Chapter 18: Back at Palace
"SAM! Your black monster of a horse is breaking his box again. DO SOMETHING!" Cori yelled through the stables in the royal palace.
The pages were back at the palace again. It was the first day of the new training year. Nat, Sam, Cori and Cori's sister, Felicitas, were of the first who had arrived.
Sam ran into the stable and opened the box of her new horse, a black stallion with more of a temper than what was good for him. When Sam entered the box, the stallion calmed down immediately, pushing his head softly at Sam's belly.
Cori shook her head. "That animal is crazy. Beautiful, but crazy."
Sam turned to her cousin. "That's not true. He isn't crazy. And he is not a monster. He doesn't feel comfortable here."
"Here and in all the inns we have been at the last couple of days."
"It's not his fault."
Nat joined the girls, grinning. "You have been discussing his habits since we left Pinehollow. I don't think he will change because of this. And Cori you know he's a good war horse when Sam is with him."
Cori glared at Nat. "But he can't be with her all the time."
Sam was scratching her stallion behind his ear softly, grinning when he closed his eyes, relaxing. "He will behave."
"Who will behave?"
Cori turned around. "Bery!" She embraced her friend immediately.
Bery growled a bit. "Why do you have to start with that damn bullshit again?"
Cori giggled and let her go. "I'm sorry. It's like a reflex. I can't suppress it."
Nat and Sam traded amused looks.
Bery looked a bit pissed off, and said as sarcastically as she could: "Yeah, sure. People always act like that around me. Do me a favour and don't fall in love with me. By the way, hello Sam, hello Nat. When did you arrive?"
"We arrived together. Nat was my guest half of the holidays. Cori and Feli joined us two weeks ago."
Bery raised her eyebrows. "Oh. Little Felicitas is here, too? Well, I shouldn't be surprised that your sister came here, Cori. When she was young, she was more of a boy than a girl was. I guess she's at Lord Padraig at the moment."
Cori grinned. "That's right. She's there with my father. You reminded me, we have to hurry up now. He will leave soon. And we have to get ready for dinner." She turned to Nat. "Do you want to be my sister's sponsor?"
Nat blinked, surprised. "Cori, she's afraid of me."
"No! She's just a bit ... shy."
"I don't think that's a good idea. I don't have any luck being a sponsor. It always ends up in violence."
Sam looked at him with raised eyebrows. "You haven't been beaten since Lachran heard of it. At least not regularly. And what was that about no luck with sponsoring? I think your luck began with it."
Nat raised his hands in defeat. "Ok. I take it back. But I still think it's not a good idea."
Cori scratched her head. "That's a pity. I thought you would be a good example for her."
Nat blushed after the comment. "W..what?"
"Well, you are a good and brave fighter, you are honest, not arrogant at all and you will be a great knight."
Now Nat's face was dark red. "Pardon?"
Sam grinned at his reaction. "She's true. I told you already."
Nat glared confused at the girls in front of him. They seemed to be honest. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't used to compliments.
Sam left the box. "You behave Triton." Then she turned to Nat, took his arm and pulled him out of the stable. "You don't have to, if you don't want. But you have to increase your self- confidence."
Cori and Bery followed the two, giggling.
"He's sweet when he is embarrassed."
"Does that mean you are interested, Cori?"
"Give me ten years and I will answer you. I'm too young to think about boys."
"Ten years. Your need a lot of time to get interested in boys."
"I take my time."
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It was time to choose sponsors for the new pages. This time Sam and the others didn't have to worry about that. Bery had agreed to be Feli's sponsor.
Sam looked at the new pages. Her eyes rested at Feli for a moment. 'She seems uncertain. She doesn't have to worry. She already has friends here.' Feli had inherited her father's brown hair, and the golden eyes of the Pinehollow family her mother belonged to. Sam liked the silent and shy girl.
Sam continued looking at the first years, when she was interrupted by Quentin. "Look there. That's the second girl. Moana of Granite Ridge." He pointed towards a small girl with red- brown hair and nearly black eyes. "Who do you think will sponsor her?"
"One of us, I think. The others don't want to have problems with our three 'friends', you know. Why don't you take her?"
Quentin shook his head vehement. "No! Not after my last experience."
They heard the triplets giggle behind them.
Sam grinned. "Nat didn't want to be sponsor, too."
"Nat has nothing to complain about ... apart from the beatings, of course. You didn't vanish every thirty seconds."
"Are you sure I didn't?"
Quentin looked at her confused. 'I will never understand that girl. I hope the rest of her sex isn't that mysterious or life will be hard as a grown up. I guess father is right in saying females are another species.'
Lord Padraig started the routine.
After a while: "Who will sponsor Felicitas of Kourell?"
"I will sponsor her."
"Berenice of Gohman will sponsor Felicitas of Kourell."
"Who will sponsor Moana of Granite Ridge?"
Lachran was about to speak when the friends heard a familiar voice. "I will sponsor her."
Everybody blinked with surprise.
Sam immediately shouted. "No! I will sponsor her."
Lord Padraig looked a bit confused. "Well, two at once. But I think it's better for page Moana to get the older, more experienced page as a sponsor. Besides, he was the first. Damian of Windshole will sponsor Moana of Granite Ridge."
Sam suppressed a curse. She stared at the older page, who grinned evilly at her.
"What does he want to achieve? It must be a trick to make her leave." Cori stared at her cousin's face, waiting for an answer.
Sam clenched her fists. "It's no trick. It's a challenge."
Moana looked startled. She didn't know what trouble she was in. Yet.
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The friends watched Moana and her sponsor until the girl went to her bedroom. Cori and the other girls took care of her immediately. Sam went away unnoticed.
Damian was already waiting. He was standing in the corridor that leads to the library. "I knew you would come."
Sam's eyes darkened. "What do you want?"
"You."
"What!"
He grinned at her. "You are the one I want to compete with. You are a worthy opponent. I want a fight. You against me. A competition. If you win, I will leave the girl to you. If I win, well I think you know what I want."
"You want me to leave."
"No."
Sam frowned confused. "What else could you want?"
"I want to beat you. I want you to bow when I am around. A want to destroy your pride. I want to show you your place. You will have to pay tribute to me, you will have to watch how I get rid of the girl and I think you will go without my influence, because you can't endure that very long."
Sam's eyes narrowed. "My place is high above you. Don't underestimate me. It could be you who has to beg."
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I was pretty fast this time. (When I take more time with some chapters it means that I have to develop new ideas. This time it hit me and I had to write it down.)
I know it's another cliffy, but I love my cliffys. :)
I hope you enjoy this chapter.