A/N: Wow! I got a ton of reviews! And every single one of you wanted to know who the girl was! Anyhow glad you all liked it so much! I have lots of plans for this story, and I hope you all will keep reading and reviewing! Oh and just to answer a few reviews for everyone…I didn't mention her name not because she's someone we know…but because I didn't want you to know just yet…although one of you (and I'm not sure how) guessed exactly who my mysterious character was! Creepy huh? But don't worry you'll find out in this chapter I promise…

Disclaimer: Ok ok, I'll admit it, I don't own Tortall, Yamani Islands, or any of the places in them, or any of Tammy's characters either…but I do own my characters, including the Shang Eagle, and others to come, as well as the wonderful plot!

Review Answers at the bottom!

When the Shang Eagle reached the Palace gates, it took only a moment to convince the guards of who she was and what her purpose was. The two stocky men hurried to open one of the large iron gates. As soon as the girl and her horse were through, the gate clanged shut. The sixteen year old nodded her thanks to the working men, and rode up the hill to the stables at the far side of the Palace. The guards at the gate had told her to ask for Stefan once she got there.

At the door to the stables, she hopped off of Destiny's broad back, and led her inside. She looked around for someone she could talk to, and found a small boy, grooming a large appaloosa. He must be a page. She thought. "You there!" she called out. The boy jumped and turned around. "I was wondering if you could tell me where to find Stefan, the hostler." she said kindly. The boy said nothing, but pointed upwards. Then he picked up a brush and went back to doing his work.

"I'm sorry, but he's where?" she asked, puzzled.

He looked her in the eye, pointed upwards again and said, "Up. There." Then he turned his back on her and finished grooming his mount.

Still utterly confused, the Shang decided to ask someone else. She found another page walking by, and stopped him to ask where Stefan was. He too, pointed up and then kept walking. Next she found a girl page, locking her mares' stall door.

"Excuse me," she said politely. The small girl turned to face her.

"Yes?" she asked in a small voice.

The teen smiled. "I was just wondering if you could possibly tell me where to find Stefan."

The girl pointed and said, "He's up there."

"Augh! You're the third person who's said that!" yelled the Shang angrily.

"I'm sorry milady," the girl said quietly. "But that's where he is."

The young woman calmed down. "Can you show me please? I'm very confused…"

The page nodded and walked over to a nearby ladder. "He stays up there. He doesn't like people all that much…he prefers the horses." She tapped the rungs of the ladder, and said, "Stefan! There's someone to see you!" The Shang heard grumbling from up in the loft, and then saw a man begin to descend the wooden ladder.

The page turned to the older girl and said, "There you go, now if you don't mind I'll be going now." she turned and was about to run off when The Shang held out a hand and said, "Thank you, you were most helpful." She opened her hand, gave the girl a silver coin. The page took the money greedily and ran off.

By the time the girl was out of sight, the man had reached the ground and was studying the teenager before him. He nodded once, as if in approval, and extended a hand.

"I'm Stefan," he said in a husky, yet soft voice. "And who might ye be?"

The Shang quickly looked the man over. He had salt and pepper hair, and a fair complexion. His skin was lightly browned from the sun, but no where near as dark as the Bazhir she had encountered. He had deep brown eyes that were full of emotion and mystery. He looked to be about in his late-forties or early-fifties. She smiled and grasped his outstretched palm.

"I'm the Shang Eagle, and this is my horse Destiny." she replied.

Stefan had been staring at the mare intently, and when her name was mentioned, he reached out with a calloused hand to pat her soft nose. He nodded to the girl and cooed to the large mare. She was about seventeen and a half hands tall, he guessed, and was pure white, with a yellowish colored mane and tail. Her nose was a light pink color, and her eyes were dark brown.

The teen watched, fascinated, as the hostler looked over every inch or her mare. He ran his talented hands up and down her muscled legs. He looked at each of her hooves in turn, checked her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He ran his fingers along her tall back, and danced them along her withers, making her prance. He turned to the Shang and said, "Ye have a beautiful horse here."

She smiled. "Well thank you, that's a lovely compliment."

Stefan studied the teens face for a moment and then asked, "What did ye say yer name was again?"

"I didn't," she replied simply. She contemplated telling this man who she was and what her name was, but decided against it.

Stefan nodded. "Now what was it that ye needed me help for?"

The Shang told him that she would be staying at the Palace for a while, and was told to bring Destiny to him.

Stefan beckoned her to follow him, and led her to another row of stalls. "This is where the visitors' stalls are," he said pointedly. He found an empty one that had fresh bedding in it. "Ye'll take this one." he said, and then stood back to let the mare inspect her knew home. After they got the horse settled in, Stefan led the way to a feed room, and the tack room. The teen left her saddle and bridle in the tack room and fetched some grain for Destiny. She met Stefan back at the stall. He had gotten her some hay and fresh, cool water. She thanked Stefan and watched him as he returned to his loft. She sighed and turned to her mare. "Well Dest, this is it." she whispered. Destiny nudged her mistress with a soft, and slightly wet, nose. She gave her one last pat and said, "Bye Dest, see you tomorrow." With that, she walked up to the Palace.

She went through the large wooden doors at the head of the Palace, and found the head servant. She told him her name and that she wished to stay a while, and he gave her a set of rooms, told her where to find it, and gave her a key. She thanked the man and took her bag up to her quarters.

She fumbled with the lock on her door, and finally got it to open. She pushed the door back and walked in. She quickly shut the door behind her. She dropped her bag in a chair, and looked around. She whistled softly. This was a big room. It had a huge four poster bed right in front of her. It had a large walk-in closet to her right, a privy and dressing room to the left of the closet and to her right was another door. She went over and unlocked that one too. It was a study, with a large window looking out over the courtyard, a mahogany desk facing the window, and bookshelves filled to the top with every book imaginable. She whistled again, this time much louder. She went over to the window, and looked out. She could see the stables from here, as well as the entire courtyard. She saw what looked like practice courts, and decided to go out there after washing up. She left her study and went into her privy. There was a wash basin, and a knob on the wall for water. She turned the knob to hot, and pulled it out. The basin filled up quickly, and the young Shang sank into the blissful warmth. She scrubbed off all the dust from traveling, and the spray of the ocean from sailing.

Once she was clean and refreshed, she pulled out a pair of breeches and a cotton shirt. She stepped into her slipper shoes, and went off in search of a sparring dummy. She walked along the long unending hallways, and was looking at the beautiful paintings on the walls. She was on the floor before she realized that she had run into someone. "I'm so sorry!" she said hastily. "That was very rude of me!" She stood quickly and turned to help the other person up. She lifted their hand and pulled them off the stone floor. She gasped as she recognized who she had run into. He had thick, jet black hair, which was graying slightly. His face was well defined, almost as if the gods had carved him out of clay, and his most noticeable feature, were his sparkling sapphire eyes.

"Your Majesty, I apologize, you see I'm visiting here and I got lost, and I was trying to find the practice courts, and I'm extremely sorry!" The Shang said hurriedly, jumping between thoughts rapidly.

Jon held up a hand to silence her.

She immediately quieted.

"First of all, no need to apologize. It wasn't your fault. Had I been paying attention this never would have happened." he told her gently.

The teen was confused. A King that demands no penance? This is very strange…

"And second of all," Jon continued. "Please, call me Jon. I like it much better than 'Majesty'."

She was shocked. He not only demands there be no penance, but also that I not call him by his title? This place gets weirder by the minute…

She shook her head. "I'm sorry your Majesty, but it would not be right for me to call you by your name. I am but a poor humble commoner." she said, looking at her feet.

Jon placed three fingers under her chin and forced her to look at him. He studied her face for a moment and then said, "You're not from around here are you? And yet you look very familiar…"

She smiled at him. "You're very clever Majesty, I am from the Yamani Islands, and I've never been to Tortall before. I am the Shang Eagle, and I have come to visit my dear sister and friends." she said. "Perhaps you know my sister though?" she asked.

"Perhaps," replied Jon.

The Shang went with the King into his study, and told him of her true identity, and of who her sister, and friends were. Jon laughed heartedly after she finished her story. "So you don't mean to tell them who you are right away? You wish to see if they remember on their own?" he asked.

She nodded, and said, "Yes Sir," -Jon had gotten her to call him Sir instead of Majesty, but still couldn't get her to call him Jon. She refused, saying that no matter who she was, it wasn't right to call him Jon.-

"Then by all means, feel free my dear." He said, grinning. She stood and left, she was going to find the practice courts before it got dark.

She finally found her way outside, and managed to find the practice yard. There were targets set up for shooting, dummies for sparring, and all sorts of other training exercises.

She walked over to the sparing dummies and found one that was about her height. She started out with simple kicks and punches, then moved into harder ones. Soon she had accumulated a crowd, but seemed not to notice. She was entranced with her work, and nothing could distract her. She punched and kicked and blocked and continually picked up the pace. Soon she was like a colored blur, attacking an unmoving target. Then she abruptly stopped, and took a deep breath. As she turned to go, a cheer erupted out of her audience. She jumped in surprise, and landed in a fighting stance. When she saw that it was just people admiring her work out, she loosened her muscles and stood up. As she once more turned to leave, a short, stocky woman struggled to get out of the crowd saying, "Excuse me, please." Since it didn't seem to be working, she took another approach. "Move!" she boomed. Everyone immediately went silent and let the tiny, yet temperamental woman through.

The Shang gasped. Coming towards her now, with her flaming red hair and bright amethyst eyes, was her idol. Sir Alanna of Pirates Swoop and Olau. When the woman was right in front of her, she bowed Yamani Style. Alanna, having been trained in etiquette, bowed back in the same fashion. They both rose at the same time and Alanna said, "That was quite a show you put on there."

The teen blushed. "I didn't know anyone was watching…"

Alanna grinned. "No need to feel awkward, I thought you were amazing! How would you like to have a real partner?" she asked hopefully.

"Well I am a bit tired…" she began.

Alanna's face fell slightly.

"But, I could always use more practice!" she added with a smile. This could be interesting. She thought to herself. I heard she was trained by the Dragon himself…

They each took up a fighting stance, waiting for the other to make the first move. The crowd formed a circle around them and were cheering immensely. "Ready when you are," she said to the older woman. Alanna took that moment, when the girl was slightly distracted, to attack. She punched, kicked, and then punched again, only to be blocked each time by the Shang. She tried some more attacks, all to be blocked by the girl who was three times younger than her. She blocks everything I throw at her! thought Alanna. In that moment, Alanna was dumped on her rump by the young Shang. The crowd tried to muffle their laughs, in hopes of not arousing the Lionesses' famous temper. Even the teenager had to stifle a giggle. It wasn't every day that you got to see the King's Champion sprawled on the ground like a page might be. Alanna flipped up, dropping her feet to the ground as soon as she was straight. She once more took up the fighting stance, and began to attack. The girl once again blocked each and everyone. Then Alanna thought of something. She struck with her fists, making sure that the young girls eyes were locked with her own. While the Shang was blocking the fist attacks, Alanna very discreetly swept her right leg behind the teens and pulled. The girl fell backwards, and quickly spun and landed in the correct way. She stood up laughing.

"I knew you would get me back some way or another!" she said, still grinning.

Alanna grinned back. "Well I couldn't let you get away with dumping me like you did!"

When the audience realized that both were laughing, they joined in.

The teen extended a hand. "That was a most enjoyable spar, Sir Alanna. We must do it again some time, only not exactly in the same way." Alanna shook the girl's hand and said, "I agree, you are the most challenging opponent I've had in a long time! And please, it's just Alanna."

The Shang nodded, and said, "Well I am still very tired from my journey, so I shall be retiring to my rooms now." She started off towards the Palace. "Oh and thanks again Alanna!" she called over her shoulder.

A/N: Ok I lied…you don't find out who she is in the chapter…I'm sorry…But I swear you will definitely know in the next one! Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye… does anyone else ever wonder why people say that? I do…cuz I mean…getting a needle stuck in your eye would hurt…not to mention if I did lie after saying that I wouldn't let anyone stick one in me…shrug I dunno…I'm confusing myself…Once again sorry for not telling you yet…But trust me! It will be worth it when you do!

Answers:

nativewildmage: I'm glad...lol you'll never guess…you'll just have to wait till next chapter!

Sunkissed Guacamole: Ok, here's more…and I am online! But you're not!

ElvislivesAgain: k, I will! How is the hell did you guess that? That's exactly who she is! But shh! Keep it to yourself!

Shang Warrior Phoenix: Hmm…Are you sure about that? I'll tell you this: I promise, it's not someone we know…it's a new character…I also promise that I will let everyone know in the next chapter!

x17SkmBdrchiczxx: K, will do! Hope you like this chapter!

Padme Amidala2121: I'm glad you like it! Here's the next chapter for you! Hope you like it!

Confusedknight: Here's more…hope you like it! Sorry can't tell…at least not just yet:D I promise it'll be soon though!

HyperKathryne: Glad you think so! I updated…but I don't think it helps you know who she is…

Sorceress Shadow Rain: I know…scary huh? jk! lol! But I get too many ideas while I sleep…yup bad you…but I do the same thing…lol! hurry up and be done w/ your punishment already! Plz!

limegirl62: I know I know…I'm getting to it though! Hope you liked this one!

lianhuaflower13: lol! Loser! I noticed Janni…

charm: I'm sorry! I can't! It'll spoil it! But I updated and I'm very glad that you like it! Please don't go mad! Cuz if you go mad, then I'll go mad! I promise I will tell in the next chapter!

Kokari: I'm hurryin, I'm hurryin...So how was it? And I'm sorry but you can't know that information yet…it's classified…lol

wildace keladry2005: I hope that's a good interesting…

SmileyFacePerson: Ha ha! I purposely didn't want anyone to know yet…so I hope you don't figure it out! It would ruin the surprise! But I'm glad you liked it! And don't worry, you'll find out soon enough!