AN. I'd like to say thanks for all the reviews, they were great. Thanks to horsiegirl for pointing out the problem with peachblossom's description - I wasn't sure, so thanks! Anyways here's the next chapter. sorry it took so long

DISCLAIMER: All of this belongs to TP, except of course Yali cause she's mine!!

~*~ Chapter Three~*~

It turned out that Yali did need plan B after all. That night, when Kel and Neal finally emerged from her father's rooms, Kel had a slight frown on her normally expressionless face. And when Yali gave her a questioning look, to ask how it went, Kel just shook her head. Yali knew that this could not be good.

Before she could ask Kel anything, her father said, in a very stern tone "Yali, I'd like to talk to you for a minute. if you don't mind." Yali was worried. Not so much by what her father said, but by the tone he said it in; her father was usually a very laid back person, she couldn't remember the last time her had spoken to her that sternly. She thought that he must be very upset with her.

Yali followed her father into his study. She looked around; she loved this room. With its simple yet elegant furniture, its huge library of books and the bits of paper (AN. do they write on paper or parchment??) spread across most of the surfaces; it reminded her of her father.

He sat and invited her to do the same. As she cleared a space to sit on one of the chairs facing his desk, he began, in that same stern tone. "Yali, I'm very disappointed in you. you shouldn't have gone to Kel when I said that you couldn't become a page. You should know that when I say no I say no for a reason (AN. That's exactly what my mum tells me!) You also shouldn't have lied to her and told her I didn't think girls should be pages, you know I don't believe that.'

He paused, seeing the expression on her face, he didn't like seeing her upset especially when it was him that made her that way. That was why he seldom scolded her. But he knew that this time she had to be disciplined, she had really disappointed him this time. So he continued, 'You have to learn to listen to me Yali, I say things for a reason (AN. again quoting my mum) I don't just say them to be mean." (AN. and again)

"I know, da." Yali said in her meekest tone. She knew she could use her father's guilt to her advantage. "But I really, really wanted to become a Page, and you wouldn't let me. I do understand what you're saying though, and I'm really, really sorry." As she said the last part she looked up at him with her long practiced look of apology crossed with regret and sadness on her face.

As Neal looked at his daughter, he saw her put on her sad, 'puppy-dog' face. He knew what she was trying to do. He may have been slightly bias when it came to the topic of his daughter, but he wasn't completely blind; he knew she was trying to play the guilt trip on him. "Yes Yali," he continued still in the stern tone, "I understand that however, we still need to talk about this becoming a Page business, I don't like it." He held his hand up to stop the flow of indignant and outraged arguments that was bound to come from his daughter, "It's not for the reasons you think that I don't like the idea. You know, Yali, perfectly well that I am not against the idea of Lady Knights. That it obvious in my friendship with Kel, also, I would like to remind you who my knight master was. Was it not Alanna the Lioness herself?"

He continued not waiting for her to reply, "Yali, it's not because I'm against Lady Knight's that I'm against the idea, It's just I'm worried that you are doing this for the wrong reasons; you say it's because you're bored of sewing and that you want a change. I don't think you realize how much work is involved." Now he left room for her to reply.

She thought about what he said, "I know how much work it is, da, I'm not just doing it because I'm bored; I want to help people, I want to protect them, I want to fight for the realm, for Tortall!" He smiled despite himself, "Mithros you sound like Kel when you talk like that!"

Yali blushed slightly. "Well, it's true." She replied some what defensively.

"That may be true," Neal was serious again, "But it is a LOT of work, and to be quite honest, I don't think you're up to it. I think that you should wait until you're a bit older and if you still feel the same way, we'll go from there."

"But that's not FAIR!" Despite her Yamani background and training it was quite obvious that Yali was furious. "The boys my age are all starting!"

"Yes but." her father started, but she interrupted him, "At our age the boys won't have any physical advantage, we still have exactly the same body shape and stuff and I'll train extra hard to make up for being small.anyway it doesn't make that much difference; just look at Lady Alanna - she's tiny!"

Neal was running out of arguments, he didn't know what to say; he couldn't tell her he was saying no just because he had a bad feeling about it or because he didn't want to risk his only daughter. Although both were true he didn't think Yali would accept either argument and they would probably just serve to make her more furious. "Yali," he said instead, "I've said no and that's it, I don't want anymore argument; you're not going to the palace to become a Page."

To his surprise she answered, "No, you're right; I'm not going to the palace to become a Page."

~*~ AN: A cliffhanger!!! Hehehe!!