Disclaimer- Everything belongs to Tamora Pierce except Laona and her family and anything else I happen to invent along the way.

Summary- Laona is a girl from the village Daine left (Snowsdale). Daine was her friend and mentor, and when, years after she disappeared, Daine still hasn't returned, Laona decides to search for her. In the process, she sets out on a quest with an ill-tempered stormwing who, for all of their cooperation, wants to murder her. (Prologue takes place before Daine leaves Snowsdale; main story takes place sometime during the Protector of the Small books.)

Reviewer Responses-

(For chapter four)

Spice- Thanks. About the beta thing- (this is getting very confusing and long) Just tell me if you want me to send you the next chapter.

Forget-me-not- Laona bugged me too. At least in that chapter, she did. I will try to make her less… annoying this time. Thanks so much for reviewing. Again. Seriously, I think I say that too much. But I mean it. Believe me, I do.

Tarilenea- Be happy! This chapter is devoted to the metaly-acorn-ish-thing! (Which doesn't play as big a part as I would like it too, but…well… maybe I can bring it back later. I can't blame my computer for what it does. It's just old, and kind of… old. And Laona could have been wimpy-er- but she could have been braver too. She is kind of a wimp-ish, freaked-out-of-animals person. I hope she gets over it…

LadyKnight30- Sorry about the review, I haven't been paying attention (whacks self), and sorry I haven't read the next few chapters or your story. (Yet). Oh, and I couldn't e-mail you the next chapter stuff because I was having computer troubles. I'm not going to be able to do that anymore… Thanks so much for reviewing, and yes, this will be a nice stormwing, but not too nice.

Numair's Daine- Thanks! Your review made me feel really good- I like to go back in the books and find stuff I can add to my story to make it more a part of Tamora Pierce's world.

(For the author's note chapter:)

Tarilenea- What? But how is that possible? You weren't logged in, yet they still didn't let you review the same chapter twice? That's… not right! That's the entire point of not logging in! Umm… Anyway, as I said above, here's metaly-acorn galore (not really). I hope it will stop haunting you now… Hmm, or maybe I just won't say all there is to say about it, and then it will keep haunting you…

Forget-me-not- I will post it, probably this week. Thanks to you and the other two people who asked me to. Thanks for your support.

Spice- I am updating! Yes! And I am posting my next story! Yes! (Sometime today, or this week- I'm having a slight problem getting started, but once I do, it will be fast.)

Enemy's Ally: Laona's Story

Chapter Four: Corus

The road to Corus was long, but the three of them passed the time quickly enough. Jikkeh, Laona found, was not the worst of companions to have. For a stormwing, she was young, perhaps Laona's age physically, and relatively clean. Once the horses mastered their fear of the stormwing, they were able to travel swiftly, and at the same time they did, Laona felt that she had overcome her own fear. She did not feel safe, really, but at night she was able to sleep, instead of watching the immortal from the corner of her eyes, and when Tarrick rode ahead every night to find a place to camp, she didn't automatically insist that this should be her job, not wanting to be left alone with Jikkeh. But one thing did worry her: she had been told to find Veralidaine, and Jikkeh wanted to kill her. She had promised not to, but it was clear to Laona she did not mean it. The only reason she and Tarrick were alive, she supposed, was because they were showing the way to Corus, but once they got there…

Only one time on their journey did Jikkeh show any sign of being aggressive, and that was near the end, when Laona asked her a question. She had been wondering about it ever since they met the stormwing, and finally felt brave enough to ask. "Jikkeh- don't stormwings have magic? Because when you first met us, you were throwing rocks. But wouldn't it have been easier to attack us with your magic?"

"Of course stormwings have magic. And I don't see how it would have been easier to use mine," Jikkeh snarled, scratching the tree branch she was perched on with her talons.

"I didn't mean to offend you-" Laona said, and than stopped, because Jikkeh was crouched- ready, it seemed, to spring off the branch at Laona. The girl walked away, and did not talk to Jikkeh again for the rest of that day. By the next morning, she seemed to have calmed down, and forgotten the entire incident.

Laona didn't know how many days had gone by when they reached Corus, but it seemed like almost a year. They topped a rise, and there it was; Corus, a huge city, much bigger than Cria, split in two by a sparking river. Above it, what must be the royal palace of Tortall loomed, brightly colored and beautiful. Her two companions came up behind her, taking in the sight with their own eyes. She could tell they were impressed, though both boy and stormwing were silent. The road they had traveled on took them down into the city. It was so crowded and bustling that at first Laona didn't notice that most everyone was staring at them. By the time she did notice, she could here their whispers, too. "Stormwing, stormwing, stormwing." Jikkeh looked almost ashamed, but Laona thought that she was mistaken. The whispering and pointing began to make her uncomfortable.

"Do you know where I can find someone named Veralidaine Sarrasri?" she asked a nearby bookseller.

She was surprised when he answered, "Veralidaine the Wildmage?"

"Umm… I suppose. You've heard of her?"

"You haven't? She's the wildmage, everyone knows who she is. And as to your first question, she's up at the palace, where she always is." He noticed the stormwing. "Mithros! Is that thing with you?" She did not answer, but went back to her companions to tell them what she had learned. They walked quickly to the palace, avoiding the stares that seemed to be a part of traveling with a stormwing.

At the palace, a guard asked them to state their business, noticed Jikkeh, and made a small hand-signal. Immediately, bows were pointed at them from six different directions. Laona drew back, but her voice remained steady as she said, "We are looking for Veralidaine Sarrasri. We have heard she is called the wildmage."

"And why is there a stormwing with you? Their kind are not welcome here."

"That's plain enough," Laona whispered to Tarrick, before answering aloud. "She is also looking for Veralidaine."

"And does it mean the wildmage harm?"

Laona looked at Jikkeh. "She- well, I think she did, but she's promised not to hurt her." The stormwing nodded her agreement, plainly annoyed by the man's treatment toward her.

"Very well. You will be escorted to the wildmage's rooms." The followed him down what seemed like miles of corridors and hallways, up and down countless flights of stairs, and Laona wondered how one building could be so big. Finally they reached a closed door, which the guard knocked upon. It was answered by a familiar-looking woman. Older, but still Veralidaine. "These three asked for you," the guard said. "The two of them are just children, and the stormwing apparently meant to hurt you, but promised not to. Do you know them?"

"I- I don't think so," the one who was called the wildmage said. "But you-" she pointed at Laona. "You look familiar. What is your name?"

"I'm Laona. From Snowsdale, remember? You do remember, don't you?" Laona looked at her anxiously.

"Laona… I remember you! You used to follow me around!" She turned to the guard. "It's all right, you can go." He left, and she looked back at Laona. "What are you doing here? What is this stormwing doing with you?"

Jikkeh answered for herself. "You killed my flock. Laona was looking for you, and we made a deal, that she would show me the way to Corus, if I promised not to hurt you."

Veralidaine looked at the stormwing, and then turned back to Laona, obviously not wanting to deal with her now. "But how did you know I was in Corus?" she asked.

"The Green Lady came to me in a dream- but you don't know who she is, do you?"

Veralidaine looked startled. "Actually, I do know," she said. "But keep going."

"Most everyone in Snowsdale thought you were dead, but she told me you were still alive. And to find you as quickly as I could. And she gave me a token. We were in Cria at the time: me, my sister, Tarrick, his own sister-we were going to Corus anyway, but I didn't know that was where you were. We learned from a horse merchant's assistant that you were in Corus- he said you worked for his old employer, Onua, I think it was. I thought it would be faster if I just went alone, and then Tarrick wanted to come. And then we met Jikkeh, and here we are."

"Tarrick… you're from Snowsdale too? I remember you, Lory's son. You said the Green Lady gave you a token, Laona. Perhaps I'd better see it." Laona took the acorn token out of her pocket.

"How do you know who the Green Lady is?"

"I shouldn't tell you, but if she came to you in a dream, perhaps you will find out anyway. May I hold that?" Laona put the acorn into her hand. Once there, it began to glow, brighter and brighter, and suddenly the Green Lady appeared in the room with them, looking exactly as she had in Laona's dream.

"Daine," she said, and again, she seemed familiar. Laona looked back and forth, from goddess to wildmage. "It's very important. The girl, and the boy, and the stormwing are to go on a quest. I am not allowed to tell them exactly what they are looking for, but I can tell you this much: they must find the stormwing's magic. And Daine, you must resolve your differences with Jikkeh. It may be important." She spoke to Laona now. "The acorn will lead you to where you need to go." With that, she disappeared, leaving a confused Veralidaine, an even more confused Laona, an awestruck Tarrick, and a disconcerted Jikkeh.

"Very well," said Veralidaine to Jikkeh, breaking the silence. "If I'm to resolve your differences with you- you said I killed your flock. I have killed many stormwings, and I apologize for it. But I don't know who your flock was."

"Our leader was Zaneh Bitterclaws," Jikkeh said sadly. "My grandmother. I saw you kill her. Don't say that you don't remember it."

"I do remember," Daine said. "I'm sorry about your flock. Is there something I can do- to make it up to you?"

"What the goddess said." Jikkeh said shortly.

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind. You don't need to do anything for me. I'll go on this quest with Laona and Tarrick, and if we find whatever we are looking for, than I am repaid."

"Do you know what it is we're supposed to be looking for?" Laona asked, wondering why Jikkeh would except nothing from Veralidaine.

"I said, never mind!"

Author's Note: I don't have a new computer yet, this is still the old one, but as it's spring break and that still hasn't come yet, I can't stand it anymore so I've decided to start writing again. Thanks to the three people who told me to post my other story: I will do that, but it needs a title. So I'm having a contest for who can think up the best title for it. For details, see my bio. Also, because I'm having a problem with homework and stuff, I won't be able to give you previews of the next chapter anymore. Really sorry. But please review anyway, and if I get enough reviews per chapter, I'll put a preview for everyone to see in my bio. Two other things: I meant to put more characters from the books in that chapter, but I didn't, so look for them next chapter. And, I'm leaving the author's note up so people who reviewed it can review this chapter as well. I'll take it down if it interferes with you reading. Thanks to everyone reading, and double thanks to those who reviewed,

-Ice Otter.