A/N: I am listing to Jimmy Buffet. "Blew out my flip flop, stepped on a pop top…. Wasting away in margaritaville…" I'm trying to make myself believe that it actually is spring, when in reality, there is snow on the ground. Can you believe it? Snow in April! Anyway, I'm very sorry for the length of time between my last update, and this one. I was on spring break (without the luxury of a computer) and then back at school, where they have been keeping me extra busy. But to make up for it, it's a very long chapter. Yeah! Let me know what you think!

Aer: You're right. It was way too poetic. What was I thinking! I must not ever do that again. Yes. Oh, I'm so upset that I can't come to your play! I wish I could come. I'll be there in spirit. I think my game on Sat. will be canceled (due to the snow) so maybe we can hang out. Give me a call!

Moranar: What do you mean that her development is coming along confuzzled? What should I try to improve upon? I'm sorry for it. I've been rushing the story to try to make everyone older. The good stuff doesn't happen until then. I also apologize for the candle thing. I don't have most of the books (I borrowed them all) and I had forgotten a lot about the Gift. I'll try harder in the future. (also, I again owe this chapter to you. Keep nagging me to post more, because it really works!)

Lady of the Lilacs: Your right. It is ridiculous that Cyrus blames everyone for the misfortune of his sister, but that's just part of his character. He was hurt by it, and this is just his way of dealing with the pain.

Lilith Ha: Thanks so much for reviewing! It was unexpected, but that's what I was going for. Most things are predictable. Enjoy this chapter!

balloonfuzz: Thanks so much for reading! Yeah, a new reviewer! I just have to say that I am not the author of 'seat of the magpie.' Aer is. She also has other great stories. Next time you get bored, check it out!

Genevieve: sorry this has taken so long to update! I hope this chapter is more interesting than the last.

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Chapter 9: Spring

Christina ran through the trees. Bright green foliage hung overhead and brushed underfoot. Small flowers began to poke through the thinning blanket of snow. Spring had come.

"Hey, wait up Chris!" cried George.

She sighed as she slowed her pace, stopping at a small clearing in the forest. She rolled her eyes and turned around. "Hurry up. We're almost there."

He sat down on a near by log. "How do you know for sure? I think we're lost."

"We're not lost," she replied evenly.

"But how do you know? We've been wandering aimlessly for hours." He looked up through the trees at the sun to emphasize his point.

"We still have time."

"Yes, but we should be back by now. Sir Theophilus said it would never take this long." He looked a little worried.

"Alright, alright. Maybe we are lost." Christina sat down next to him.

"What are we going to do, Chris?" During the winter months, the other pages, mostly her friends, had shortened her name. Although it sounded like a boy's name, Christina gladly adopted it. It made her feel that much closer to being one of the guys.

She shrugged. "How am I supposed to know that. I didn't get us into this mess."

"Oh really?" he said sardonically. "Just like it wasn't your fault that you, Collin, and I got stable duty."

"That wasn't my fault!" She protested. "I told you, Collin pushed me."

"Right. Uh huh. And you just happened to fall into me."

"Yeah."

George rolled his eyes. "Maybe. But that doesn't make up for me being yelled at more than you two." About a month ago, the three we standing in the armory, when Collin decided to play a trick. He pushed Chris purposefully into George, who by chance was standing next to the suits of armor. Crash. Crash. Crash. The entire row of polished armor collapsed. It might have been funny, for Collin, but Sir Laeorn by some fortune was standing at the other end of the row. Oblivious, one suit caught the man he was talking with off balance. Chris had managed to become upright before the angry training master came their way. They all received punishment for being so careless around important training equipment.

"Well, that wasn't my fault… entirely. But this is different. You had a part in this too."

George groaned. There was a momentary silence between them. "I guess we should wait for someone to find us."

"What!"

"What else do you propose?" She didn't answer. "I'm sure people are already looking for us." He said.

"Yeah." She started to trace shapes in the dirt with her foot. Then she turned her attention to the wooded area around her, looking for something.

"What is it?" George asked.

She smiled and walked over to a pile of fallen branched and picked one about her height out. "I can't just sit around and be idle. I need to practice." George sighed.

She started to do some warm-up exercises before moving into some drills her staff master had recently shown her.

George sat and watched her for a while as she repeated the same drill. She then moved into a slightly more complex drill. He watched as her makeshift staff became tangled in her arms. She did this over and over again, always making the same mistake.

"You've improved," he said after he got the impression that she had become fully discouraged.

"Really?" A smile crept across her face,

"Yeah. A month ago you couldn't even do that drill."

She frowned, lowered her staff and sat down next to her friend. "I'm never going to get it right. Sir Keneth is always yelling at me and singling me out."

"That's only because you need some help now and then. He's trying to help you. Besides, it's only the staff you have problems in."

"And hand combat, and trick riding, and knife fighting, and logistics, and –"

"Ok! No one's perfect. Besides, you're good at archery, history, and writing. Mithros knows I'd die to be able to write like you. I can't even read my own script most of the time."

"It's just so frustrating sometimes," she confessed.

"Yeah…" he trailed off.

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Meanwhile, in a far away country…

Anwar paced angrily across the dark room, taking sips of his wine as he mumbled to himself. His curly red hair bounced around his face. A soft breeze entered the room though the window, failing to lighten the tension.

"I can't stand it!" Anwar yelled, slamming his glass into the opposite wall.

"Calm down," a man sitting behind the desk said, taking short sips from his own glass.

"How can I remain calm at a time like this? The country is falling apart." 

"No, it's been falling apart for many years. It is only now that the revolution has become apparent."

"Yes, but –" Anwar started.

"There are no 'buts' in this situation," the man said sternly, his cold blue eyes setting icily on the man. "Our plan relies solely on this revolution, without it we have nothing. You must trust in it."

"How can I have faith? The Gods have abandoned us, my lord."

"Exactly. We must stay strong to lead our country back to prosperity. And you know as well as I the path that we must take."

"Yes, my lord." Anwar looked at him, trying to understand. He had the composure of a king, but the mind of a dangerous criminal, seeking revenge. Revenge, Anwar thought. Nothing else seemed to affect him now. It had been many years since he had seen happiness in his friend's eyes. Years since anyone had seen wealth and life in the country.

"We must wait now, wait for history to take its course. Only after will our plans begin to take shape." The man looked to Anwar now, who nodded his agreement.

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Silence spanned the distance between Chris and George. She twirled the stick she was holding in her hands. She could sense his eyes on her, and it almost made her feel uncomfortable. Almost…

George watched her, and thought to himself. 'Why does she seem so tense around me? Why can't she just treat me the same as all the others? What did I do? She doesn't act herself when she's around me…. Why?' George mused to himself, his eyes never leaving her freckled face. 

She knew he was still watching her. Watching… he had been doing that a lot lately. Chris began to feel nervous. "Why are you staring at me?"

"I'm just thinking," he answered, eyes unblinking.

Uncertainty filled her body, and she unconsciously shifted away from him.

"Why do you always do that?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"Whenever I'm with you, you just, move away. What did I do?" He asked, his green eyes never leaving hers.

She didn't know what to say. "It's nothing," she lied.

His shoulders relaxed, his features becoming skeptical. "I just don't understand. Sometimes we joke and have fun, but other times, you just seem so distant. Tell me what's wrong. And please don't lie to me."

How could she refuse those pleading eyes? "The year sure has gone by fast."

A slight curve of amusement twisted his frown. "Christina…" She tightened the grip on her makeshift staff. No one, not even Lord Leaorn, had called her that in months, always opting to use her nickname. It only heightened her uneasiness.

'Why won't he let this go?' She thought to herself. She silently cursed in frustration. 'He planned this. We're lost and have no where to go, no escape.' She cursed again, flustered.

"I don't know what it is," she started.

"Don't lie, don't you trust me?" He asked.

"No." The word came out before she could stop it. She dropped her stick as her hands flew to her mouth in shock. Pain and sadness flickered in his eyes before it was glazed over.

"Why?" was the only word he could manage to say, and the only word that Chris needed to hear.

"George… I…"

"Just answer the question."

She stared at the ground in front of her. 'Oh gods, what do I say? The truth?'

'Yes,' a small voice in the back of her head told her. She sighed, and looked at him. "I… um… don'ttrustyoubecauseyouknowtoomuchaboutme, anditscaresme, and youalwaysseemtoknowwhatI'mthinkingandhowI'mfeeling. Itoldyouthatnight thatwefirstmet." She spoke fast, making it hard for him to understand.

"Told me what? And slow down."

"Right. I told you," she paused, "that no one had known that I wanted to become a knight, and you did. That right there just scared me. You seemed, seem, to know me so well, and I hadn't, haven't, known you for that long. You always see straight through my lies. It scares me," she confessed.

His expression didn't give his thoughts away. "I scare you," he repeated.

"No, just the fact that you know so much about me without really knowing me. Does that make sense?" Her nervousness disappeared. The mere act of telling him made her feel more at ease around him. She knew it was just one more reason to be uneasy around him, but she ignored it this time.

"I guess. Is that why you've acted so distant around me?"

"Yeah," she said.

"Yeah, I could see why you'd act like that. I'm sorry for scaring you. You know, it scared me too."

She was stunned. "What scared you?" She said after a minute, almost fearing his answer.

"That I knew so much about you. I guess it's like a sixth sense. Sometimes I can just tell some things about people. And when they confirm it, it's no surprise to me because I saw it coming. You know?"

Just then, loud noises echoed from behind some bushes, putting to conversation on hold. Peter, Collin, Brad, and Brendan came crashing trough the foliage, closely followed by Sir Theophilus and the rest of the class.

"There you two are. What took you so long?" said Peter.

"Yeah, what took you so long?" echoed Bren. Peter rolled his eyes.

"We got lost," answered George.

"Lost? How could you have gotten lost? The palace is just beyond those bushes there," Collin said, pointing.

"I told you!" Chris said victoriously. "I told you I knew where I was going! We really weren't lost!"

"Well we were for a little while at least," George retorted.

"That's because you wouldn't ask for my help. Boys…" She pushed the hair back from her face. 

"Yeah, boys…" Peter said, mocking Chris' gesture. They all laughed.

"Hem," Sir Theophilus cleared his throat to get their attention. "I'm glad you two weren't really lost. Maybe this class project got a little out of hand. Next time I'll give you a map so you can find your way out of the Royal Forest." Laughter followed. "Come, class, let's head back for dinner." Sir Theophilus led the class back towards the palace.

On the way, Chris and George relayed their tracking experience to their friends, leaving out the last details of their conversation.

Before entering the castle, George hung back, leading Chris to do the same. "We didn't really get to finish back there."

"I guess," was the only thing she could say. 'Hadn't we? I told him everything that I needed to say… didn't I?' She thought to herself.

"Let's just promise that if you ever have a problem, whether is has to do with me or not, that you'll come to me, and I'll go to you. This whole thing just blew out of proportion, and ruined the whole year for us. Promise?"

"Yeah, ok." She managed to say before rejoining the group.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dear Lord Leodonis,

            It was a pleasure to receive your letter. Thank-you for your concern about my travels. I apologize for taking so long to send an answer. King Jonathan has been keeping me extremely busy.

            This young girl whom you speak of sounds very interesting. From what you described in your letter, it seems she is just hiding her Gift. The question is, why? This only she can answer, which is why I would like to meet her. I will return to Corus in two weeks time. If it is at all possible, could you arrange for a meeting for me with her? I will be forever in your debt.

Sincerely,

            Numair Salamin

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