Alanna trudged down the musty staircase towards the dungeons, Gary, Raoul, and upon his insistence, Jon, accompanying her to the recent criminal's cell. As they traveled deep into the dilapidated womb of the palace, Alanna fervently reexamined the perplexing battle that had taken place in the heights of Balor's Needle. There she had witnessed mere moments of the confrontation between the girl and Jon yet something about it confused her. First, the girl knew how to attack and defend, she had obviously been trained and wasn't just a hired killer off the streets. Therefore, their must be an origin to her training. Someone had taught her. Next, there had been a brief moment of hesitation that had allowed her to interfere in the murder; the child had made few kills or none at all. Then there was the execution of the girl's plan, either she had a nearby instructor, or the girl is cleverer than her age demands.

Alanna halted at the sordid bars of the assassin's cage. The girl appeared to be asleep. and for a moment she could scarcely condemn the child. The girl's face was soft and sweet in sleep, and Alanna hastily blinked away the thought of someday having her own children. While the thought still terrified her, she felt herself growing softer everyday she spent with Thayet and the young prince Raold and princess Kalasin.

The clang of flesh and bone striking metal brought Alanna to her senses. Instinctively, she leapt back into a fighting stance in front of the King, hand gripping the pommel of her sword. That's when the screaming began.

A/N: Hm….cliffie? Should I be mean, at least meaner than I usually am because I'm so slow at updating, sorry about that , too many things to do, not enough time. I'll try not to leave you on edge too long though. .Sorry its ridiculously short but I promise to update this part really soon.