AN: Hello all. Long chappie- now I gotta go and do all that homework stuff. Thanks to all reviewers- Shang Leopard, KyrieofAccender, SarahE7191, cahawk, Dreamwings, and Heiress of Lohaust! My apologies in advance if there are typos- I need to go- shocking that I managed the chappie! Hope you like it!

Chapter 20

Hornets' Nest

Deryne fought a fierce battle to keep the smirk off her lips as haMinch blanched, grimaced, then attempted to compose his face with little success. His brown eyes- even larger than usual- stared back down at the calm Leo, who seemed unaware of the hornets' nest he had just plunged into headlong. Evrain burst into a loud coughing fit as the heir to the throne blinked once, his dark eyes gazing back up at the training master.

"After all," he continued reasonably. "She and her cousin are my friends. Cadel teaches me the Yamani glaive-" HaMinch's face was changing fast from a drawn pale to a dangerous, warning red. Deryne remembered then that the only people conservatives hated more than feminists were foreigners. The heir using weapons of female foreigners would be less than comforting for the staunch conformist.

"You- want a- Broakhale teaches-" He stuttered over his words, as though unsure what to address first and uncertain as to whether or not he wanted to clue the royal boy in to his thoughts.

Before haMinch's eyes could pop out of his head, Deryne stepped forward and bowed.

"It would be my honor, Your Highness," she said loudly, vowing to cuff the young boy over the head for his indiscretion the first chance she got.

"He looks at you, mops his brow, and starts mouthing prayers to Mithros," Evrain commented, slapping Leo on the back. Deryne shot them both a dark glare.

"He's not the only one," she said pointedly. Aloin grinned.

"You aren't saying that Leo makes you worry, too, are you?" Deryne chucked a piece of bread at him; he caught it in the crook of his arm, then sampled it.

"I wouldn't be surprised if I found a gray hair somewhere in this," she muttered to herself, curling a lock of hair around her fingertips.

Leoraed of Conte was more trouble than he was worth, the runt. Two weeks after the beginning of training, he was just as curious and dabbled in "experiments" just as much as he had the first day. The day before, when the first years had picked out their mounts, he chose the most finicky, easily excited young mare of the lot. Ora was surprisingly large, too, for a horse of her age and sex. Then, while all the other pages were happy trotting their choices around the field, he had to try a gallop. When it was clear that the beautiful, golden horse would not stop, haMinch had left them with Ezeko to chase after the pair. Leo came back halfway through lunch with a stern lecture ringing in his ears and punishment duties for two months. Still, his eyes had been all aglow as he described the rush of the ride. Deryne- who had rushed over to him in a panic- rolled her eyes and whacked him on the shoulder. Hopefully Leo would grow out of his suicidal habits; it was not a good trait for the future king to retain. Now, the boy looked up with his wide eyes looking mildly puzzled.

"I'd say you don't have to worry about that for at least a couple more years," he said seriously to her. Aloin coughed loudly.

"You wanna bet?"

"Queenscove!" Deryne cringed inwardly as another arrow flew, straight and true, into the oak tree. It was a straight, neat shot that had enough power to embed the arrowhead into the trunk.

Too bad she had been aiming at the target, several feet to the left and a good deal closer. She faced the scowling training master with a bow.

"Yes, my lord?" she asked in a clear, loud voice. Cadel- back from his uncle's questions and potions- made a sympathetic face, but the girl page reserved all her attention for haMinch.

"I swear by all I hold dear, Queenscove," the man snapped, eyes determined. "I will throw you out if you continue to show the prowess of an infant at the bow!" Laun smirked; Deryne felt her cheeks grow hot. He was right; that was the worst part of it. No page should be as dismal as she was with a bow and arrows! How could she be a knight, when she never managed to hit the target?

Leo patted her on the back as they went in for lunch. Cadel, Evrain, and Aloin were not far behind.

"Could you just ask the wind to send it-"

"No!" Deryne snapped, cutting off her cousin's words. "That's cheating! I need to learn properly," she said, glaring off into the distance. "Focus, and extra practice, that's all I need-"

"I just hope your aim with a lance isn't just as bad," Evrain said gloomily. Sometime soon, second year pages would begin jousting with the older pages. HaMinch had decided that first year pages should built up their muscles before he had them hefting huge, wooden poles. Deryne punched him in the arm, but her heart was not in it. Not able to shoot or joust? What kind of knight would choose her as his squire, even if haMinch did not toss her out? Kel had showed her some tricks with the lance, but she had also not been so terrible at archery back before she had become a page. Or maybe she had just thought she was better than she had been.

"Well, you're good with a blade, and lances are more like long blades than arrows," Cadel reasoned. "As long as you're strong enough- which you are," he added hastily. Deryne smiled at him.

"Thanks."

It was a wet, cold morning. Zephyr was not fond of the rain, and he did not hesitate to make his displeasure known. He snorted and danced about; no soothing words or threat would make him calm down. Deryne had to let him trot in circles while the rest of the pages waited on their horses quietly for the training master to begin.

"Queenscove, you can get off that fussy princeling and get a new mount, or go inside with him and wait until the weather suits you both better," haMinch called out through the damp. Swearing to herself, Deryne dismounted and headed inside, dragging the fiend in with her. Leo may have unleashed the hornets' nest, but it was she who getting stung! She glanced around for a moment, biting her lip. Stefan the groom did not answer her summons.

She did not know which mount she was allowed to take! And if she did not return soon- She heard someone jogging towards the stable, and she turned around just in time to see a wet Laun come in. He pointed to a stall three doors away from where Deryne stood.

"That one," he said abruptly. "Hurry up." Was he trying to get her in trouble? Was the horse feisty? Did it belong to an important nobleman? He scowled. "I'm not ever gonna be this generous again, so you'd better get a move on."

"Generous?" Laun rolled his eyes.

"She belongs to me, all right? Cadel knew about her and told me that I'd better go and help you out. My father gave her to me last year, so I have my own horse and a palace horse. Cadel made sure he said it where Ezeko could hear, and then the sergeant sent me off, jabbering on about duty." Deryne's lips twitched.

"You and Cadel really are friends, aren't you? I don't get it."

"I don't like you," Laun explained sharply. "Not that I have much against you in the first place. But it's more than obvious that girls trying out for knighthood cause problems, and we're better off without you lot."

"Maybe your lot ought to stop starting the problems, then," she muttered, unbolting the stall and stepping inside. Inside was a pretty, lithe sorrel who nickered when she saw Deryne.

"She isn't fussy," Laun said gruffly, yanking the tack off the wall. Deryne tossed the saddle on the mare. "Name's Fate."

"I'm going to tie that beast outside," Deryne vowed darkly as she thought of her own horse, her fingers fixing the cinches. "-in the middle of a rainstorm. Maybe then he won't be so skittish about a little water." She looked up to see Laun smiling. He stopped when she caught his gaze.

"Make sure she's warm and clean before you put her back in here," he warned. "Or so help me, Mithros, I'll tell haMinch you make faces behind his back." Deryne grinned.

"You aren't a bad sort, Laun," she said bluntly, laughing to herself when he looked up, affronted. "Get used to me being here. I'm not leaving."

The lance was lighter than she would have thought it to be. Ezeko told Laun to explain the drill to Deryne when they returned to the practice field.

"My aunt had explained it to me," she said hastily as they looked down at the five quintains set up. Laun rolled his eyes.

"Humor me," he said. "I'm humoring you; it seems unfair that such effort shouldn't be rewarded." Deryne smirked.

"Laun, your humor is wasted as a conservative." He glared at her.

"I never said I was one-" She snorted.

"On with the lecture." Laun's eyes remained narrowed, but he began his explanation.

"Five lines, second years in the first one." He pointed to where her year mates were already lining up to begin. Deryne watched as Aloin urged his mount forward. She watched as he fumbled with the lance, barely skimming the side of the shield. The sandbag smacked his side hard. She winced. "He missed; you need to hit the target on the shield-" The red circle in its center. "-or you get whacked. See how I hold the lance-" Deryne looked at how he rested it across his horse's withers; she looked down at her own positioning, and smiled slightly. "Keep the point level and let the lance slide back in your hands when it hits. If it hits. And turn away when you're done." Deryne nodded, unable to keep her face smooth. Instead she allowed herself a small, polite smile.

"Fate is trained like the palace horses?" she asked. "The charge command is the same?" Laun frowned, swinging his head around.

"You don't want to charge at that thing, D-"

"Are you finished yet, Isanife?" Ezeko bellowed. Both pages leapt in the saddle. "Queenscove, go!" She looked back at Laun one more time.

"Don't charge," he hissed. She watched him coolly, then raised an eyebrow.

"Care for my well-being, is it? My thanks, but are the commands the same?"

"Isanife! Get your butt over here!" Ezeko roared. "Let's go, Queenscove! Sometime today." Deryne glared at Laun, who nodded.

"Same." She swore she heard as she turned Fate around, "Idiot." Grin broadening, she trotted the sorrel up to the chalk line. HaMinch checked her postioning, frowning when he found nothing to correct.

"Free to go whenever you decide, girl," he said, stepping back. Deryne looked down the field at the quintain, then patted Fate's neck. Then she kicked the mare into a gallop.

The wind whooshed past her as she raced towards the target, leveling the lance carefully.

"Don't tense up," Kel had told her many times. "It's easier to slip, easier to get hurt-"

But it was hard to stay calm as the target grew closer, and closer-

She saw her lance hit the very edge of the circle before it slipped. Eyes wide, she watched as the wood shattered, exploding into her face. Then everything went black.

Deryne's eyes flickered open to see her aunt Kel. Frowning, she tried to sit up, but Kel pushed her back down and put a finger to her lips. Puzzled, Deryne looked around, but her blanket was tossed back over her. A door opened.

"Neal, stop fretting," her aunt ordered. "I'll tell you when she's awake. Why wouldn't I?" Deryne's father muttered something she could not make out. "Go on, Meathead." A moment later, Kel hauled the cover off Deryne and smiled. "I figured you might want to catch your breath before your da descends like a mother hen." Sitting up, the girl flinched; a sharp pain lanced through her head. "You hit your head pretty hard, youngling." Deryne frowned, putting a hand up to her head. There was a large bump on the side of her head that she did not remember being there before. "Your father decided to leave that bruise there as a reminder not to get into any more accidents for the rest of the week; he's busy enough as it is with one of those colds going around the servants."

"I- What did I-" Her aunt frowned.

"It was odd," the woman replied thoughtfully. "Me and Sir Clement were coming to see you lot, and we got there just in time to see you go." Deryne winced; it was one thing to knock herself out in front of haMinch and the pages, and another to do so in front of her aunt, her first teacher. "The lance just exploded. I don't think you did anything wrong. Even as it burst, you did everything you could have. You pulled away fast, covered your face, but it was just too late-" Deryne nodded silently, then frowned as the lady knight's words echoed through her mind.

"Sir Clement?" she asked. "Of Brockmire?" Kel smiled.

"That's right. His squire is your friend, if I remember correctly?"

"Inar's here?" The woman nodded.

"Sir Clement and I had to come back to help the Own with some things." She grinned. "Raoul can't seem to get on without my help." Deryne smiled back. The Own Commander was Cadel's godfather; he had been Kel's knight master. Then her face fell. "What's wrong, Deryne?" The page sighed, pulling up her knees so she could prop her chin on them.

"Knight master," she muttered, unable to look at Kel. "Who would choose me as his squire?" Kel hesitated. "I know you can't pick me, 'cause people would call it favoritism, since we're related and you're a lady knight-"

"I thought the same thing," the woman admitted with a sigh. "But look how lucky I got!" She smiled at her niece, but Deryne still shook her head.

"I mean, there's all your old friends from your page years, but-" She took a deep breath, then plunged on, "I mean, wouldn't people say you called in a favor for me, if one of your friends-" Kel's lips twitched.

"I don't think you have to worry," she said carefully. Too carefully. Deryne looked up at her aunt suspiciously. When Kel met her gaze, the glint in her hazel eyes gave her away.

"You already know someone!" Deryne accused in a wave of relief and surprise. Kel shrugged.

"There are several people who might ask. But don't worry about that." She ruffled Deryne's hair. "Worry about becoming a squire first, will you?" The girl smiled.

"I will." She lay back on the cot, propping herself up on her elbows. "How exciting were your page years, anyway? Did you have half this much trouble?" Kel's lips twitched.

"I got into fights almost every other night, if that's what you mean."

"Really?" Kel chuckled softly.

"And Wyldon- he was the training master then- was determined that I would not get through my page years. Always challenging me, making me work harder than any of the boys-" She paused, clearing her throat. "It's a good thing he did. I wouldn't be half the knight I am today if he hadn't."

"Adversity builds strength?"

"It builds dogged determination not to fail, for one thing," Kel said, grinning.

"And your squire years?"

"Worse," her aunt replied, her face smooth. Even though she had not a drop of Islander blood in her, she had spent several years there and was as adept with Yamani mannerisms as Deryne's mother. "Mud, dirty jobs with the Own- building houses, burning out nests of spidrens-" Her eyes glittered. "And, best of all, tilting with Lord Raoul." Deryne's eyes widened. No wonder her aunt was so good at jousting! Lord Raoul was huge. More often than not, when Deryne saw the man joust, his opponent would have to be carried off the field. "But it kept me alive during the Scanran War," she added quietly.

"Must've been too tough to die by then," Deryne said, laughing. Kel shrugged, wrapped up in her memories.

"It was hard enough, protecting refugees, fighting the Nothing Man and-" Deryne's eyes narrowed, but she forced herself to speak casually.

"Nothing Man? Have you ever mentioned him to me before?" she asked, trying not to look like she was staring too hard at her aunt. Kel's smile was bitter and rueful.

"Many times," she answered. "I haven't called him that in years, though." Deryne's pulse quickened.

"Who?" The lady knight's eyebrow rose at Deryne's eagerness. "Wondering," the page added hastily, kicking herself mentally.

"Blayce the Gallan," Kel said, watching Deryne closely. But the girl did not care; it was so obvious! The man in that dream, the man in the library, looking up Thom of Trebond- He was Blayce! Everything the Chamber had said about him suddenly made sense!

What had he found? The diaries that Alanna had locked up in Pirate's Swoop, or something else? And where had he been in that dream? And why had he been looking for whatever it was?

"Deryne…." She was pulled back to the present by Kel, who had a faint frown on her face. "Is-"

Both turned as the door opened again; Neal strode in, glaring at his friend.

"I knew it!" he exclaimed. "I knew you wouldn't tell me!"

"And why might I want to do that?" Kel asked dryly, quiet enough that the healer might not have heard. Ignoring her, Neal pointed an accusatory finger at the pair of them.

"Scheming how to leave without seeing me, were you? How did you do this to yourself, Deryne? Run into someone swinging a staff? Or did you just hit yourself over the head with one of her-" He jerked his head at Kel. "-weighted lances, eh?"

"Leaving now would be a good plan," Deryne muttered to her aunt, who just nudged her to be quiet. But at the same time, she subtly gestured that Deryne swing her legs to the floor. Cautiously, the girl obeyed and stood, expecting her head to spin. She was fine.

"Neal, you heard the story from me, haMinch, and Cadel," Kel said in a reasonable voice. "And she's had enough for today. Surely you wouldn't want to trouble the invalid?" Neal glared.

"She's fine! Look, she can stand!"

"Well, then, there you go! From the chief healer's lips! She's fine and doesn't need any more help," Kel concluded. "Go back to that ill chamberlain; he looked ready to upchuck his dinner-" She poked Deryne again, then tilted her head in the direction of the door on the other side of the infirmary. Deryne slid behind her aunt towards it. Neal glowered.

"I want to know why she-"

"It's called page training, Meathead-" As her father's gaze alighted on Deryne, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. At the same moment, Kel snatched the cover off of the bed and tossed it at him. Deryne snickered; it seemed that her husband's playfulness had made an impression on the usually stoic lady knight.

"Go, Deryne!" she called loudly, a laugh in her voice. Grinning, Deryne waited a moment, watching as her father squawked and waved his arms around. As he spun around, the man tripped over his own feet and fell into the hospital rag box with a yelp. Then, giggling as her aunt winked, she made good her escape.

Inar's face was impassive as Rikash revealed the entire story, only frowning once when the apprentice mage explained the fight. Once Rikash had found out his friend was back, it had taken a few minutes for him to track down the squire. Both had gone to the library and, once they were there, Rikash revealed everything except for the thing in the whirlwind. Even if he wanted to reveal that, he did not think he could begin to explain the sensation.

"Can I see the piece of glass?" Rikash glared at him.

"This isn't about the glass!" he hissed. "It's about the fight! My magic-"

"But it started with the whirlwind," Inar said in a calm voice with a hint of steel behind it. "Where is it?" The other boy shrugged.

"My room," he grunted. "You can have it. I'll get it later."

"All right." Inar cleared his throat. "I suppose it's a cycle. That much is obvious." Rikash frowned.

"What?" Inar leaned back on the bookcase he stood against.

"Wax and wane. Rise and fall. Wild and tame. And you have had two explosions, in that case. The day before Midwinter and the other day."

"I had control after Midwinter," Rikash added thoughtfully, seeing where Inar was headed. "And I lost it at the Swoop." His amber eyes narrowed. "But that's what I'm saying! If I do the same thing I did at the Fire Festival-" Inar frowned.

"What did you call it?" he asked sharply. Rikash paused, then repeated the words.

"Why? What is it?" Why was Inar acting like this? Rikash rubbed his head, irritated. Trying to figure this out was like having someone was running through his head with a filgree comb, and all Inar could do was frown and demand answers? Just talking about it made Rikash's head ache.

"I dunno." He seemed truly puzzled. "I thought I-" He scowled. "I remembered something, or-" He shook his head, then sighed. "Any binding spell will help you. Ask your father." Rikash rolled his eyes.

"He'll want to know why."

"And you don't want to tell him?" Inar's blue eyes studied him shrewdly for a moment. Then he smiled sympathetically. "If you really want, I can try, but your Gift is probably too strong for mine to contain it completely."

"Good," Rikash said, relieved. "I don't want to be cut off from it altogether. Just a little control-" He hesitated. "What do you need?" Inar shrugged.

"It isn't that hard. Just a circle of power, incantations- I won't even attach the spell to me. I'll connect it to the desert, or something. Some place where your powers can siphon off extra power without causing trouble."

"Chamber!" Deryne barked. The kestrel looked up and glowed blue in her magical sight.

Yes? It was irritated. All the same, Deryne walked over and scowled.

"You couldn't have just told me? What are you getting at? Blayce- where was he in that dream, that he had something of Thom's?" Duskwing preened himself.

Because telling you would take all the fun out of it. You better hurry up, or you'll miss supper. Muttering something about insolent pigeons, she changed quickly, yanking a tunic over her head before leaving again.

Inar was polite when he saw her after supper; he bowed neatly. Deryne snorted.

"Good lords, Inar. You leave for a few months and come back a fop with pretty manners?" She knew it was not the case; the squire had a faint scar on his left cheek and the unpolished look of someone who had been tramping through the wilderness for awhile. Inar smiled, picturing his escapades in the last few weeks.

"I see you're quite happy and healthy. A few exciting guests and a little sun, I hear." He noted how her grin faltered. "A little too much?" She raised an eyebrow, but did not say anything. She was daring him to elaborate. He was not one to back down from a challenge. "I was talking to Rikash-"

"You found him?" the girl demanded sharply, eyes glinting. For a moment, Inar had an image of her as a warrior on the battlefield. Her brilliant, gray-blue eyes were enough to cow a fighter.

"He found me," Inar admitted, watching as her fists clenched.

"So he seeks you out himself, even?" she snapped. "What's he said about me? How I can't control my Gift? Well, he-"

"He's sorry," the squire cut in quickly. "Really, really sorry. But he doesn't want it to happen again," he added, improvising. Although Rikash had not broached that subject, Inar could guess what his thoughts on it were. "So he doesn't want to see you. Or talk." Deryne did not look appeased.

"What did he say?"

"Just that he's out of control. Nothing about you." That was not exactly true. The apprentice had actually used some choice words when describing how Deryne's Gift had gnawed at his mind, but he was more upset than angry at his friend. Inar figured it was a safe, white lie. "But we think he should be good soon." He made a rueful face. "But I don't know if he'll just run to go find you." Deryne sighed wearily. Then she gestured that Inar should follow her.

"I doubt it." They walked through the corridors slowly. "I don't think I-" She stopped, then started again, "I mean, he probably- we-" Alarmed, Inar glanced at her as she choked on her words. Seeing the look on his face, Deryne cleared her throat and strolled on. "We probably won't ever be good friends- even friends, maybe- again." Inar struggled for words. Words that did not agree with hers.

"It'll be awkward at first," he agreed, carefully choosing his words. "But I can't see you both ignoring the other for the rest of your lives. It might take time and effort, but-" He shrugged. "I suppose it comes down to how bad you want it." Then he changed the subject. "I saw your fall today. It looked like it hurt." Deryne grimaced, hand reaching up to touch the large bruise on her forehead.

"It did," she agreed matter-of-factly. "You came with Aunt Kel and Sir Clement to watch."

"That I did." He smiled. "Everyone panicked, except for a few pages and haMinch. They almost looked hopeful." Deryne burst into laughter.

"Hoping that would be one accident too many?"

"You strike me as the resilient type," Inar remarked dryly. "Whenever I see you, you're always managing to hurt yourself somehow. I shudder to think how many times you get dragged into the infirmary a week." Deryne laughed again. "I'm also surprised that your father's hair isn't all gray yet." She wiped away tears of mirth from her eyes.

"He might have dyed it. He would do that." They walked on a little more in silence. "So you're going to help the Own now?"

"With your aunt, yes." He cleared his throat. "I've seen a lot. Sir Clement and I rode all the way down the southern coast and back." Deryne's eyebrows rose.

"In only a few months' time?" she exclaimed.

"We rode hard; he meant to stay down there for a time, but then- at an outpost- the mage there said we were needed back in Corus. We arrived the same time as Lady Keladry." Deryne nodded.

"That's odd," she said, thinking. "Why search for Sir Clement of all men- no offense, Inar- to summon him all the way from the south?" The squire shrugged. It had struck him as odd at the time, but he had also been glad. Corus was his home, as more than anywhere else-

"Maybe he was the only radical available," he answered wryly. "Not just any knight would work with the Knight Commander and the Lady Knight." Deryne snorted.

"You have a point. Do you know what you will be doing?"

"Exterminating spidrens, no doubt." He grimaced. "Nasty beasts."

"Well, I am glad to see you," Deryne said. "Especially since Ri-" Her lips pressed together tightly. "How long are you going to be here?"

"Not sure," he admitted. There was a ghost of a smile on her lips as she tucked a stray lock of her dark hair behind her ear.

"Long enough for a few duels? Make sure you challenge Cadel and knock him on his butt, though; he's gotten cocky lately 'cause none of us can beat him."

"I'll do my best."

It was Sunday, their day off. But Deryne and her friends were all in the training yard, practicing. Deryne had a stack of arrows; Leo and Blais of Glassbour, the first year page Evrain was sponsoring, stood next to her, waiting to retrieve the stray arrows once she was finished with her current stack. Evrain and Cadel had bullied Laun into coming; while Cadel and Aloin watched Inar demonstrate several new tricks his knight master had taught him, he and Evrain watched Deryne's positioning.

"Feet closer together," Laun said, bored. Deryne moved them. "Not that close." He ran a hand through his dark curls and gazed up into a nearby tree; for the past few weeks, the pages had steered clear of it, because of the hundreds of wasps flying around it. No one had bothered to get rid of the hive yet, and it was growing.

"Aren't you pleasant?" Deyrne muttered under her breath.

"Be nice," Evrain advised. "I couldn't tell you what you're doing wrong in a thousand years. That's why we got him."

"Nice to be wanted," Laun retorted acidly. Evrain patted him on the back jovially.

"We all know you're probably the most observant of the lot of us, when it comes to this sort of thing." Deryne pulled back the string carefully, gazing down at the target.

"Keep both eyes open." Annoyed, Deryne turned to glare at the boy standing behind her.

"They were!" she said indignantly. Laun shrugged.

"I can't tell from here. Just making sure. You kept closing one before." Suppressing an impolite remark, Deryne turned back to the target.

"Relax," Laun said in a loud, steady voice. "Make sure you're in line. Then just don't flinch. I think you keep moving to the side at the last moment, like you're afraid the string's gonna hit you. If it does, that's just too bad." Ignoring him, Deryne gripped the bow tightly, then released.

The arrow flew forwards, just hitting the edge of the target. Unable to stop a small squeal of delight, Deryne whirled around. Laun raised an eyebrow.

"So you hit the target. A second year should be able to hit somewhere in the red center-"

"Can you gag yourself for a moment?" Deryne demanded, grinning widely as she turned back to the target. "Maybe I'm not a lost cause, after all!" Laun snorted.

"So I suppose this means the mighty lady warrior wants a break." Smirking, Deryne turned back to the four other pages.

"I do, in fact. But only so we can hear what Inar's telling Cadel. We can't have him knowing secret little tricks on top of everything else; he'd be insufferable." Leo, Blaise, and Evrain lit up; she knew they had been dying to listen to the squire.

But by the time they crossed the practice field, Cadel and Inar had begun sparring. Laun rolled his eyes as Evrain and Aloin bet on the winner. Deryne sighed; she would be better off working on her archery. She just had not wanted any of her friends to feel obligated to helping her. Quietly, she went back to the targets, keeping half an eye on the mock fight. Inar seemed to be gaining a little ground, but Cadel was holding his own-

Shaking her head, Deryne picked up an arrow and tried to focus on the target, but found her gaze straying back to the duel. Inar had just knocked Cadel's blade to the side; her cousin ducked and recovered before the other boy could finish it. Both were grinning madly as they circled, feinting to one side and then the other. Then they charged, blades meeting before they pulled away again. Cadel parried a cut at his head, then lunged forwards. Inar smacked the blade away, and Cadel stumbled. Deryne aimed-

Gudruna whirled through her uninvited; a black shadow, a twist of a blade-

Cadel's eyes widening in panic- In the act of releasing, the girl whipped around to give the duel her full attention; Cadel was lunging in for another attack. She breathed a sigh of relief, wondering what the images had been-

Her eyes traveling the path the arrow had taken- thank the Goddess no one had been with her- she swallowed heavily.

"Oh dear," she managed as a wave of hornets scattered from the tree. "Oh-" Swearing, she dashed back towards her friends. "Run!" she yelped as the small, furious insects headed towards them. Evrain stared at her in disbelief.

"What-" Grabbing him by the shirt, Deryne ran past. She could hear the others following. She hiked the fence that circled the training yard and sprinted into the woods.

"Where do you think you're going, Queenscove?" Laun demanded sharply. She did not bothering answering; he knew as well as she did that there was a pond very close by-

When the gleaming water came into sight, Deryne leaped in, letting the cold water wash over her.

At least I'm in practice clothes, she thought as she resurfaced, shivering. Leo, Cadel, and Aloin had followed her example, but Evrain, Laun, and Blaise only watched, looks of puzzlement on their faces. Inar was in the process of entering the water and began floating on his back calmly. Deryne rolled her eyes.

"You want to get stung?" she yelled at them. Blaise looked at his sponsor, who shrugged and looked back into the woods. Laun snorted, but Deryne watched her red-haired friend, who suddenly grinned maniacally as his head swung back around to eye Laun.

"I'm not getting wet. That water is freezing. They've probably all gone back into their-" His words were cut off by Evrain's cursing. Herding Blaise into the water, Evrain ducked in, on the verge of laughter. Puzzled, Deryne collected the gudruna on the wind; she could not hear anything. Picking up on Evrain's plot, she cocked an eyebrow at Laun.

"I suggest you start running, then." Glaring at them, he waded in, looking back over his shoulder. Deryne nodded at Evrain solemnly. Laun turned back to her.

"Where are these wasps, Ev-" With a wild yell, Evrain leaped on him, forcing him underneath the water. The big redhead quickly resurfaced, looking pleased with himself. Deryne raised an eyebrow.

"Are you gonna let him up?" Evrain grinned.

"I did. I guess he wanted to swim, after all-" Deryne yelped as something clutched her ankle and twisted; water invaded her senses. When she managed to find the bottom and stand again, she broke the surface with a gasp and a glare ready for the culprit. Still sputtering, she opened her eyes to see him looking her right back in the eye.

"That was all you," Laun said sourly. "It had your name written all over it." Deryne adopted an air of innocence.

"Oh, no. It was all Ev." She pointed to him. "When I figured out what he was up to, I just helped him along a little." The others were laughing.

"Deryne, serves you right."

"Laun, seems you're loosening up. Retaliation is not the way of the stiff-necks." Laun glowered a moment more at her, then sloshed back to shore.

"I hate getting wet," he said tartly, which only served to make the other boys laugh harder.

"Like a little kitty, aren't you?"

"Careful, it might scratch!" Deryne couldn't help but smile at Evrain's last jab. Cadel snorted, then burst into a fit of coughs. Laun shot him a look.

"You can laugh if you want. I'm getting used to it-" Cadel shook his head, still coughing as he got out of the water. Concerned, Deryne followed him.

"Are you-" He stopped and smiled, eyes watery.

"Fine." He coughed again. "Ahem. Sorry." Picking up his sparring staff, he waved it at Inar. "Come, Ferensfell! Where we were when we were so rudely interrupted!" Tossing the squire his staff, Cadel charged into the pond again, waving his stick. Deryne laughed as they splashed around, the other boys shouting encouragingly and sloshing them with cold water droplets. She glanced at Laun, who had a half-hearted smile on his lips. Then Inar knocked Cadel back; the younger boy flew back into the water with a tremendous splash. Brushing his blond, soaked hair back, Inar waded over to where Cadel had disappeared warily. Deryne grinned; no doubt her cousin was plotting his counterattack-

Then Inar frowned.

"Cadel?" he said sharply before diving in. Deryne took a few steps forwards as Evrain and Laun converged on the spot to help Inar haul the coughing Cadel up.

"You all right there, mate?" Ev pounded his friend on the back. Cadel's brow creased as they helped him to shore. "It is kinda cold; you feel even more chilled than I am-"

"That's funny." Deryne's eyes narrowed. Cadel never sounded so far-away, so faint- "I'm feeling kinda warm, actually-" As his cousin started forwards, he toppled forwards, sliding from his friends' grasps to the ground, unconscious.