The very welcome celebratory dinner that night was a lavish affair, when
the pages and new squires were entertained with jugglers and acrobats
whilst eating much more extravagant food than they normally got. A servant
ran in near the end, and spoke quietly and urgently to Baron Owen, then
sprinted out again, looking very apprehensive. Most of the boys didn't
seem to have noticed this happen, although Yuri, jumpy as she already was,
did.
The whole hall fell immediately silent when the Training Master rose from his seat.
"Yancen of Coll," he announced clearly. "Report to the council room as soon as you've finished eating. I believe you know the way."
"Yes, my lord," Yuri said, her voice starting to quaver with anticipation. They must have found her out and she was going to be punished by the king himself.
Alan tactfully nudged Yuri with her elbow.
"What do you think he wants?" she asked, not seeming to realise the other page might not want to talk about it.
"I don't know," Yuri replied, although she'd guessed the main cause. Suddenly, despite the tempting food, she was no longer at all hungry. She gave the last remnants of her meal to Alan, who was perfectly happy to stuff herself until she was sick. Then she bowed to Baron Owen and left the happy noise of the pages.
She trailed mournfully into the royal wing of the palace, up to the council room where her parents had taken her once before. If she didn't have such a good memory, it would have been totally unfair to ask her to find her way based on a seven-year-old's memory, but hey, who said authority was fair?
The doors to the chamber were propped open and Yuri stopped outside. Two of the King's Own stood guard outside, neither of whom she recognised. The king must be there if his guards were.
"In you go, page," one said kindly. "They're expecting you." Yuri gulped audibly and he smiled.
"Don't be nervous, they won't kill you."
She glared at him for saying she was scared (even though she was, it wasn't nice to say a noble was nervous), and stepped through the doors. She bowed, straightened and looked around. King Jonathan was sitting at the head of the table with Queen Thayet. Various other nobles were sitting on the two long sides. Yuri could see her parents were there, and so were a few other familiar faces to her. Merric of Hollyrose, Raoul and Buri of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak, Keladry and Domitan of Masbolle and Alanna the Lioness.
The king did not look happy. Alanna was grinning broadly. Merric looked guilty, but Keladry was smiling smugly - she had known Yuri could do it all along. Yurimi's father, Nealan of Queenscove, looked confused and betrayed.
"Well, Page Yurimi," his Majesty said, his voice heavily laced with irony. "It seems we have a situation."
"Uh, yes your majesty?" she said uncertainly.
"You disobeyed my instructions, along with various members of my council who ought to know better." Yuri felt somewhat guilty at that, but he was glaring meaningfully at his Champion. Alanna grinned mischievously back at him, very satisfied at this reaction despite her advancing years.
Yuri looked up hopefully as he continued gravely.
"However, you have proved yourself one of the best pages we have at the palace today, along with Danil of Trebond, Alanna of Masbolle and Francis of Contë, and your combat experience makes you priceless to me. You may remain at the palace and complete your training as a page, but when you return to the palace next autumn after the summer expedition and the summer break, you will be serving one bell of punishment work in the armoury for the first ten Sundays.
"Thank you, your Majesty!" Yuri exclaimed, surprised and overjoyed by this news. He smiled indulgently - at least he could admit he was wrong with a free heart.
That seemed to be a signal for the solemnity of the council to break up. Keladry came racing round the table and hugged her jubilantly and the others, even the few like Buri of Goldenlake whom she hadn't met recently weren't slow in offering their own congratulations. Her father admitted he'd been wrong, her mother said she was proud.
The success Yuri felt that evening was topped easily, when Baron Owen of Jesslaw burst in at a run, with a lack of dignity more appropriate for one of the young harum-scarum pages he was teaching. When he had recovered his breath sufficiently to talk coherently, he managed to gasp out,
"Have I missed anything, Kel?"
The whole hall fell immediately silent when the Training Master rose from his seat.
"Yancen of Coll," he announced clearly. "Report to the council room as soon as you've finished eating. I believe you know the way."
"Yes, my lord," Yuri said, her voice starting to quaver with anticipation. They must have found her out and she was going to be punished by the king himself.
Alan tactfully nudged Yuri with her elbow.
"What do you think he wants?" she asked, not seeming to realise the other page might not want to talk about it.
"I don't know," Yuri replied, although she'd guessed the main cause. Suddenly, despite the tempting food, she was no longer at all hungry. She gave the last remnants of her meal to Alan, who was perfectly happy to stuff herself until she was sick. Then she bowed to Baron Owen and left the happy noise of the pages.
She trailed mournfully into the royal wing of the palace, up to the council room where her parents had taken her once before. If she didn't have such a good memory, it would have been totally unfair to ask her to find her way based on a seven-year-old's memory, but hey, who said authority was fair?
The doors to the chamber were propped open and Yuri stopped outside. Two of the King's Own stood guard outside, neither of whom she recognised. The king must be there if his guards were.
"In you go, page," one said kindly. "They're expecting you." Yuri gulped audibly and he smiled.
"Don't be nervous, they won't kill you."
She glared at him for saying she was scared (even though she was, it wasn't nice to say a noble was nervous), and stepped through the doors. She bowed, straightened and looked around. King Jonathan was sitting at the head of the table with Queen Thayet. Various other nobles were sitting on the two long sides. Yuri could see her parents were there, and so were a few other familiar faces to her. Merric of Hollyrose, Raoul and Buri of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak, Keladry and Domitan of Masbolle and Alanna the Lioness.
The king did not look happy. Alanna was grinning broadly. Merric looked guilty, but Keladry was smiling smugly - she had known Yuri could do it all along. Yurimi's father, Nealan of Queenscove, looked confused and betrayed.
"Well, Page Yurimi," his Majesty said, his voice heavily laced with irony. "It seems we have a situation."
"Uh, yes your majesty?" she said uncertainly.
"You disobeyed my instructions, along with various members of my council who ought to know better." Yuri felt somewhat guilty at that, but he was glaring meaningfully at his Champion. Alanna grinned mischievously back at him, very satisfied at this reaction despite her advancing years.
Yuri looked up hopefully as he continued gravely.
"However, you have proved yourself one of the best pages we have at the palace today, along with Danil of Trebond, Alanna of Masbolle and Francis of Contë, and your combat experience makes you priceless to me. You may remain at the palace and complete your training as a page, but when you return to the palace next autumn after the summer expedition and the summer break, you will be serving one bell of punishment work in the armoury for the first ten Sundays.
"Thank you, your Majesty!" Yuri exclaimed, surprised and overjoyed by this news. He smiled indulgently - at least he could admit he was wrong with a free heart.
That seemed to be a signal for the solemnity of the council to break up. Keladry came racing round the table and hugged her jubilantly and the others, even the few like Buri of Goldenlake whom she hadn't met recently weren't slow in offering their own congratulations. Her father admitted he'd been wrong, her mother said she was proud.
The success Yuri felt that evening was topped easily, when Baron Owen of Jesslaw burst in at a run, with a lack of dignity more appropriate for one of the young harum-scarum pages he was teaching. When he had recovered his breath sufficiently to talk coherently, he managed to gasp out,
"Have I missed anything, Kel?"