

"Please be careful." He said. His voice had lost all of its normal humor. "The road from here to Pirates Swoop is safe, but I'm not sure I'll see you again before we end up in some huge war. You know how it's been the last few years with Scanra. Please Eva. I've seen my mom come back from battle before, she wasn't always herself. Dad always broke that shell, but sometimes it took days. I don't want to lose you." He looked down into my eyes, absolutely serious.

"You don't need to worry about me," I responded with a forced smile. "I've got your mom to look after me, and Dream, and we wouldn't be marching off to battle alone, just our numbers when we get to fight will send Maggot running." I gave a slight laugh.

"That might not be enough." His voice was still distraught. "I would feel better if Raoul would let us ride with you two more often, but third company goes where it's needed. Maybe if I talked to mom…"

"Alan." I cut him off. "You can't ask your knight master to change their course so that you can see a childhood friend." I backed out of the hug he still held me in and turned to finish packing.

"But what if you're not just my childhood friend?" He asked.

I spun around yet again, to demand what he meant by that, but was cut off by something blocking my mouth. Then I realized what he was saying… and that maybe he was right. When he pulled back, hands still resting on my shoulders, I was silent. Unconsciously I knew my face was turning the most brilliant shade of scarlet.

"I don't want to lose you." He repeated. This time however, my idiot brain grasped the whole meaning.

"I don't want to lose you either." I said, softer even then normal. Some part of my brain was calling me seventeen kinds of idiot for the situation I was now in, but I didn't really seem to care. "Now I'll never get packed." I said, with mock exasperation. Alan grinned.

"Well my mom did task me with helping you." I grinned back at him and tossed what little I had left to pack at him.