"She has the Gift Jon. A strong one. She might rival me, in time. She must be trained."

"I know, I know. But I wanted to spend time with her; all of us did. I didn't want to hand her over to you just yet."

"She won't have to leave; I'll stay in my rooms here for a while, while I tutor her. You'll still see as much of her as you would; and her Gift is too great to go on untrained. I must start immediately. You have to understand, Jon."

"I do, I do. I just wanted her to be comfortable here before anything drastic was done. But you're right. She'll be like a walking time bomb if she's untrained."

"Good. Have her meet me tomorrow in the field just out of Corus."

"Numair, I don't think that-"

"Don't worry, Jon. You think I would let anything happen to her after I spent months tracking her down?" He winked to take any bite his words might have out. "She'll be safe. I promise you with my life that she will return unharmed."

Jon nodded.

"Very well. Keep her safe, Numair. And train her well."

Azeka was sitting in the room she had awoken in with Alanna. The knight was telling her more about Tortall. "What about religion? I mean, do you have Christianity, and Judaism, and all of those?"

Alanna arched an eyebrow. "I've never heard of those. But we worship Bright Mithros, the Sun God, and the Goddess. And different people worship different gods, mostly depending on where they live. In Carthak, their patron is the Graveyard Hag. Our patrons are Mithros, the Goddess, Gainel the Dream God, the Black God. There are almost too many to name, not to mention the lesser gods, and the gods of all the animals. The names to remember are the Goddess, and Mithros."

Azeka nodded. That was going to take some getting used to. "So it's like paganism. Okay. I think." She was silent a moment, trying to commit the names to memory. Shaking her head, she turned back to Alanna.

"So, do you have a husband? Kids?"

She smiled. "Yes, I'm married, and I've three children. In fact, my eldest is about your age."

"Really? What's her name?"

"His name is Thom. He'll be here soon, actually. I'll introduce you two when he arrives."

"Cool. I'd like that. When-" She cut herself off as the door opened and Numair stepped in.

"Your Highness, Alanna," he said impatiently.

"Yo," Azeka looked up at him, wanting to know why he had interrupted their conversation. She was starting to like Alanna. And she had a really nice pair of black earrings.

"Princess Azeka, if I may take a moment of your time."

"Whatdaya want?" She was already tired of the way no one was straightforward with her. Accept for Alanna, that is.

"I want to talk to you of the Gift."

"What gift?"

"No, the Gift. It's magic. Power. And you have it. I must teach you to control it before you destroy us all."

"Numair, don't you think-"

"That I should wait? Alanna, have you even checked her power?"

"No, I-" She cut herself off as she reached out to Azeka with her Gift. "Bright Mirthros above," she whispered. Her eyes were wide as she looked at Azeka, her mouth agape. Then she turned to Numair in a no-nonsense attitude. "Train her. Now."

"Wait a minute," Azeka said, holding out her hands. "Don't I get a say in this? What's going on?"

"I told you. Your Gift needs training, else something could accidentally set you off, and you could kill many people. You must be trained immediately. Thom should be here soon - he's another of my students. One of my only ones in matters of the Gift at the moment. He is nearly ready for mastery, and will help me to teach you. Something tells me it will take a lot of work."

Alanna nodded. "You two should start now. I'll send for Thom. You're like a walking bomb." She directed the last comment at Azeka.

The princess 'hmphed' and crossed her arms. "Fine. Whatever. You'll introduce me to Thom?"

"Of course," Alanna said.

"Well good, we can wait until he gets here. She smiled craftily at Numair, then leaned against the wall. "So there."