***Disclaimer- Everything belongs to Mercedes Lackey except Aislinn, Ellen, Justine, and any other new characters that I made up. And if you haven't already guessed, Justine, Ellen, and Aislinn are modeled after real people.

Chapter 3: Gifts

As Aislinn, Ellen, and Justine neared the palace, Aislinn wondered how she would settle to a new life. Her eyes teared up as she thought of everything she was leaving behind; her parents, all her friends, her dog, South Park. Aislinn laughed silently on the way her thoughts were going. Only Kiari heard her, and she just looked over, her gorgeous, sapphire eyes bright with amusement.

"Hey, you guys, have you noticed that we still have our backpacks on?" Justine asked suddenly. Ellen and Aislinn shrieked in delight, having forgotten that their backpacks were still on their shoulders.

"Let's wait until we get to our own room to get out all our stuff. We don't want to keep everyone waiting," Ellen said wisely. Aislinn nodded in agreement, and so the sisters continued their trek towards the palace.

* * *

"Phew, who would have thought that Companion's Field was so far away from the Colleguim," Justine mused. They had just reached the steps of the palace, and Aislinn could see seven people waiting for them. In the front was Queen Selenay, with her Consort Daren. To the right of the Queen was the Queen's Own Talia, and Weaponsmaster Kerowyn. To the left of Daren were Dean Teren, Elspeth, and Darkwind. Aislinn put on a bold face, and walked right up to the Queen, but the whole time her legs were shaking like a leaf.

:Easy, Chosen, she won't bite,: Kiari's voice sounded in her head from where she stood back with Aislinn's sisters. It had been decided that because Aislinn would be the Herald trainie, she should be the one to speak to the Queen.

"Well, it seems that you and your sisters have caused quite a ruckus among the Companions," Queen Selenay finally said, seeing that Aislinn was too nervous to speak.

"Sorry about that. We didn't mean to, Your Majesty," Aislinn replied. She knew she was supposed to bow, but Aislinn had never bowed to anyone, considering she had grown up in America. Aislinn managed a nod.

"Why do you not bow to the Queen?" Kerowyn asked sharply. Aislinn was silent for a moment, thinking how to respond.

"Well," she finally answered, "why should I? I grew up in a democracy, where everyone has their freedom. No one has power over me except maybe my parents, the police and maybe the government." Everyone looked shocked at this announcement.

"You mean that you don't live in a monarchy?" Daren asked.

"Of course not! America is totally democratic!" Aislinn answered. The adults pondered over this fact for a moment. Finally, Queen Selenay said,

"Well, we've kept you outside long enough, let's go inside and talk." Ellen finally spoke up from where she was standing.

"You mean you're gonna question us. Don't give us that 'let's talk' crap. We aren't stupid." Justine and Aislinn nodded. Queen Selenay looked offended for a moment, then resigned. She nodded wearily.

"Companion, you may go to the stable now. We aren't going to hurt them," Talia said, finally speaking up. Kiari nodded, and turned to go, first coming and giving Aislinn a goodbye nuzzle. Justine and Ellen came up to stand by Aislinn, unconsciously showing to the adults that they were united and weren't going to take any crap.

"Talia, take the girls to a room, and when they are ready, bring them to me," Queen Selenay said. Talia nodded, and said. "Right this way, girls," and led them towards the Colleguim.

* * *

"Well, what are your names," Talia said, trying to make conversation. Aislinn looked to Justine and Ellen, wondering if she should tell Talia anything. Justine nodded, knowing from the Valdemar books that Talia could be trusted.

"Well, I'm Aislinn, and these are my two sisters, Justine and Ellen. We're triplets," Aislinn said proudly. Talia nodded, indicating for her to go on, but Aislinn refused to say anything else.

"Sorry, but I want to wait. I don't want to tell it more than once." Talia nodded, understanding. They walked through the Collegium, and after awhile Aislinn couldn't figure where they were.

"Well, this is your room," Talia said, standing outside a door. "I'll be back in 30 minutes. Is that enough time?" Aislinn knew that it wasn't, but she said yes anyway. Talia left, and the girls entered the room.

* * *

The room was beautiful. It was kind of plain, but it was big enough to fit all 3 girls comfortably. There were 3 beds right next to each other, and a small sitting area that had a couch and a chair.

"Well, let's see what we have in the backpacks," Aislinn said, excitedly jumping over to sit on the bed next to the window.

"Hey, how come you get the bed with the window?" Justine protested.

"Because," Aislinn said, "It's right next to Companion's Field, and since we are on the first floor, I want to be able to see Kiari at night. Are we gonna look at the backpacks or what?" Justine came over to sit on Aislinn's bed, and dumped all the stuff out of her backpack. Aislinn and Ellen did the same.

"Damn!" Aislinn shouted. "Why did today have to be the first day of school! I never bring much on the first day of school. All I have are a few notebooks, my sunglasses, a few cd's, and a book. I don't even have my cd player!"

"What cd's and what book?" Ellen asked.

"I have my Linkin Park cd, my Queen of the Damned soundtrack, and my Scorpion King soundtrack. Oh, and the book is Narcissus in Chains, by Laurell K. Hamilton. Oh, and I also have my hair dye!"

"What colors?" Ellen asked.

"I have my neon blue, bright purple and maroon, which look great in my hair, and my neon green. I was going to do Liz's hair today," Aislinn said, mentioning her best friend.

"Cool," Justine said. "Hey, I have my cd player! I also have some Goo Goo Doll cd's, and a few books by Stephen King and Anne Rice." Aislinn's face lit up when she heard that Justine has a cd player.

"Yea! What do you have, Ellen?" Aislinn asked.

"Well, 'cause it's the first day of school, I don't have much. Just my LOTR soundtrack, my rain cd, and a picture of Aragorn. I also have two batteries."

"That totally sucks that we don't have more stuff. We have to keep the stuff that we do have hidden, though. I don't want to mess up this culture," Aislinn said. The other two nodded in agreement. They all jumped in surprise when they heard a knock at the door.

"One minute," Aislinn called. She hurriedly stuffed all the stuff under her bed, and rushed to the door, Ellen and Justine close behind her. Aislinn opened the door, and saw Talia standing with her hand near the door, obviously about to knock again.

"You ready to go?" Talia asked.

"Yeah, I guess," Ellen said nervously. Talia smiled, hoping to reassure the young girls.

"Right this way," Talia said, leading them down the hall. Soon they came to a large door, and Talia stopped before opening the door.

"Are you sure that you are alright?" Talia asked. Aislinn looked at her sister, then nodded. Talia smiled and opened the door, letting the girls go first into a room filled with people.

***Well, I'm finally done with the 3rd chapter. You will learn all about Aislinn, Ellen, and Justine in the next chapter. Don't forget to review.