Author's Note: In this chapter I might have misspelled some names and places. The Elsbeth mentioned is Elsbeth the first. Also, the names I use come from all parts of the word, such as Iolani's. If any fans out there have a list of the Queens and Kings of Valdemar, please respond. Again, I haven't read all M.L.'s books, so there are some blank spaces in my knowlage of Valdemar.

"Bright Lady, I swear every day I get more of these reports!' Queen Iolani ran a hand through her silver curls, frowning at the document in her other hand. "What do you make of it, Zarah?" The Queen's Own took the letter of complaint and quickly scanned it. "No more or less than you do, Milady. I don't know why these nobles are fighting over a few acres of pastureland. Maybe poor choices in executers of estate?"

"Pettiness springs eter." "Up, Granmaw!" a voice interrupted Iolani's thought. The Queen's three year old granddaughter, Elsbeth held out her chubby arms, begging to be held.

"What do you say?" Iolani prompted the child. "Pwease?" Elsbeth chirped. The Queen hefted the toddler onto her lap and shook her head. "I'm just going to set these aside for the day, I promised Elsbeth we'd go for a ride on Justine.

Zarah smiled "It can be hard balancing work and family. I'll see you tomorrow, have a good time." Zarah waved to her friend as she exited the Court. A young woman wearing Bardic colors dashed up to Zarah and caught her in a tight embrace.

"Hi mum!" "Hi Blithe, sweetling." Zarah hugged her daughter back, stroking the seventeen year old's flyaway blond hair. "Back from your Harvestfest performance already? I swear, you've got the energy of a pack of kyree!"

"Actually, I've heard that kyree can be quite lazy." A baritone voice commented jokingly. A young man in Whites strolled up, grinning insolently. "Smart mouth." Blithe clapped her friend Elvin affectionately on his broad shoulder.

Elvin winked a hazel eye "And don't you forget it!" Zarah smiled to herself as the young adults talked enthusiastically. Elvin was half Shin'a'in, and short, with curly sable hair and golden skin. Chosen young at the age of ten, he had matured from a shy, homesick boy, into a confidant young man with a strong Fetching gift, often using his talent for practical jokes.

"Well, I gotta run." Blithe picked up her glittern case and trotted to the door. "Zarah shook her head. I swear, that daughter of mine never stops moving for more than a second." Elvin chuckled "Well, I know that some stuffy old teachers who could use some livening up." Zarah cuffed his ear lightly. "You're incorrigible!" "I know it."

Blithe slowed as she entered the expansive gardens. On a stone bench, a thin man sat, staring at his hands. "Hi daddy." Blithe hugged Laban's shoulder, and was rewarded with a slight smile. "I've come to sing for you for a while." No response from the man who had been mute for over a decade. It pained Blithe to see her father shutting out his world. In fact, her Bardic talent had emerged when she had first sung to Laban. Her music seemed to help his depression, but only a little. But Blithe never gave up.

Tuning her glittern, she chattered lightly about the weather, than launched into a fast paced rhyming nonsense song. Healers, Heralds, and other Bards passing through stopped to listen, some joining in with the chorus. She sang several more songs, until a page came to fetch her for dinner. Talking her father's hand, Blithe lead him into the dining hall, seating him next to Elvin. Zarah, as usual, sat by the Queen's right at the head of the Court table.

"How was the last tour of duty?" Blithe queried her friend, adding to the chatter in the dining hall. Elvin rolled his eyes as he buttered a piece of bread. "Boring! I mostly went around to farming towns, sometimes settling disputes with a simple Truth Spell. I'm not out looking for danger, but I wish I could find some excitement."

A stout young woman in Whites looked up from across the table. "Really? My circuit partner fractured her leg crossing a river a few months ago, and I completed my circuit with a Healer traveling back to Haven. We were supposed to go to the borderlands around the Peligers, but had to turn back in the spring due to an ice storm." The Herald shuddered. "Personally, I'd just as soon avoid that area. Changelings and other odd things abound in the forests."

"Actually, I've wanted to return to the general area." Elvin grinned "I haven't seen my mother in eight years. Last I heard, she was studying with the Hawkbrothers to polish her Mage-Adept skills."

"Wow, I never knew your mother was a Mage." Blithe's blue eyes widened. "There's a lot you don't know about me." Elvin replied, rather mysteriously. "I've been thinking about a journey myself." Blithe continued "I've grown rather bored with my standard repertoire of songs. I want to learn some Outland ballads and history."

Elvin bounded up from the table, his dinner forgotten at the prospect of an adventure with his best friend and his Companion. "I have to ask Kineta what she thinks." He grabbed Blithe's hand and hauled her up. "C'mon! Time waits for no one."

A small, fine featured Companion cantered up to meet Elvin and Blithe halfway across Companion's Field. She obviously possessed the same mischievous spark as her Chosen, for she promptly grabbed Elvin's cloak, which was slung over one arm, and took off like a demon in the other direction.

"Hey! You brat!" the young man dashed after Kineta, using words on her that would have burned the ears off anyone who came within 100 yards. Kineta reared and bobbed her head, sending the cloak flying out of her mouth, thoroughly covered with spit. Elvin spat out a final string of four letter words and shook his head ruefully at Blithe. "She's upset because I didn't bring her a couple apples off the dinner table."

: I'll rip your breaches off your backside, next time: Kineta sent, but without malice. "Well, dearheart, you were no doubt eavesdropping on me during my meal." Elvin rubbed Kineta's nose. : No doubt that I was.: "So? What do you think, because you certainly know better than I do about almost everything in the universe." Blithe giggled "She might have been better at History lessons than you!" "I'm a slow learner." Elvin mock pouted. "In't my fault that miss Bard has a mind like a steel trap."

:All teasing aside: Kineta interjected "I'd love to get out on the roads again. I'm going to pasture here, no puns intended.: Elvin groaned "Since when does a Companion worry about her figure?" :Well, some of my fellows could use a bit of healthy physical activity.: Kineta impishly sent a mental image of Justine.

Elvin's thick eyebrows quirked. "Oooh! I'm telling on you!!" :You try, and you walk back to the Collegium with a fresh breeze blowing on your hindquarters, beloved!: