A

A/N: Oh, sorry this took so long! I've been swamped with school work and just didn't have the time. Thank you everyone who reviewed the past chapter! Megami, thank you so much! =) You don't get compliments like that everyday, you know. Caitie, I was actually thinking about making it a Briar/Sandry fic, but I haven't actually decided, because I like their friendship in it, too. Although he's the only one mentioned so far, I'm going to get Daja and Tris in there somehow, too. Vixy, I'm sorry if it isn't that clear. What didn't you understand? Could you please e-mail and tell me - I'd love to know what you think. Zadie, thanks for commenting, and I'm sorry this part took so long! Ladyhaemi, thanks, but I don't even know what my plot is right now. =) I think as I go. Aurora, I was thinking about it being their circlet, but I still haven't decided...maybe we can talk later about it? As always, comments are adored!

Chapter 2 - A Lesson in Magic

Demolin fer Mahhenda is boring, Sandry realized as she ate her midday meal.

Perhaps "boring" was too harsh a word, but what else could you call a man who does and says everything in the most uninteresting, conventional way? Boring was the only word that came to mind. She almost regretted asking him to lunch.

Almost.

"Your grandfather doesn't let women become mages?" She asked, when she caught what he said last.

The boy frowned slightly. "Of course not. Women can't be mages. They don't have the capacity." He replied, taking a sip of his tea.

Sandry took two deep breathes, telling herself that he was raised that way, and that's what he was taught since he was a child. Of course he'd think that.

Although he was sitting at the opposite end of the long dining table, Sandry caught his eye and looked at him until he blushed and looked away. "You don't think that I have the capacity to be a mage?" She asked, her voice betraying no hint of dismay. She was used to hearing opinions like this, especially during balls held by her Uncle. But for some reason, it just irked her when the boy said it.

The tips of Demolin's ears reddened at the question. At Crista, this wasn't the topics of conversation you were supposed to have with a woman. With women, you were supposed to talk about clothing and the kingdom's latest gossip - not about politics. "I - well...no - yes! I mean..." The boy looked around for help of any sort, but found most of the servants suddenly had something pressing that they needed to attend to.

The girl's blue eyes didn't waver as she waited for his reply, though inside, she was fuming at his chauvinistic assumption. In some ways, women were actually better than men when it came to being a mage. She wished Rosethorn were here to teach the boy a lesson in manners.

"What if I told you I were a mage?" She asked, though she knew she wasn't, really. She was more something of an apprentice.

The boy's green eyes rounded at the thought. Suddenly, he smiled a little. "Yes, of course. Of weaving, right?" Sandry was sure that Demolin didn't mean that comment to be smug. In fact, she was positive. But the way he said it...

"What are you trying to imply about weaver mages?" The brunette asked, wondering if he meant to imply that women could only be weaver mages, or that weaving wasn't manly, or even magely.

As the older boy opened his mouth stupidly, in what Sandry assumed was to reply, a messenger ran into the dining room, panting. "My lady!" He gasped out. "I request the presence of the Duke."

Sandry rose from her seat to go to the man. "He's in a very important meeting right now. You may relay the message to me." She told him, then turned to her maid. "Melian, get this man some water."

The man looked uncertain, but then he nodded as the brown woman gave him some water. "The Scepter of Arris has been found missing this morning." He reported to the niece of the Duke.

The stately young girl nodded, "Thank you. I will inform the Duke as soon as possible." When the man left, Sandry sat on her chair absently, trying to remember what the Scepter of Arris was, and failing miserably.

"You lost the Scepter of Arris?" Demolin asked, curiously, looking at her eyes, for once.

Sandry frowned. "It was stolen." She hoped that he wasn't going to say anything else so innocently insulting again, because she was certainly not in the mood to be diplomatic enough to simply accept it. She'd be more likely to re-sew that cloak of his so it held his mouth shut. Arris...Arris...why did that name sound so familiar? She wondered, as she forgot about the young lord.

"That's odd. The Cape of Oenda was stolen from my grandfather just a week ago." He commented absently.

"That's right!" Sandry exclaimed, finally remembering the studies long ago with Niko. "The Scepter of Arris, the Cape of Oenda and the Crown of Shiian were what the King of Ki Naq - the Invincible King wore, after he stole it from the demigods Arris, Oenda and Shiian!"

The blond boy just looked at her, as if he thought she had already known. "Yes...according to legend, with all three parts - "

"A man can become invincible." The voice of Dedicate Lark finished softly from the doorway.

"It's just a myth." Demolin said with a jerk of his head, that was supposedly supposed to be a nod. "Someone probably just thinks that they will get a lot of coins for the treasures." He finished, sounding absolutely certain.

"Lark?" Sandry said, looking at her old teacher.

The woman sighed. "We don't know. We aren't sure yet. We've possessed the Scepter of Arris for nearly a century now, and still haven't found anything magical about it. We think there's a kind of key to make it work, but we could never find it. That's what we sent Niko and Tris to go and find."

Thinking of something Briar once said, Sandry said in an undertone to herself "Where's Niko when you need him..."

***

"Tell me again, Niko...why are we trudging though a forest when a nice city is only a little to our right?" Trisana Chandler asked her teacher, as she pushed braches away from her delicate glasses and kicked the foliage by her feet so she wouldn't trip.

Niklaren Goldeye smiled at his testy pupil. "We're looking for a hidden temple. You should be happy - if something happens to one of us, there's a nice city a little to our right." He replied, as he pushed his way deeper into the forest.

The copper-curled girl made a face. "Did you notice that all the things we look for are hard to find? Why don't we go on an expedition for some sea shells or something, for once?" Tris said. Although the young woman was complaining, the words she said lacked the shrewd bite that they held years ago.

"Where would the fun be in that?" He asked, though he wasn't looking at her. Instead, he looked alertly around, as if looking for some sort of clue. Seeing a clearing through a few more branches, he hurriedly pushed them out of his way, going in the direction of the perfectly circular clearing. When he saw a medium-sized bolder about the size of a hut, he smiled and walked toward it.

"Is that the temple?" Tris asked sarcastically, a minute later, as she got through the last of the branches..

"Not yet, Trisana. Not yet." He trekked ahead, looking for more clues.

"What temple are we looking for, anyway?" The girl asked as she stopped to wipe her spectacles that were fogged from the humidity.

"The temple of Ki Naq."

to be continued...