Somehow, all that Rani could think about was that they would soon get to meet the Lioness. She was excited to be in Tortall's capital, of course, and she was having a marvelous time looking about at everything, but what she really wanted was to rush to Pirate's Swoop and learn from the King's Champion. And, of course, it wasn't just the Lioness's strength and legend that made Rani yearn to meet her so much; she knew that woman must have something special about her if her uncle had fallen in love with her. As far as the girl was concerned, the Lioness must have been more than the ordinary woman, more than in just being a warrior, for Liam to love her despite the magic that she commanded. After all, Rani knew of her uncle's fear of magic, though she had never really understood it. He stayed away from people with magic, especially when they had as much as the Lioness did.

"Rani? Are you listening to me?" Lana's sharp voice cut into Rani's thoughts.

"Hmm? Sorry," the girl replied, shaking her head. "I was thinking."

"Of course you were. Listen, we can do some shopping if we'd like! The Whale told the Masters to tell us, though of course you weren't listening." Lana's lips were pursed but amused at the fact that her friend could even ignore the promise of shopping in such a city, as though even the thought ought to be impossible.

"Uh, I'll look around at the stalls and stuff." Rani shrugged, glancing at Tonia, who stood next to her, looking at her feet. "I don't think I'll buy anything. I don't exactly have a lot of money, Lana."

"Well, excuse me," Lana mumbled, offended by the smaller girl's tone. "You don't have to 'look around' if you don't want to…"

"Nono, I do," Rani said quickly. "You coming, Toni?"

"Yeah," murmured her friend. "What about you two?" she asked, glancing at the boys, who had listened to the entire conversation.

"Why not?" Isai said, shrugging. "Should be good for a laugh watching Lana moon over everything, anyway." He narrowly avoided a friendly slap from the tall girl. "Anyway, there are some good weapon and armory shops nearby. The city is great for stuff like that."

"Great," Lana said, smiling. "Shall we just wander for now?" The others murmured their agreement and followed Lana over to some shops.

Rani and Toni mostly followed the other three around, saving their money while their friends bought what they liked. Rani bought only two things: a pretty but affordable necklace for her mother and a new dagger for Tonia, both of whom she needed birthday presents for. She knew that Toni desperately needed a new dagger, as her old one was dull and more or less refused to be sharpened. It was a bit costly, but Rani knew that her friend's appreciation, when she received the girl, would make it worthwhile.

The students' stay in the city was relatively uneventful. They camped outside of city borders and came back in the morning. The only really exciting part of the next day was that they got to see the inside of the palace, though after a while of standing around, the students began mumbling and forming into the small groups that they generally stayed in. Rani placed her right hand on her hip, letting the other hang at her side, as she yawned; they had woken earlier than usual, and everyone was tired. Isai stood at Rani's side, while Ramsey leaned against the wall, Lana next to him. Tonia, though, still looked around a little with wide eyes, taking everything in. And so, because she was one of the few students paying attention to their surroundings, she was the first to notice the woman walking towards them.

"Rani!" she hissed, tapping her friend on the shoulder. "Someone's coming over here!"

Mostly uninterested, Korani turned to see what Tonia was looking at. Some of the other students were murmuring about the woman's appearance now as Rani gasped, her eyes suddenly growing. "That's the queen!" she whispered to her friends. "Uncle Liam described her to me! That must be her! No one else looks like that…" She whistled quietly. "He couldn't capture her beauty in full, though, not in a letter."

"She's gorgeous," the half-Yamani girl agreed quietly, nodding.

"Hello, everyone," the queen announced loudly yet gracefully, and everyone immediately hushed up. "I heard that a group of Shang students were coming to the palace, and I admit I was curious about you all!" She smiled, and Rani thought that she grew even more striking good-looking, if it were possible.

"I suppose I should introduce myself," the woman said. For a brief moment, Rani thought that the queen was acting strange, as though anyone could not know who the woman was. Actually, though, she realized that many people probably did not know who the queen was, never having seen or heard a description of her. Indeed, Toni hadn't known who the woman was, only that she carried herself with great stature. "I am Queen Thayet of Conté." She paused for a moment as the students murmured excitedly before speaking, quieting them down again. "I heard you do not have very much to do today, and I would certainly like to see how one of Tortall's strongest group of students fights, if you are all willing to show me."

Not too long later, the students were gathered in the practice rings usually reserved for the pages who trained at the palace. Only the fourth-year students would be using practice weapons, and while Rani yearned for the feel of her sword in her hand, she knew that she ought to feel privileged to show off her skills for the queen at all. The students had been paired up and separated into groups; Rani found herself facing Lana. They grinned at each other, ignoring the pairs around them as a Shang Master gave them the order to begin.

Lana grinned and moved forward to strike at Rani. The smaller girl ducked and rolled easily and purposefully onto the ground, kicking out a leg to knock her friend over. Lana stumbled but steadied herself as Rani leapt to her feet and grabbed Lana's wrists from behind. Before Lana could wrench around, pulling her arms out of Rani's hands, Rani jumped onto her friend's back, wrapping her legs around her hips and digging one of her heels into the spot right next to Lana's hipbone.

Lana yelped, letting herself fall backwards in an effort to squash Rani, though of course se didn't want to seriously injure her. Rani, smiling, let go just before Lana hit the ground and quickly rolled so that she could place her hand on her friend's throat. Lana lifted her hands in an effort of surrender, and a Shang master joined them to declare that Rani had won the fight.

Rani pushed herself to her feet, reaching out a hand for Lana to take. The larger girl took it, letting Rani help her to her feet. "Nice job," she said, smiling.

"Thanks," Rani replied, panting a little.

The winners and losers watched as their group finished up and as the next group wandered into the practice rings. All the while, the pages and squires of the palace and watched with them, as did even some of the knights who happened to be at the palace at the time. The queen, meanwhile, did not sit in any sort of throne to watch the fights, possible falling asleep, as Rani would have expected any other queen to. Instead, Queen Thayet stood by the practice rings, watching excitedly, clearly impressed by the talent of the Shang students. She spoke to the students around her, as though she believed they were her equals.

After a few rounds, Rani got her turn to fight again, this time against a student who she recognized by face but whose name she couldn't remember. She tried some of the same tactics she had used on Lana, along with some others, but the boy she was up against soon managed to get his hand at her throat, and he was declared the winner.

Shaking his hand, Rani returned to her friends outside the practice area. She stood Isai, who had won his first but was in the second group, and Lana as they watched Toni fight with Ramsey. Their two friends seemed to be on fairly equal footing; Ramsey was larger, but Tonia was amazing at hand-to-hand. They were the last two of the group still fighting when the rest of the pairs had arrived at a winner and loser. Everyone watched as Ramsey took the lead, bearing Tonia to the ground, but she managed to slide out of the way, getting above and behind him and kicking his back at the exact right spot that he fell to the ground. She placed her foot on the back on Ramsey's neck, smiling as everyone cheered.

One of the Shang Masters who was presiding over the fights walked to them and declared Tonia the winner as the next group, already paired up, spread into the rings. Rani bid Isai good luck as she attacked Toni in a hug.

Isai lost in the second round, and the next group involved all of the students who were still in the running. Toni was paired up against a third year student; she held her own for a while but was eventually defeated. She exited the ring, shrugging at her friends. "She was really good," was all Tonia could say about the older student that she had just fought with.

The third year student that Tonia had fount managed to beat the rest of the second- and third-year students. At this point, the girl was allowed to fight with a practice sword, and she was paired up against the fourth year student who had defeated everyone else in his year. Both students were fairly tired, and it didn't take long before the fourth-year won, but it was a good battle, and everyone was excited by the end of the mock-tournament. The boy was congratulated by his friends, and he grinned broadly as the queen shook his hand.

"Someday, that'll be us," Rani yawned, suddenly tired as she took Tonia's hand and leaned her head against her shoulder.

"Yeah," Toni agreed, firmly squeezing Rani's hand. "Of course it will be."