Ok. I apoligize right now for all of the really bad formatting. It is because I had no Idea that ff.n was basically cancelling all of the formatting that word automatically does. Sigh more work, I am so sorry!! ::takes a knife to MSN :: DIE MSN!!!!!! ::Maniac glare:: Yeah. Ne way. I know you are all itching for the story so… on with the show! P.s. if the tags show up, sorry, but its still easier to read.

~^~br

This time, Xlelon did not have to descend by way of the stairs. For this, she was very thankful. She walked in and talked to some more people, again very thankful that she was not to deal with master Oakbridge. The man had been informed of her German (which was really scanran) language talent, and had immediately started piling her with books on Scanran etiquitte, even though he was not teaching due to midwinter parties. She sighed, thinking of all of the work that she had yet to do. How did I get myself into this, she questioned herself. Oh yeah, she thought, smirking and nodding to a few courtiers, I walked my dog. She shook her head, amused at the irony of it all. Numair and Daine talked to her for awhile, mostly of the recent snows. It had snowed about a foot in the past week, which Xlelon was glad for, it reminded her of home. She hadn't gotten around to figuring out how her calander compared to theirs, but was pretty sure that midwinter was mid-december. She had decided to give her own party for chirstmas, just for the sake of it. She was only planning on a few guests, Imrah, Daine, Numair, and a few others she was close to. She considered inviting the king and Thayet, so that Roland and Kaslin could come, possibly Raoul and Buri. And, of course, Neal.br

"Speak of the devil…" she muttered, because Neal had just come over, grinning. He bowed.br

"Good evening, my knight master has given me a few minutes to breath, and of course, the first thing I thought of was you!" br

She chuckled.br

"I thought I was liquor…but I guess oxygen will do fine as well." br

He raised an eyebrow. br

"Liquor? Nay, for I can live without liquor!" br

"Ah, I see, so now you can't live without me?" br

He smiled and turned, walking quickly away. Xlelon did not catch the blush on his face. He's being very strange, she thought, oh well. br

~^~br

Three hours, six dances with annoying knights, and four glasses of juice later, Xlelon was more that ready to go. The knights that she had danced with were all nice enough, but they were jocks through and through. She had felt like a customer in the market. Pick me, pick me! She shook her head, quite frustrated. She was only sixteen for heaven's sake! How was she supposed to be a diplomat if she had an idiot husband who was always gone? Or perhaps that wasn't what they had wanted. She shook her head, there wasn't any way they would get that. br

A light touch on her shoulder made her jump. She turned around, biting back a groan, not another one…and started. It was Neal again. She sighed, quite relieved, then smiled, seeing the look on his face. br

"Sorry, I though you were another dimwitted knight." br

He raised an eyebrow. br

"Been having trouble with them have you?" br

She nodded. br

"Every other minute." br

He grinned. br

"Well then fair lady, can I interest you in a game of chess?" br

Her eyes lit up, she still had yet to beat him in chess. br

"If I can get out of here, of course! Just give me a minute, the king told me to stay until the tenth watch at least." br

Neal nodded. br

"Then I shall stay with you, and guard you from the ferocious knights." br

She just rolled her eyes. It was at least half an hour until the third watch, but it flew by when Neal was there. For one thing, she didn't have to last through the torture of dancing with random knights, for another, Neal was amusing. By the time the tenth watch was called, Xlelon had forgotten the troubles with knights, as she was to busy arguing good naturedly with a squire. br

"But the courtesy in the Yamanis is impeccable, everything has to be just right, It's even worse than sword fighting!" br

"Dare I ask how you know that?" br

She shrugged. br

"Common sense. In sword play, if you make a mistake, there's a chance you'll get killed, but unless it's a rather large mistake, you only get a scratch. If you make a mistake in Yamani custom in front of the Emperor, then you're killed." br

He nodded. br

"Amazing argument you've got there. What about Scanra?" br

She shrugged. br

"I haven't done much with them yet." br

"Aren't you to be a diplomat there?" br

"Yes, but that's only since last week, Master Oakbridge has been covering the Yamanis, because we have a large envoy there right now." br

And, she thought, a soon to be a tortallan princess, not to mention the next lady knight.

"How are they, have you heard?" br

"Yes, the talks are going nicely, they're considering a royal marrige." br

Neal raised an eyebrow. br

"Really, for who?" br

"Roland, though he's only nine." br

Neal nodded. br

"That's common," he let them into his quarters for the winter months. "They arrange marriges early, there's only problems if they want to marry early." br

She nodded, and sat down at the table that they always used for chess. br

"White or black?" br

"You choose." br

"Black." br

~^~br

She studied the board with a cunning eye, looking for one particular thing. Finnaly, she saw it. Keeping her face smooth, she moved her bishop in to take his rook. Neal took a sweeping glance at the board and took her bishop with his knight, quite forgetting the standoff between his knight and her rook. Holding her breath, she moved in her other rook, then grinned. br

"Checkmate." br

Neal started back, nearly falling out of his chair. He took a good look at the board and finally hit his head. br

"Argh!" br

Xlelon was too busy laughing in glee at her hard-earned victory to notice his spluttering. Just then, Imrah walked in with Hallayna. He stopped, looked quickly at the board, and began to chuckle. br

"Well Neal, it looks as if you have been beat. It's about time." br

Neal was still to thunderstruck to answer. Xlelon finally got his attention by commenting that he looked like she had snapped his mind. He shook his head. br

"I am sorry to dissapoint you mi'lady, what is your take?" br

"Huh?" br

He chuckled. br

"I'm surprised you forgot, you challanged me the last day I was here in the fall."

She though a moment. br

"Oh yeah… Well, I suppose I will let you off lightly, though next time, squire, you shall pay for each and every one of your checkmates." br

"Really now?" br

She just looked at him, back at the chessboard, then at him again. His eyes looked blue in the firelight, though she knew very well that they were gray. She sighed. br

"No possibly not. But a girl can dream can't she?" br

"Just as much as a man can." br

He said it quietly, as if it meant something else to him. She looked at him sharply, but didn't reply. Instead she got up. br

"I think I should be going now, I have yet to read some of those books that Master Oakbridge gave me." br

He smiled and got up himself, sweeping a bow in the process. Xlelon was impressed, she had never seen anyone pull that off well. br

"May I have the honor of escorting the lovely lady to her rooms?" br

"You may, though why you feel the need I'll never know." br

"The palace is fraught with peril my dear, I shall protect you from it." br

"Yeah, somehow I think the only peril this palace is fraught with at the moment and that is dangerous to me, is you." br

"Very well, if you wish to think that." br

She grinned as he offered his arm and took it gently. They walked out, neither of them noticed Imrah chuckling by the fire, having put Hallayna to bed. br

~^~br

"So, how have you survived your first mid-winter in Tortall?" br

She smiled. br

"Quite well, and I beat you at chess, so that makes it all the better." br

He rolled his eyes. br

"You will never let that go will you?" br

"You got it." br

He sighed, smiling. They had now reached her rooms, and he bowed. br

"I leave you now, though I would stay for all time if I could!" br

She curtseyed in return. br

"I thank you squire, but I'm afraid that the nobles would look down on that." br

Suddenly, he put a hand under her chin and brought it up to look at him. He smiled for a moment, as she looked into his eyes in slight surprise, this was not like him. Then, without warning, he kissed her gently. She had not expected this. Before she knew what exactly had happened, he had broken away. br

"Midwinter luck Xlelon." br

And then he was gone, leaving Xlelon completely poleaxed. br

~^~

Whew. Finally. Took me two days, and two chapters of getting ready to write that chapter simply because I wanted it perfect. No, the fact that the last line is exactly the same as in squire is not because I couldn't think of anything else, it will be explained later. YAY! ::goes to write next chapter:: br

p.s. Again I apoligize if the br shows up (if this looks strange, its good, it means it working.) It's better than annoying formatting.