Thanks to my beta along with all readers and reviewers- namely cahawk, SarahE7191, Lady Fae of Never Land, and Heiress of Lohaust- for your comments!

I also apologize for my increasing typos, which several people have pointed out... I will make an effort to fix that, but I have very little time right now. Chapters might be slower in coming, but I promise by the end of January (after mid-terms) that I'll be posting again like usual. I've had this one for awhile now... sorry...

Chapter Nine

Archery

December 22, 476 H.E.

It was misty and dark in the courtyard in the morning, but Deryne wore a cloak to ward off the cold. A bow and a full quiver of arrows slung around her shoulder, she trooped over to the training yard targets. After the past week's humiliations for her poor archery, she had decided she had had enough smirks from Kasem and glares from haMinch. Cadel had told her to ignore them, but- in this case- Deryne could not help but admit they were right. She was terrible.

And she had no inclination to give them any sort of satisfaction or reason to throw her out. She could hear them already.

"A knight must be skilled in all weaponry-" She rolled her eyes as she positioned herself at the mark. HaMinch said- several times- that her form was wrong, but it was hard to fix at the top notch pace he had them shooting. Now, she could concentrate on it for as long as she needed and- eventually- the correct hold would be natural to her.

After six rounds, she managed to hit the third ring of the target regularly. Sighing, she pursed her lips as she stared at it.

She would never be able to get the hang of it-

Somewhere far off, a bell tolled. She groaned; it was time to go to breakfast. Had she truly accomplished so little in an hour's time?

Sighing resignedly, she headed over to the target to collect her arrows. When she had found all but one, she stood, frowning. Perhaps underneath the target-?

Getting down on her knees, she craned her neck, straining to see-

Nothing. She groaned and began to stand up; for losing one of her arrows, haMinch would assign her a bell's punishment-

Whoosh! Deryne froze as an arrow shot straight past her cheek. Thud! It hit the target in the middle of the white, center circle. She whipped around, looking for the idiot who hadn't checked the shooting area for any fellow archers- thank the gods it had missed her-

No one came forth out of the mist, swearing and apologizing. No sound, but the soft, muffled whisper that told the girl that someone was walking away. Flourishing a hand, she frowned, forcing her Gift out after the sound-

But the person- whoever it had been- had escaped indoors before her winds got to him. Or her.

Her heart pounding, Deryne looked back at the arrow that had nearly killed her. It was the one she thought she had lost.

Suddenly chilled, she yanked it out of the old, canvas-covered board and leapt up, dashing away as fast as she could.

"My lord?" Deryne wiped her hands on her tunic as haMinch looked up at her, an eyebrow raised. Kasem sneered, then stood.

"Get on with you, pages!" he called out to the girl's anxious friends, all clustered at the door of the mess, none of them wanting to leave. Deryne had said nothing but that she wanted to speak with the training master; none of the boys liked the sound of that. "You have work with Ezeko! Move it!" Then he turned to Deryne, who watched him without blinking.

Stay calm, she ordered herself as she looked back at haMinch and bowed, her fingers trembling.

"I would like to speak with you alone, my lord," she said quietly. Kasem snorted.

"Indeed, Queenscove?" Folding his hands, haMinch put them on the table.

"Squire, go and help the sergeant. I will deal with this."

As if I was some huge trouble, Deryne thought dryly as a disappointed Kasem bowed and took his leave.

"My lord, I received a note, a few weeks ago. A threat," she added as the door shut behind the young man. "I thought it was a joke. I still think it is," she continued hastily. The training master's face was perfectly blank. "But… today, I went out to practice my archery-" She paused, fumbling for words. HaMinch stared at her.

"And?" he prompted after a moment.

"An arrow," she finally managed. "It- came out of nowhere. It nearly hit me while I was collecting my own…." She faded off as the man rose, his face as composed as ever.

"So you are worried by an accident committed by a blind fool?"

"He ran," she said softly, feeling stupid under haMinch's condescending gaze. "I-"

"This is why I have always been against the idea of women trying to fight," the man interrupted, standing and weaving his way through the other chairs to the end of the table. "The female mind is all too ready to jump to conclusions, to excite-"

"He ran,' she repeated, ignoring a tiny voice inside that reminded her that it had been a walk, not a run-

Which was even more suspicious- Who would try to sneak away, if the near miss had been accidental-?

"Perhaps the idiot was too embarrassed to own up to his mistake? I would be ashamed to make such a blunder myself- only a complete blockhead-"

"But he left. He didn't want me to see him…." When he reached the end of the table, the training master stopped once more.

"I thought you said you thought it a joke," he said sternly. "Especially if that is your thought on the manner, I cannot believe there is cause for concern. It was an accident. Nothing more." Then- as an indignant Deryne opened her mouth to retort- he swept past her, down the aisle, towards the doors.

"Sir- my lord-"

"I suggest you hurry to your next class," he called as he opened the door. "Ezeko does not like it when pages arrive late to the training yard." With that, he left the open-mouthed girl there to stare after him, even after the doors swung shut.

"Damn!" Rikash roared as the fire exploded before Deryne's eyes, giving her a moment's warning.

Prepared for such accidents by this point, she forced a wall of wind between Inar and her and the flying sparks. As they hit the gust, the flames grew, then died as she eased the strength of the wave of magic to a breeze before letting the air still altogether. Inar exhaled slowly.

"Thanks," he muttered. Then, out of Rikash's earshot, he added in a low voice, "You're getting good at that." Deryne shrugged.

"I can almost sense when he's about to-" She made a face, then splayed her fingers, mimicking the miniature explosions their friend managed to set off. Inar nodded grimly, his eyes flickering towards a fuming apprentice mage.

"Concentrate," Numair told his son. He was watching the trio from a few feet away; his mouth was curved in a faint frown.

"I can't!" Rikash hissed, her amber eyes blazing as he turned on his father. "Gods, I can't even work with small streams of- what is happening to me-?" Both Deryne and Inar fell silent as Numair walked over to whisper with his son. Such exchanges happened all too often these past few weeks.

"When did you feel your control snap? Was it immediate, or did you feel the Gift wearing down on you-"

"I heard that you talked with haMinch," Inar said, turning to Deryne, who forgot the father-son exchange instantly. His blue eyes were somber, as always. Deryne had not seen much of him lately, except for Gifted lessons- She no longer spoke with her sponsor; he no longer bothered popping up among her friends' numbers in the halls or during lunch. In fact, she could not recall seeing him in the mess-

"Yeah," she sighed, not asking how he knew. Word passed quick in the palace. "Were you there for that prophecy of nonsense that Irnai was going on about awhile ago?" Inar hesitated; a lock of his blond hair fell into his eyes.

"I heard it," he eventually replied. "Though not in full." Deryne shrugged.

"Someone sent me a note threatening that I was going to pay for what the Lioness has done. And then, today, someone-" Seeing Numair stiffen in the corner of her eye, she fell silent. She had thought he was occupied scolding Rikash-

Turning towards the two, she beamed.

"Ready to try that again?" she asked, summoning a strand of her magic. It snaked around her. "If Rikash wants to blast me again, I can work on my shielding spells. You know, Master Numair, they're different from those you taught us. I have to keep the wind up, so I need to feed more into my spell because I push objects away while Rikash can just turn them into ashes-" She stopped blathering when she realized that Numair was still staring at her with a dark look in his eye.

"What's this about?" he asked, his voice very, very soft. Deryne swallowed heavily.

"Nothing," she lied quickly. Numair's eyebrows rose. The rest of him stayed very still, accenting the motion in her mind. "Erm… shall we start again? I really think Rikash's got it-"

"Someone threatened you," the man said. "And you were about to mention something else. What happened, Deryne?" Despite how quiet his voice was- or perhaps because it was so quiet- Deryne could sense that she would not be able to talk herself out of telling. So she revealed the story, as swiftly as she could, skipping over details and striving to make it sound silly. The mage did not look fooled. "And… you haven't told haMinch about this?" She winced.

"Well- I mentioned it- I mean, it really isn't that-" Numair's eyes narrowed.

"You told him and he hasn't done anything?" Deryne eyed a tapestry behind the man meticulously.

"It's just a stupid prank-"

"Prank?" All three students flinched as Numair's voice rose to a roar. His features were hard and cold. "Prank? Threats and arrows pranks? What in Chaos is that man thinking?"

"He just-" Deryne shut her mouth as the mage turned to them, black eyes glittering.

"That stupid conservative!" he snapped. Then he whipped around and strode towards the door, jerking it open and slamming it shut behind him, leaving a dead silence in the room he had just departed.

"Oh… damn." Deryne glanced at both boys, then groaned. "HaMinch is gonna kill me…."

She was floating, floating over snow-covered mountains…. Clouds rushed past her, making her feel pleasantly cool-

Then, she saw the great, walled city. It rose out of the mountains like a great beast out of slumber, its cold beauty overwhelming her-

The wind took her past the alert guards standing on the wall tops, her Gift snaking out to pull open a pair of balcony doors. As her bare feet grazed the floor, her gown flowing in the breeze, the same gusts that played mischievously in the wildly dancing curtains, she saw a wide-eyed young man staring at her in alarm. Then- before she could say anything to calm him- the short, ratty youth rushed away from the desk he had been pouring over to close the doors.

Deryne gasped as he ran straight through her; it felt as though someone was trapped inside of her before he broke loose, exploding through her body. It was not painful…. Still, the sensation was eerie, and she hastily leaped out of the way as he bustled back to his books, nibbling on his short nails.

"Hmm… yes, yes-" His trembling fingers flipped through a few more pages. "Lord Thom of Trebond-"

Trebond. Deryne had heard of that fief. She frowned; wasn't it the one the Lioness had come from? Yes, she had been known as Alan of Trebond, until she had fought the Duke of Conte-

Lord Thom was her son… a mage, in the City of the Gods-

But Thom was of Pirate's Swoop, not Trebond-

Even though she knew the young man could not hear her, she crept forwards, eyeing him warily as she drew close.

A whoosh of wings echoed in her ears; she turned her head in time to see a ghostly Duskwing soar in.

"Stupid," she heard the Chamber's voice chastise. "Leaving without me." Deryne ignored the words, looking at the man's nervous face as he twitched.

"Who is he?" she whispered as he turned a few more pages, his eyes flickering down the page.

"He had many names," the Chamber said flatly. "The one I prefer is the Nothing-Man. It suits him like no other title does." Deryne looked back at him, frowning faintly.

"The Nothing Man," she breathed, cocking her head to one side. "It's a rather cruel nickname-"

"But accurate," it answered as the kestrel landed on her shoulder. The talons bit into her skin, but it as not as painful as she had anticipated. "Murderer." Deryne gazed at the shivering figure. He seemed too nervous, too slight, to kill-

"Is he?"

"Not now. He does not have anyone to hide behind at this point in time. He is harmless. For now." She pursed her lips; he seemed frail. And alone…. "Save your pity for his victims."

"I can hardly help it,' she replied absently, watching his face. "No strength, no fearsome intelligence-"

"He hides his destructive capabilities well; I shall grant you that. But know now that no man is more dangerous, particularly to you…." Then one word the Chamber said spoken struck her. Her brow furrowed.

"Had many names?" Duskwing bobbed his head.

"A vision of the past," the Chamber told her softly. The words floated around in her mind for longer than they should have. Past... She had been told many times now that the past had an odd way of coming back... that it was inescapable.

"Are he and this Yama's Festival connected?" she queried. "I asked Sir Myles about it. I should have known who she was; Mama and I appealed to her every night, though I have never felt her presence about me."

"No. I would be very surprised if you did." She rolled her eyes.

"Don't sound so modest," she mumbled. "You might as well start singing 'I know something you don't' in that smug voice of yours."

"That would be beneath me. Far too undignified." She hesitated.

"Chamber-" She scowled, turning her attention away from the Nothing-Man. "Do you have another name, besides the Chamber of Ordeal? After all, according to you, this…" She waved a hand at the kestrel. "-manifestation… of yours isn't the Chamber. It's another part of you."

"It's more complicated than that." It sounded grumpy. She smiled.

"But I'm right, aren't I? You do have another name."

"One I don't give out lightly," it retorted. "Go back to sleep now, Deryne. You look like you need it."

Deryne was about to argue, and inform the upstart room that she was asleep, and that he shouldn't just disappear only to pop up in some dream of hers and act like such a know-it-all-

But then Duskwing was gone, and the Chamber's voice with him. And then she felt as though she were disappearing, too…. When she looked down, she saw that her body was dissolving into the gentle wind that was heading towards the window-

Looking up, she caught one last glimpse of the Nothing-Man as he bent over a piece of parchment and hastily began to write-

There was a soft knock at the door; silently, Deryne turned from the window as her aunt Kel opened the door and barged in.

"Sorry. I didn't think you would be awake so early," Kel said, jerking her head towards the door. Deryne shrugged; she did not mind her aunt running in with little warning. Kel had always been a close friend as well as family. The woman neatened her short brown hair as she caught her breath. "I heard from Numair-" Guiltily, Deryne glanced at the crumpled piece of paper on the floor as Kel crossed the space and hugged her tightly. "Are you feeling all right?" she demanded. Deryne smiled ruefully.

"Numair told you?" Kel snorted.

"He told half the palace when he and haMinch started a yelling match over it." Groaning, Deryne put her face in her hands.

"HaMinch will not be happy with me. And on my first day back... Why don't I just start packing now?" the girl queried, rubbing her temples.

"He wouldn't dare." Kel's eyes narrowed. "Not now. The whole palace probably knows by now." Deryne winced.

"Just wonderful. I always wanted to be famous." Kel chuckled at her niece's sarcasm, then sighed heavily. She turned her back to Deryne, her foot tapping against the stone floor as she ran her fingertips along the edges of the carved armoire, then played with the decorative metal handles.

"You can always bow out." Deryne's eyes widened as her aunt continued, her voice speeding up. "No one would blame you- no one who matters, anyhow- after all, if you are being threat-"

"Bow… out?" Deryne echoed incredulously, taking a step towards the woman. Kel shifted; Deryne could only see a curtain of hair hiding her aunt's face from her. "As in leave?Quit?" Kel began to finger with the handles furiously.

"Knighthood isn't for everyone. Boys quit all the time," Kel answered softly. She still did not turn towards Deryne. The girl felt ill, worried-

If her aunt- the one who had taught her all those years, helped her through abysmal archery and gave her an edge against the bigger, stronger boys- did not think she could succeed- She held her chin high, refusing to cry.

"You don't believe in me, then?" Despite her resolve, tears gathered in her eyes; her voice wavered.

Of course. She was stupid, to believe that she could do any of it- Kel had been bigger, stronger... Alanna had been Chosen by the Goddess-

The Chamber said that I have a God watching out for me, her mind argued. But the thought only made her feel ill. If I cannot do this even with a divine patron-

Kel whipped around.

"Of course I believe in you!" she exclaimed, swiftly crossing the space between them. She knelt, resting both hands on Deryne's shoulders, her own hazel eyes glinting in the dawn light. The she bit her lip, her gaze falling to the floor. "But this could be dangerous, Deryne," she whispered, her grip tightening. "And- if something should happen- to you, of all-" She stopped. Deryne was shocked to see that her aunt was shaking; the only thing that kept her from falling off-balance was Deryne. The girl put her hands on top of Kel's; her fingers were cool.

"It could be a prank," Deryne said, trying to cheer her aunt up. Seeing Lady Keladry, Protector of the Small, so troubled left her feeling out of place, a little girl put in charge of those decades older...

"I don't think so." Deryne licked her lips; her palms were sweaty. "There are too many coincidences here-"

"I'm not going to wait," Deryne replied, forcing the words from her mouth determinedly. "I'm going to see this through… one way… or another." She tried not to think about possible alternatives to seeing her training through. The idea of it left her feeling weak, small-

Kel watched her for a long moment, long enough that Deryne had to fight the urge to fidget and look away.

All of her family and friends had long ago learned how to block her Gift from stealing into their thoughts idly. But their simple, disciplined blocks- particularly those of the non-Gifted- could not hold up to her magic. They could not even sense her….

Now- ignoring the slight guilt and dread that built within her- Deryne called her magic forwards, feeling the small shiver of a zephyr as it whizzed against her cheek.

She had never tried to read a person's thoughts on purpose, except in the exercises Numair forced her through in the past months. First of all, she usually tried to block the voices out. They always eagerly came to her without help.

And it felt wrong, as though she were prying into their lives, even though she did it all the time when she was not trying.

At her urging, the invisible magic surrounded the pair, entering Kel. Deryne waited with bated breath, still staring into those unfathomable hazel eyes, as the power swept through the woman's thoughts, easily carrying them back to echo through Deryne's mind.

So dangerous… so much trouble- Irnai's already been right once before about her-

An image of a small, black-haired girl- obviously the seer- flooded Deryne's mind, her tooth-missing mouth grinning up at her-

I should discourage her… tell her she can't do it…something's going to happen-

What if-

But she can do it.

I don't have the right to force her either way-

There was pride in Kel's thoughts… and regret, though what for, Deryne could not discern.

For better or worse-

I cannot stand in her way. Deryne smiled hesitantly as her power seeped away, leaving her aunt's mind as impenetrable as ever.

"Thank you," she whispered softly, looking into Kel's eyes. The woman smiled crookedly; her eyes glittered.

"Nothing at all to thank me for," she replied in a soft voice. "Just… be careful."

"I will." Deryne grinned. "Why does no one seem to believe me?" Kel chuckled as she stood, but her eyes were still worried.

"Because we all promised the exact same thing dozens of times before," she laughed. "And look where it got us." A laugh escaped Deryne as Kel walked to the door. She pulled it open, then looked back, eyebrows raised.

"But all the same, do try to stay out of trouble," she added. "Who knows? Maybe you'll be the lucky one." Then she was gone, and Deryne sighed. Her resting days were over.

She had to be dressed and down to the mess.

After all, haMinch would be wreaking vengeance for the chastisement from Master Numair.

No reason to help him along. He'd do just fine on his own without mistakes on her part.

AN: Reviews, please? I'm feeling a little discouraged... and I defintely need my muse for the next chapter. It's where stuff starts to get exciting...