Disclaimer:  I own nothing.  Mercedes Lackey owns everything.  I just write about it for fun. 

A/N:  Sorry about the rambling in this chapter.  I originally wrote this story for people who hadn't read the canon, so I had to try to explain Heralds and stuff.  Blah, boring junk.  But the next chapter gets better, I promise!  This chapter is dedicated to Dephanie – see, I updated!  I only need a kick J.

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Chapter 5: The Collegium

            When Kira woke again, a new woman was sitting next to her bed beside Deena.  "I'm Herald Tamara, Kira," the woman in white said in Valdemaran.  "How are you?"

            "I am well, thank you," Kira replied shyly.  She hoped that she'd be able to understand everything this stranger said; she was not very confident about her Valdamaran skills.

            "I don't really speak Hardornen, so Deena's going to translate for me, OK?" Herald Tamara continued, as if she knew what Kira was thinking.  "What I'm about to tell you is very important and you really need to understand it."

            As the woman seemed to be waiting for a response, Kira finally nodded awkwardly.  What was she supposed to say?

            "I'm here to explain to you about Heralds and Companions," the Herald began, through Deena.  "Have you ever heard of Heralds?"

            Deena spoke the title in Valdamaran, rather than attempting to translate it.  Kira blushed and shook her head.  "I'm sorry; I haven't," she said softly.

            Herald Tamara smiled at her.  "No need to apologize – I didn't think you had.  I'll just start at the beginning then.  Long, long ago, a group of people was running away from and evil king and came here to Valdemar."

            "You don't have to talk down to her, Tam," Deena interjected in Valdemaran, slightly offended by such a huge over-simplification of the history of Valdemar.  "She's not stupid, after all."

            "I know that, Deena," her friend replied over-patiently.  "No Heraldic-Trainee is stupid.  I'm just trying to keep things simple.  She doesn't know our language or our culture, and she really doesn't need to be confused with all the details in the histories.  She'll have to wade through those soon enough," she finished with a grimace at the memory of her hated History classes.

            "I guess you're right," the Healer acquiesced.

            Herald Tamara continued, "Their leader was made King of Valdemar, and they lived happily for many years.  When the king began to grow old, he worried about who would follow him as Monarch.  How could he be certain that none of his descendents would be a bad King, like the one they ran away from?  He went out to pray for help.  After a long time praying, he heard something and looked up.  A pure white, blue-eyed horse-shaped being – a Companion – came up to him and Chose him.  Other Companions Chose his son and his chief Herald.  The King declared that only his heirs who were Chosen by a Companion could become the Monarch, and other people who were Chosen would be called Heralds.  You see, a Companion will only Choose someone who is pure in heart and who will work to help the Kingdom.  Heralds have many special roles to fulfill and they are the ones who keep Valdemar safe."

            She stopped and looked a Kira as if she expected some response.  Kira couldn't figure out why the Herald was telling her all of this.

            :Because I Chose you, silly,: an infinitely loving voice said in her head.  Kira started in surprise.  Who was that?  :Don't you remember?:

            Suddenly, she did remember: a white horse – a Companion – coming up behind her, the voice saying I Choose you.  She gasped, looking up at Herald Tamara in shock.

            "I…  You can't…"

            Her voice and mind were not working properly, but the woman was smiling at her.  "Yes, Kira, you're a Herald.  Or rather, you will be one when you've finished your training.  Right now you're a Heraldic Trainee; you need to learn all kinds of things before you can do a Herald's work.  But you were Chosen because you are needed to help the Kingdom, and you and Layven will be together for the rest of your lives."

            Somehow, Kira knew without question that Layven was her Companion, and that he loved her.  :Together forever,: he promised softly.

*          *          *

            Kira's head was whirling within moments of entering the Heraldic Collegium.  It was so big, first of all.  It seemed as if ten times the number of people in her Clan all lived together in one enormous building!  And it was so smooth, pure white, with everything at precise right angles… it was amazing, but also oppressive.  As she followed Herald Tamara deeper into the halls, Kira felt as if she was in the bowels of a cave.  She shivered spasmodically at the thought; she'd never liked caves.

            Trying to get her mind off of the strange building, Kira realized with a start that the Herald was speaking to her.  Guiltily, she focused on the words, grateful that the woman hadn't noticed her inattention.

            "…graduated right after Layven left to get you, so we claimed it for you, if you turned out to be a girl.  It's a nice room overlooking Companion's Field."

            As she finished speaking, Herald Tamara pushed open the door to one of the rooms lining the corridors.  Kira couldn't contain herself; she almost ran to the open window, sticking her head out to escape from the claustrophobic feel of the building.

            There was a tree directly beside her, and a patch of lawn below.  Beyond that was a fence, where a horse stood looking at her.  No, not a horse, she corrected herself.  A Companion.  Layven.

            :Most definitely not a horse,: he told her lightly.  She smiled, even though she didn't know whether he could see her.

            Herald Tamara came up behind her and waved as another Companion stepped up to the fence.  "That's Sontya, my Companion.  Nice of them to come out and welcome you, wasn't it?"

            Kira could only nod, still feeling slightly overwhelmed by everything that was happening.

            "Well, since we had time while you were at the Healers' tender mercies, we already got you some Grays.  They're in your wardrobe.  Grab a fresh outfit and I'll show you the bathing room.  I bet you want a bath."

            Perhaps realizing that Kira hadn't understood most of what she said, the Herald took out some clean clothes herself and beckoned.  Kira followed obediently, thinking, Bath?

            :Here.:  Layven nudged his way further into her mind and presented her with concrete images and ideas, not bothering to rely on language.  Kira stumbled momentarily as half-seen images flashed before her eyes.

            Ooh…  Finally, she realized that he was showing her something akin to the ritual Purifications done before Festivals at home.  Once again, she realized that Herald Tamara was speaking to her.

            "We bathe every day here.  That's new to some Trainees, but you get used to it quite quickly."

            Yuck!  Layven laughed at her immediate mental reaction.  :It's not really so bad; like she says, you'll get used to it.:

            "Normally I would take you to see the Dean first, to find out what classes you're going to need, but we're putting you in an intensive language program for now; enough time to decide the rest of your schedule when you can understand what's going on.  For now, you'll just have Orientation and language classes – oh, and chores of course.  What do you have experience in?"

            "Umm… just normal things.  With plants and cooking and baskets and leather…"  She trailed off as her vocabulary ran out.

            "OK, then, I'll get your chore schedule while you're in the bath.  Speaking of which, here we are."

            The Herald pushed open a door and showed her around.  Kira tried to force her mind to focus, but it was difficult.  Bringing water into huge pots to wash in?  It seemed so strange.  And they heated the water!  For a moment, she had the irrational fear, born out of half-forgotten memories of old childhood stories, that the Heralds were cannibals, trying to trick her into being cooked and eaten.

            Layven's laughter rang in her mind.  :That's a good one!  I don't think even the Karsites ever considered us tricky cannibals.  Don't worry, you can change the temperature of the water.:      

            As Herald Tamara left her alone, Kira decided to do just that.  "How?" she asked aloud, feeling slightly stupid to be talking with no one in sight.

            :You don't have to talk; just think it and I'll know what you want to say,: Layven informed her.  :Here, like this.:  Once again, bewildering images swam in front of her eyes.  Following the half-spoken, half-shown directions, she managed to let out most of the hot water and fill it with cold.

            To her surprise, it didn't take her as long to get clean as she expected, mostly because the Valdemaran "soap" was a much more efficient cleanser than the roots she'd used at home.  It took almost as long to comb out her hair and braid it back again; she hadn't realized how long and thick it had gotten until it hung around her like a black cloud, covering her past her hips.

            Dressing in the strange new uniforms, she stepped outside of the bathing room and nearly ran into another girl outside the door.

            "Kira?" the girl asked.  At Kira's affirmative nod, she grinned.  "Perfect timing!  I'm Shandi.  Herald Tamara had to go somewhere, and she asked me to come find you and get you some food.  I'm afraid you missed dinner, but we can always get food from the pantry."

            Kira couldn't help but smile slightly at the other girl's friendly chatter.  Somehow, she felt more at ease with Shandi than she had with the other girls of her Clan.  Of course, none of them would really talk to her.  She shrugged off that negative memory and focused on Shandi's cheerful gossip.

            The pantry shocked her.  So much food, and they were just allowed to take what they wanted?  There wasn't even anyone there to make certain she didn't take more than her share.  Shandi claimed that she'd already eaten, but she'd just have a snack to keep Kira company.  The amount of food she took for her "snack" would have made a full meal by Kira's normal standards!

            :We don't starve the Trainees,: Layven told her.  His tone was still full of laughter, but a tiny sense of anger lurked underneath.  Kira would have been worried, but somehow she could tell that it wasn't directed against her.  :Eat up, my Chosen.  You're too thin.:

            Obedient to his nudging, she went for a piece of bread, a strip of dried meat, and some vegetables that she recognized.  Slightly worried that someone would scold her for taking too much, she watched cautiously as she served herself and ate.  Shandi continued talking, and it wasn't just mindless babble, either; somehow, she seemed to know things that would put Kira at ease.  Kira found out quite a bit about how the Collegium worked during that short meal.  She felt comfortable enough to give the older girl a real happy smile when they bid one another good night.

            Closing her door behind her, Kira looked around.  I am not sleeping in that bed, she told herself – and Layven – firmly.  She'd had enough of feeling like she was drowning in that bed in the Healers'.  Now that she had a choice, she was not sleeping so far off the ground, apparently enveloped in a piece of a cloud they'd tacked onto the frame.

            Pulling a blanket off of the bed, she moved back to the window and studied the tree beside it.  This shouldn't be too hard…

            It wasn't; it seemed to take almost no time before she was out in the Field with Layven.  For a long moment, she simply leaned against him, his support and love strengthening her after all of the confusion of the day.  But for all the strange things about this place, she already felt almost as comfortable here as she had ever felt with her Clan.  She knew that the feeling was because of Layven's presence.  With him, anywhere would feel like home.

            :Thank you, love,: he told her gently.  :I feel the same way about you.:

            "Really?"  She pulled back to stare at him.  Why on earth would he need her to feel comfortable?  She was just a pitiful, worthless…

            :None of that,: he told her almost sharply.  :You most certainly are not pitiful or worthless.  You're… my other half.  The missing piece of me I've been waiting for.  I love you.:

            Perhaps she could have doubted his words, but the feelings that accompanied them were undeniable.  Incredible as it seemed, he was telling the truth.  :I love you too,: she told him, Mindspeaking without knowing it.

*          *          *

            It was late by the time Tamara got out of the annoying meeting she'd been dragged into, and she blinked in surprise to find Deena waiting for her in her rooms.

            "What –" she started, before remembering their earlier conversation.  "Oh, yeah, Kira!"

            "Yes, Kira," Deena said expectantly.  "Did you find out anything?"

            Tam dropped into a chair and sighed, rubbing her temples at the memory.  "She has pretty good natural shields; I couldn't get much most of the time.  And every time I did ask a question that got close to getting a response, something cut me off.  It was really weird."

            :That was me,: a voice said in her head – a voice that was not her Companion.  If she hadn't been sitting, she would have collapsed in shock.  "Layven?"  The incredulous question came out as a whisper.  Companions did, at times, Speak to someone other than their Heralds, but it was rare.  She'd certainly never thought it would happen to her!

            :Yes, it's me.:  She was sure she heard a hint of laughter in his Mindvoice.  :You were pushing too hard against my barrier.  I had to stop you.:

            Tamara recovered enough to explain to Deena what was going on and to repeat Layven's words for her benefit.  "Your barrier?" she asked him then, surprised by his wording.

            :Yes.  Immediately before I Chose her, her Clan cast her out.  She was heartbroken, so I put in a block.  Unfortunately, as I'm sure you noticed, she has a very strong mind.  I can't access most of those memories, either, not without breaking the block.  All I know is that she was abused and neglected, but she always hoped that someday she'd be good enough for them to accept her.  One thing is for certain, though; when she remembers what happened – and I can't hold the barrier too much longer – she's going to have real trouble coping.  We're might have a serious problem.:

            "Oh, no," Tamara whispered.  She caught the implications of Layven's "serious problem," and the possibility of a suicidal Trainee frightened her badly, especially right now.

            "Tam?  What is it?" Deena asked, slightly worried.  Her friend hadn't yet relayed Layven's latest announcement, but she could see that it was bad news.

            "I've got to talk to the Queen's Own, right now."  Tamara stood up.

            "Tam!  Tell me what's going on!"  Deena caught at her arm.  Normally, Tamara would have teased her level-headed friend for getting so frustrated, but now was not the time.

            "I'll tell you on the way.  Come on, let's go."