A/N: Nope still not mine( unfortunately)

"What you mean there's more? What else have you lied about hmm?! I mean you didn't even tell us your real name!" yelled Daniel, Ellimere seldom lost her temper but now was one of those times as she whipped out her sword that no one had noticed sheathed at her side. The blade rested against Daniel's throat, close enough that with the smallest flick of her wrist she could easily cut his throat killing him in the process.

"Ellimere there's no need for the sword so you can put it away now."

She reluctantly re-sheathed her charter spelled sword, she couldn't believe that this stranger who seemed to know her cousin was insulting said cousin even though he knew that he was in the presence of a Queen but more importantly that he was insulting her cousin in front of HER!, surely he must've known that she would be protective of her baby cousin.

"I take it you're headed for the House then the glacier and Belisaere?"

"Yes, we'd already sent you a telegram by message hawk; I don't suppose that anyone else is at the House?"

"Why?"

"Well we were planning to get to the glacier and Belisaere by paperwing before I remembered that a paperwing only fits two people and cargo"

"Luckily I think that Sameth is there as is Arielle, while it's the holidays at least"

"Holidays?"

"She's been teaching at Sunbere for a while now"

"She always was like dad, fascinated with science"

"Actually she's also teaching music and astronomy"

"Really?"

"Yes"

"Exactly who is Arielle?" asked Sam

"Arielle is my younger sister, she's 8 years younger than me" then Daniel spoke up again

"Wouldn't the crown normally pass from sibling to sibling, parent to child etc. not from cousin to cousin?"

"About a year after the battle with the Destroyer I realised that given the way that my brother Sameth and I tend to completely focus on one thing at a time that he would be focused on making new charter spelled items namely our Aunt's hand and I would be focused on running the country so it was doubtful that either of us would marry or have families so I made a law that said that the crown would go to the first born child of each generation of the royal family which was Kyrael, since her mother and I are only a few months apart in age she was technically the next generation. If there are no children born then the crown will pass to the last monarch's next of kin"

"Wait so that means that…"

"I'm well aware of what that means Daniel" interrupted Kyrael

"Is your cousin?"

"Daniel, don't"

"Am I aware of what?"

"Nothing Ellimere, Daniel was just being unhelpful, and we really need to head to the wall as soon as possible"

"I take it that there's a car outside"

"Yep" With that they all trooped out of the library after Ellimere and Kyrael who now also had the items from the alcove in her hands. It was another hour before they reached the wall. When the Perimeter scouts saw who was approaching they immediately opened up the barriers and (at Kyrael's request) escorted them to the training area. After over and hour of training Sam, Daniel, Cam and Teal'c had all been given weapons, Sam had a bow and a small dagger for emergencies as did Daniel, Cam and Teal'c both had swords and small daggers, Ellimere had all three and Kyrael had all three as well as her bells though that latter 2 had their own charter spelled swords, daggers and bows that were vastly superior to those that the others were using. It was a sorely tired group that set off from the wall the next day towards the long cliffs and Abhorsen's House. They reached Bahedrin before the first incident occurred. As the group approached Bahedrin hill as soon as they reached the base of the hill both Kyrael and Ellimere felt a familiar prickling that Lirael used to describe as a sort of itching sensation as the base of the neck. To any with the blood, necromancers and most free magic creatures the sensation was very familiar, it was the sense of death, something had died in the area recently. The two cousins immediately un-sheathed their swords and Kyrael's free hand went to her bells.

"What is it?" asked Sam

"Something dead"

"I think it's either one of the greater dead maybe a mordicant or it could be a very strong shadow hand I can't tell"

"One of the greater dead, already?!"

"I think so which means we need to move NOW!"

A/N: All reviews and flames welcome : )