Abhorsen's Training

A/N: ok, if you've noticed the difference in the appearance of the chapters, it's because I separated all of the A/Ns from the body of the story. I don't know if it was bothering ya'll, my lovely readers, but it was bothering me - so I fixed it. There's no new information in the previous chapters, FYI.

I know this chappie is really short, sorry. But it's cough important later cough. I finally decided on a plot line for this story, and since Sabriel, Naruto, and Neji refused to let me tell the story, I went with their idea…

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Garth Nix's Sabriel in any way, shape, or form.

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Chapter 3: Surprises in the Morning

Sabriel woke early, but not well-rested. She had had a restless night, waking often from vague dreams, usually in cold sweat. She could not remember any details of any of the dreams, but none had felt right. But she was certain that the dream about the Dead was not one of them, and for that she was grateful.

She rolled over so that she was on her back, looking at the ceiling. She was unable to go back to sleep, regardless of the early hour. She let out an inaudible sigh.

Finally, she admitted to herself that sleep was an impossibility. She hauled herself out of her warm bed, disgruntled. Shivers flashed up and down her spine as her bare feet made contact with the cold floor. She walked over to the window and looked out over the gardens. As it was the last part of winter, all of the trees were bare of their leaves. She stared absentmindedly over the tops of the trees, letting her mind relax. She let her thoughts drift, trying not to dwell on the vague images that her subconscious had provided in her nightmares.

She yawned. Suddenly, a flash of movement caught her eye. Naruto was up. What was he doing up at this hour, with dawn just breaking? He was dressed in his full ninja gear. Then she realized that he was not alone. Sasuke and Neji slouched along in his wake. Neither looked particularly happy. What was going on?

Still tired, but curiosity aroused, Sabriel decided to go down to the gardens and discover what those boys were doing…

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Naruto was wandering aimlessly around the garden, looking for a place to practice without her noticing. He couldn't remember her name; it was too early in the morning, and he wasn't on a first-name basis with her anyway. He didn't know anything about her. She was the Abhorsen. He only knew two concrete facts about her: she had been responsible for putting his father on the throne, and she had not been present at the assassination. The few facts that his mother had supplied about these two topics were scanty. Naruto was under the impression that Queen Asrylil did not like her very much…

"Naruto," Sasuke growled, "if you were just going to wander around, why did you haul us out of bed?"

"We have to train!" Naruto responded, but with a preoccupied air.

"Hn," was Sasuke's only comment.

"You can go without training," Naruto said, "but I will beat you one day because of it! I will be the greatest Hokage!"

"How do you expect to hold two positions of power at the same time?" Neji asked coldly. (He was not in the best of moods).

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

Neji narrowed his eyes. "Are you telling me that you are so totally clueless that you don't know that your mother will be giving you the throne in a year or two?"

"No way," Naruto said. "She's not going to give me the throne yet."

"We'll just have to wait and see," Neji growled, looking away, up at the gray sky.

"Anyway," Naruto resumed, "I will hold two positions!"

Neji did not answer.

Ignoring Neji's silence, Naruto continued his search.

"Naruto, just pick a place!" Sasuke snapped, exasperated.

"For what?" Sabriel asked, endeavoring to keep her voice level and friendly. She was just curious, after all.

The three boys whirled. Both Sasuke and Neji reached for kunai. Sabriel had expected something of the sort, and was ready. As the two boys reached for kunai, she reached to snatch Ranna from its pouch in the bandolier across her chest.

Seeing her hand reach for the bell, both boys checked their instinctive grab for their weapons. Sabriel noted that all three boys were armed.

"Do you carry that thing everywhere with you?" Sasuke asked, annoyed.

"Usually," Sabriel said, shrugging.

They stared at each other.

"Why here?" Sasuke asked.

"What?" Sabriel asked, surprised.
"Why carry it here?" Sasuke clarified. "The Dead can't cross running water."

Sabriel snorted, her memory flashing to her first trip to this House. "You're forgetting grave dirt."

"So?" Sasuke asked. "This river is over a mile wide."

"There are stepping stones on either side."

"So?"

Sabriel let her breath out slowly. "The first time I came here, I found out just how bad that could be. I had a Mordicant after me on Kerrigor's orders. The Dead used human slaves to chain boxes of grave dirt to each stepping stone on both sides. Without Mogget's advice and the defense of the river, I would have been worse than dead. I would have been a Hand of Kerrigor."

None of the boys spoke when she was done.

Sabriel sighed, hooking a lock of her raven-black hair behind her ear. "But the Gr… the Gre…, oh, I can't tell you. But it is slowly… being fixed."

"What is?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"I can't tell you," Sabriel said. "The Charter is… I can't tell you. It is a binding that cannot be broken."

"It has to do with the Bl…, it has to do with them, doesn't it?" Neji asked quietly.

Sabriel stared at him. "How do you know?"

"I can't tell you that," Neji muttered, dropping his eyes.

"For the same reason as I can't tell you," Sabriel muttered. "Well, let's go inside. Naruto, don't say it. You're going to get a different training today."

They exited the bare garden and entered Abhorsen's House.