THE PALACE
(SEVEN WEEKS LATER-START OF SCHOOL YEAR)
Kel walked throughout the hallways belonging to the Squires' wing. She was finally here and it felt great! After a small chat to Neal they had decided to go down to the Pages' wing and watch the sponsor decisions. As they walked Kel dreamily imagined what it would be like if they were together, really together. "Kel?" Snapping out of her love sick day dream Kel turned to grin at Neal, "What?" Neal just grinned and looked ahead. "I just wanted to be sure that you were paying attention."
"Oh, Any reason why?"
"You'll see." With that Kel heard the shout of a feminine voice with males gearing. Kel sighed, she had thought that she had stopped them from picking on women. She dashed forward to the ruckus.
The fight had already started by the time that Kel and Neal arrived. Without really seeing what was going on, that the girl had obviously escaped leaving a youth in her place to fight. The youth was holding his own but Kel charged forward with Neal behind her to stop the fight before Lord Wyldon came. Too late.
"What in Mithros' name do you think you are doing?"
Everyone but the girl froze. Kel watched her as she looked up into Lord Wyldon's cold eyes. Alianne looked up into the eyes that her mother had despised for decades, and prepared herself for a bellowing and punishment work. "Perhaps you new pages didn't realise that FIGHTING IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED!" Kel winced and watched the girl do the same, but hide it well. "Well, my Lord" the perfectly pronounced words came from the child's mouth. "I too thought that the Pages also had to learn to treat their fellow pages with respect, not insulting them for their appearance." Lord Wyldon glared at the youth as Kel got a good look at him, her, wait a second she was the same girl that she had met in the market place! Kel's heart raced, it was a girl! And didn't she say "fellow pages"? That girl there from the look of it wanted to be a knight! Kel's heart leapt at the thought, she was more than happy for new girl pages to join yet immediately began worrying about the way that she would be treated. "Hmm. Well, maybe I can excuse a fight in such an instance." The girl bowed politely and Lord Wyldon regained his composure. "New pages in front of your doors, older pages and squires behind me, we won't want to confuse with the younger and put you down a few years, now would we?" The pages and Squires hurried to do what Lord Wyldon said. Wyldon confronted the closest page. "Name and fief." He demanded. Once the page had replied he issued him a sponsor and continued down the line and finally came to the girl. "Alianne," she declared loudly. "Of, er, Trebond."
"Who will sponsor the Trebond girl?"
"What, another one?" Someone whispered to be glared at by both Kel and Alianne.
Kel gently kicked Owen and he started forward, "I will my Lord."
"Why?" Lord Wyldon's sharp mind never missed and thing.
" I…don't mind girls."
"Hmf. Fine then." The training master could not find a reason to reject such a claim. "You may sponsor Alianne, Owen."

The next day Kel and Neal were sitting in the practice courts, watching the knights train and thinking about which knight they'd like to be in service when Owen and Roald approached then with Alianne in tow. Ali was covered with tar, and her eyes were red, obviously from crying. Kel immediately got up, wanted to help her younger acquaintance. "I'm all right, don't bother yourself." Ali quickly reassured Kel before she could get all girlish on her. "Mithros' Spear, Ali. Why would they treat you worse than me? Don't worry, they'll pay." Ali grinned wolfishly and for a moment Kel found that she had a very close resemblance to the Lord Provost. But he was to old to be Ali's father; anyway he had dark hair and tanned skin. Roald glared at Ali and her grin disappeared. "Sorry." She mumbled.
Roald smiled at her, "I know that it's hard but you must remember what people at the palace link those attributes with and what we all decided about it."
"I never realised I acted so much like that person while I was at home."
"Of course not." Neal piped in, "You knew him as he acts privately, without war. The palace knows him as the warrior and mage, the public side. Although it's hard to tell the difference you have to learn it."
Kel was confused; did Neal know this warrior well? And Roald? "Who is this person? And how do you know them so well, Neal? Roald?" Both boys blushed, "Nothing Kel, we just know them, that's all."
"Humph." She would leave it for another day, at the moment a knight was coming towards them. "Hello everyone!" Lord Raoul greeted them, "How's training?" After a brief discussion on how Ali found it and the squires' new timetable Raoul left, seeing "…an old friend of mine." Kel was very suspicious who was this girl really, anyway? Kel was excited but began to get wary, why was everyone keeping a secret from her? But she didn't have time to pursue her curiosities further; they were late to lunch!

Sweat was dripping down Alanna's face. Once she had returned to the palace all the new knights had wanted to try out one new trick or another on her and the supposed "best out of all of us" and simply had to have a duel with her. Of course she had won but now after a few duels in a row she had grown tired and seen Raoul talking to some Pages and Squires and went to converse with him. They both had planned to be at the Squire choosing that afternoon and needed to confer their plans…

Bang! Bang! Bang! "Open up Kel!" Neal yelled through her door. Swiftly checking that everything was in place Kel rushed into the hall to face a furious Neal. "Come on." He said and pulled her to the choosing hall.

A/N:Who will sonsor who? Will Alanna sponsor anyone? Ot does someone get stuck with a stiff knight master?
ok, I know that was kinda a pretty un-productive chapter but who cares? neway, please review, I'd appreciate it. Anf thanx to all those people who did review! yey! U guys rok! Review again?
Niki