Kassi of Pirate's Swoop ~ Oh, don't worry. I'm very honored that u like my
writing! *blushes and beams* I'm so happy! And thank u! I'm glad u like how
I added Cordelia . . . she IS an interesting character, though, isn't she?
Well, thanks again for reviewing! U rock!
Babyjayy ~ thank u! I'm glad I'm getting unpredictable . . . I hate when pplz can guess what I'm going to do. That makes the fic boring. Thnx 4 reviewing (as usual!)
Angel_kiss ~ Oooh. Thank u for clearing that up for me! I didn't understand what u meant, cuz I'd thought that it came out in April or something, and yeah . . . you guessed it was Cordelia? That is not good . . . I wanted it to be kinda a surprise. Hmmm. And yeah. I completely agree with you about the princess issue thingy. I don't think that because someone is a princess, they should get to be prettier, better, and more perfect than anyone else. Not that I don't like Lela (she's not even the normal princess anyway), but I agree with u that others should share the spotlight. And Cordelia will, believe me. Just . . . not the way ur thinking. Anyways, time to stop before I begin to ramble. Enjoy the chapter!
Queen of Sheba ~ I'm not exactly sure whether ur review was a little flame or a compliment (I prefer the latter), but thank u for taking the time to review, anyway! In case u haven't figured out, Lela's very . . . *cough* passionate about everything. Yeah, and I guess a little moody? Like, mood swing? I don't know, that's just the way she turned out when I wrote the story. Hehe. Cordelia . . . hmm, I think I got that name from a book. I'm not positive about it, but I think its Anne of Green Gables. I thought the name was kinda cool, so I added it to this fic. Why? Is it really horrible or anything? And am I getting predictable? Just when I thought I was getting UN-predictable. Drat. And thanx for the vote!
Luv*a*lot ~ Ahh . . . must make a mental note-to-self . . . never have a stash of Hershey's kisses (yummy!) . . . ooh, now I sound like my hyper *cough* friend who liked my sticky-notes bookmark in class . . . but now I'm rambling so . . . Oh, that was just Cordelia saying that so she didn't have to show her face. (Remember what Ella said at the ball? I got the idea from that, hehe). Yeah . . . WHY DO MY CHARACTERS ALL WANT TO KILL ME??!! *Wail* I thought I was being nice! *cough* or not. Chocolate! Good idea . . . BRB, gotta get chocolates!
Dorkeegirl168 ~ Ooh! You came just in time to hear a very hyperistic response! Chocolate! Too late . . . the chocolate is consuming me! Or I'm consuming it, or whatever. Cords! Hehe! Cords and Jamsey! Whoo! Cool! I'm gonna cry! Everyone said that they could predict it was Cordelia! *cry* I feel so predictable! *Bounces up* Yippee! I got a review! Hmm, I'll wait till later to tell what Ted was gonna say! Hehe *wink*. Yippee Yay! Reviews! Ah . . . *people glaring at me* ok, ok, I'll stop rambling and bouncing and hyperistic stuff and let u all read on! Thank ye for thy review! Ah . . . me in medieval! Oooh!
Kari Kaiba ~ thnx 4 reviewing, as always. And yeah, some others have mentioned the same thing as u. I'll think about it. *wink*
Fineflyer ~ OOH!! A new reviewer!! Thank u, ur review was sooo nice! I'm glad u like my story so much! *dances some more* Now I'm really happy!
Lalaith ~ Ooh! Thank u so sooo much for the extra long review!!! OK . . . I already got the Ella Enchanted movie thing cleared up *blushes* I was very confused at first, but now I get it O.o and I feel really dumb. Hehe. And I've never seen Master and Commander though I've heard it's a good movie & I really wanna see it. I've never read the Princess Diaries either, for the exact same reason as u haven't. LoL. And Tuck Everlasting was the BEST movie!!! It actually made me CRY, and I NEVER cry with movies . . . *sniffle* and of course the book was fantastic . . . talking about fantastic books, I just finished C/CD by Sherwood Smith & it was so GOOD!!! & yeah, I just remembered kinda sorta that Lela was supposed to teach them Ogrese. Oopsy. And pixie stix? Hmm, gotta try that sometime . . . 4 now, I'll stick with chocolate!!! Yum, u know what's good? The fudge mint cookies . . . those are GOOD . . . And ahh, ok, I just read ur second review & I've already forgotten all the 1st few sentences anyways, so . . . yep Cordelia is fudge lady. Did I just say fudge? I meant tea lady. (Uh oh, I'm getting high on the fudge mint cookies . . . GRASSHOPPER! Ok, that made no sense whatsoever.) And oh well, if it helps make u feel any better, I feel even stupider.
Laur1532 ~ Thank u so much for the wonderful review!!! New reviewer!!! I'm so happy! I personally am THRILLED that u have such confidence in my writing skills. In fact, I'm so happy that all my reviewers have even chosen to stay with me! I will try to do my best to live up to ur expectations *dies under the burden* but I'm so grateful to you all!!! BTW ~ did I say thank you? Well, thnx anyway!!
*****
A/n: Someone (not saying who) guessed something that's gonna happen later on in the story. I'm not mentioning any names, but if u know who u r, then I'll have to tell u that ur very smart! Well, anyways, back to the story . . .
A/n 2: Does anyone know how to do italics on fanfiction??? I have no idea how to get the italics to show . . . please help me! Thank you!!
*~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~*
All of us were stunned. No one said a word. The silence seemed to hang over us like a deep, dark shadow.
Finally, Ted broke the silence. "You followed us." He said in a low voice.
Cordelia nodded without even looking at him. She was staring at the ground.
"Lord Donovan sent you to follow us." Ted continued angrily.
Cordelia shook her head, looking shocked. "No! I left on my own."
"But why -" Ted started.
I shot him a glare that clearly told him to shut up. He did, but that was probably only because he had too many questions to ask all at once anyway.
"Cordelia – thank you for saving our lives back at the bandit camp." I said warmly, trying to steer the angry conversation to something easier for Cordelia to talk about.
"You're . . . welcome . . ." she said uncertainly.
Ted opened his mouth to speak but I sent him a look that equaled daggers. He glared, but didn't say anything.
Jamesy (A/N: sorry! I couldn't resist! =D) didn't say anything either, only stared at Cordelia.
"Well, let's . . . um . . . take a rest from walking, shall we?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't really work.
James had already started a fire, and was toying with a stick as he waited for someone to speak.
Ted just stared moodily into the fire, not saying anything.
Cordelia, uncomfortable with the quiet, said "I . . . suppose you want me to tell my story?"
"If you want to." I said eagerly. I wanted to hear everything.
Ted and James both nodded.
Cordelia sighed. "All right, here's what happened . . ."
*~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~*
"I'm . . . a maid at Lord Donovan's manor," she began.
"You worked for him although he's evil?" James interrupted, breaking his silence.
Cordelia looked at the ground. "Well, what could I do about it? I had to get closer to him in order to be able to do anything."
That made sense to me. I waited for her to explain further.
Cordelia continued, "Well, I didn't like his evil ways. I hated Erik, who began to always come over to the manor. I hated having to listen to my – master talk about the 'glorified Queen Maydria' and how she would take over the world. I decided to do something about it."
She paused, looking at us. "I wasn't sure what to do at first. I was only a girl! What could I do to save Kyrria from the conquest of a mad fairy?"
"Well? What did you do?" I prompted.
"I didn't do anything at first. But I did begin to take lots of long walks into Frell in my spare time, so that I could think things over."
*****Flashback*****
Cordelia walked along slowly, thinking hard about what was happening. How could she help stop this evil?
She passed by stalls and vendors, sniffing at the smells of the freshly baked bread, and foods, and seeing piles of red and golden apples and other fruits. She ignored these things, and instead, wandered to where the merchants were selling their wares: exquisite elf and fairy-made jewelry, carvings by Agulen, and all types of trinkets and treasures.
She stopped to admire a few things, but, although she chatted lightly with the merchants, her mind was always thinking about Maydria. Maydria, and her control over Lord Donovan, Erik, and the ogre clans.
Her thoughts lasted all the way until she accidentally took a wrong turn into an alley. All thoughts of Maydria flew out of her mind as she spotted a wrinkled old woman, sitting under a brightly colored cloth canopy.
An idea flashed into her mind, and Cordelia hurried towards the old woman.
"Hello, child, how may I help you?" inquired the old woman, her shrewd eyes studying the young girl.
"I . . . just wanted to ask . . ." Cordelia began uncertainly, "if you could teach me something about herbs and potions."
The healer smiled, her wrinkles showing clearly. "Why, what a curious thing! You want me to teach you about the uses of herbs for healing and potions?" She sounded amused and thoughtful.
"Yes, please!" Cordelia blurted. "I want to learn about this stuff -" she waved her hand, the gesture taking in the vast array of herbs and plants and bottled medicines that the old woman was selling.
The herbal healer regarded her. "Well, dear, if you really want to, I suppose I could . . ." she said slowly.
"Thank you!" squealed Cordelia, delighted. Impulsively, she gave the old woman a hug. The healer smiled, and from that moment on, a friendship was forged.
*****End of Flashback*****
"Wow!" I exclaimed, amazed. "So you really learned that stuff?"
"Yes." Cordelia said proudly, her eyes shining. "And I've learned so much! I can make all types of potions and powders and everything!"
I saw James and Ted exchange a glance. "How did this help?" Ted asked, obviously making an effort not to be rude or start accusing Cordelia of something.
Cordelia's smile widened. "Guess."
I searched my mind and came up blank. "No idea." I admitted.
James and Ted both shook their heads.
Cordelia smirked. "Well, let's see . . . one, I saved James' life. Two, I drugged Lord Donovan's food. Three, I put all the bandits to sleep. Four, I sent Erik to sleep, therefore making him lose your trail. Five . . ."
"What?!" all three of us exclaimed in unison.
"Wait. Start at the beginning – with saving James's life." Ted said.
Cordelia grinned. "All right. That day James was captured. Lord Donovan was all for just killing him. He even had it all planned out. But of course, me being me, I intervened. When I brought him his tea that afternoon, I slipped some powder inside it. I call it – forgetfulness powder."
I was deeply intrigued by now. "And?"
"And of course, Lord Donovan completely forgot what he was supposed to be doing. He dropped off to sleep, and when he woke up, he remembered nothing about James. That is, until a guard reminded him. But at least he didn't kill him." Cordelia said with obvious pride.
"Thank you." James said quietly.
"No problem. And on to the next thing – drugging Lord Donovan's drink. Did anyone else think he was a little bit queer that day when he was asking Lela to write the letter?"
"You mean, actually begging me to write the letter? And not remembering what he was supposed to do? I thought that that was weird." I said, grinning.
A smile quirked at the corners of Ted's mouth. "I thought you were weirder." He told Cordelia, but he wasn't being mean, only teasing.
Cordelia grinned. "All an act on my part. I had put some sleep powder, mixed with forgetfulness potion into his food and drink. That's why when Lela first met him, he was normal, but later, he started to act strange. Oh, and in case I forgot to mention it, he fell asleep while you guys were escaping."
"Why didn't he come after us when he woke up?" I asked.
"Oh, that. That's because I put enough sleeping powder to keep him asleep for three days." Cordelia's brown eyes glinted with mischief.
Realization dawned on all of our faces, and we all began to view Cordelia in a new light.
Needless to say, I was deeply impressed. "And the bandits?" I queried.
"Oh, that was also sleeping powder, in another form. I'm pretty good at archery, and I just attached the powder to arrows and shot them in the bandit's direction. I was up in a tree, too, and no one was able to tell the difference between my arrows and James's."
James looked startled. "Really?"
"Really." Cordelia told him. "I taught myself some archery . . . but Lord Donovan doesn't know that. He thinks that I know very little with archery. I'm pretty accurate, though – just not as good as you are, James."
"So how long are the bandits going to be asleep?" Ted joked.
"Several days, at least." Cordelia said indifferently. "If you want a more accurate time, three days, seven hours, and twenty-three minutes."
I was aware that I was gaping, so I quickly closed my mouth. "Wow," was all I managed to say.
"And Erik?" James asked, interested as well.
"Oh, the same thing as the bandits. Except he never knew what hit him, because there wasn't even an arrow." Cordelia grinned. "I just . . . accidentally . . . dropped it on his head."
I giggled. "So he's out too."
"Should be, until . . . say, four days from now?" Cordelia said innocently.
All of us laughed at that. We talked a bit more, as all of us became warmer and more open to her.
It occurred to me that Cordelia wasn't really as shallow or as weird as she had seemed when we first met her. She was actually very intelligent, from what I gathered.
Cordelia seemed to trust us. And I was willing to trust her, although Ted and James were a little more cautious and hesitant. I knew Cordelia would soon win them over.
So it was that Cordelia became a permanent addition to our group.
And as we got ready for sleep that night, I couldn't help but be grateful that Cordelia was with us.
My last waking thought was, "What surprises would be awaiting us next?"
*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*
A/n: Ok, I have a little confession to make. This is actually my first real FF story ever, so I'm actually surprised u guys reviewed so much! I'm so happy that u like my writing & this story. It's inspired me to write other stuff too. So I just wanted to say a general thank you to everyone who read & reviewed, and I want you all to know that if it weren't for u guys, I wouldn't even continue this story or write any others!! Luv ya all! *~*~AryaWinds~*~*
Babyjayy ~ thank u! I'm glad I'm getting unpredictable . . . I hate when pplz can guess what I'm going to do. That makes the fic boring. Thnx 4 reviewing (as usual!)
Angel_kiss ~ Oooh. Thank u for clearing that up for me! I didn't understand what u meant, cuz I'd thought that it came out in April or something, and yeah . . . you guessed it was Cordelia? That is not good . . . I wanted it to be kinda a surprise. Hmmm. And yeah. I completely agree with you about the princess issue thingy. I don't think that because someone is a princess, they should get to be prettier, better, and more perfect than anyone else. Not that I don't like Lela (she's not even the normal princess anyway), but I agree with u that others should share the spotlight. And Cordelia will, believe me. Just . . . not the way ur thinking. Anyways, time to stop before I begin to ramble. Enjoy the chapter!
Queen of Sheba ~ I'm not exactly sure whether ur review was a little flame or a compliment (I prefer the latter), but thank u for taking the time to review, anyway! In case u haven't figured out, Lela's very . . . *cough* passionate about everything. Yeah, and I guess a little moody? Like, mood swing? I don't know, that's just the way she turned out when I wrote the story. Hehe. Cordelia . . . hmm, I think I got that name from a book. I'm not positive about it, but I think its Anne of Green Gables. I thought the name was kinda cool, so I added it to this fic. Why? Is it really horrible or anything? And am I getting predictable? Just when I thought I was getting UN-predictable. Drat. And thanx for the vote!
Luv*a*lot ~ Ahh . . . must make a mental note-to-self . . . never have a stash of Hershey's kisses (yummy!) . . . ooh, now I sound like my hyper *cough* friend who liked my sticky-notes bookmark in class . . . but now I'm rambling so . . . Oh, that was just Cordelia saying that so she didn't have to show her face. (Remember what Ella said at the ball? I got the idea from that, hehe). Yeah . . . WHY DO MY CHARACTERS ALL WANT TO KILL ME??!! *Wail* I thought I was being nice! *cough* or not. Chocolate! Good idea . . . BRB, gotta get chocolates!
Dorkeegirl168 ~ Ooh! You came just in time to hear a very hyperistic response! Chocolate! Too late . . . the chocolate is consuming me! Or I'm consuming it, or whatever. Cords! Hehe! Cords and Jamsey! Whoo! Cool! I'm gonna cry! Everyone said that they could predict it was Cordelia! *cry* I feel so predictable! *Bounces up* Yippee! I got a review! Hmm, I'll wait till later to tell what Ted was gonna say! Hehe *wink*. Yippee Yay! Reviews! Ah . . . *people glaring at me* ok, ok, I'll stop rambling and bouncing and hyperistic stuff and let u all read on! Thank ye for thy review! Ah . . . me in medieval! Oooh!
Kari Kaiba ~ thnx 4 reviewing, as always. And yeah, some others have mentioned the same thing as u. I'll think about it. *wink*
Fineflyer ~ OOH!! A new reviewer!! Thank u, ur review was sooo nice! I'm glad u like my story so much! *dances some more* Now I'm really happy!
Lalaith ~ Ooh! Thank u so sooo much for the extra long review!!! OK . . . I already got the Ella Enchanted movie thing cleared up *blushes* I was very confused at first, but now I get it O.o and I feel really dumb. Hehe. And I've never seen Master and Commander though I've heard it's a good movie & I really wanna see it. I've never read the Princess Diaries either, for the exact same reason as u haven't. LoL. And Tuck Everlasting was the BEST movie!!! It actually made me CRY, and I NEVER cry with movies . . . *sniffle* and of course the book was fantastic . . . talking about fantastic books, I just finished C/CD by Sherwood Smith & it was so GOOD!!! & yeah, I just remembered kinda sorta that Lela was supposed to teach them Ogrese. Oopsy. And pixie stix? Hmm, gotta try that sometime . . . 4 now, I'll stick with chocolate!!! Yum, u know what's good? The fudge mint cookies . . . those are GOOD . . . And ahh, ok, I just read ur second review & I've already forgotten all the 1st few sentences anyways, so . . . yep Cordelia is fudge lady. Did I just say fudge? I meant tea lady. (Uh oh, I'm getting high on the fudge mint cookies . . . GRASSHOPPER! Ok, that made no sense whatsoever.) And oh well, if it helps make u feel any better, I feel even stupider.
Laur1532 ~ Thank u so much for the wonderful review!!! New reviewer!!! I'm so happy! I personally am THRILLED that u have such confidence in my writing skills. In fact, I'm so happy that all my reviewers have even chosen to stay with me! I will try to do my best to live up to ur expectations *dies under the burden* but I'm so grateful to you all!!! BTW ~ did I say thank you? Well, thnx anyway!!
*****
A/n: Someone (not saying who) guessed something that's gonna happen later on in the story. I'm not mentioning any names, but if u know who u r, then I'll have to tell u that ur very smart! Well, anyways, back to the story . . .
A/n 2: Does anyone know how to do italics on fanfiction??? I have no idea how to get the italics to show . . . please help me! Thank you!!
*~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~*
All of us were stunned. No one said a word. The silence seemed to hang over us like a deep, dark shadow.
Finally, Ted broke the silence. "You followed us." He said in a low voice.
Cordelia nodded without even looking at him. She was staring at the ground.
"Lord Donovan sent you to follow us." Ted continued angrily.
Cordelia shook her head, looking shocked. "No! I left on my own."
"But why -" Ted started.
I shot him a glare that clearly told him to shut up. He did, but that was probably only because he had too many questions to ask all at once anyway.
"Cordelia – thank you for saving our lives back at the bandit camp." I said warmly, trying to steer the angry conversation to something easier for Cordelia to talk about.
"You're . . . welcome . . ." she said uncertainly.
Ted opened his mouth to speak but I sent him a look that equaled daggers. He glared, but didn't say anything.
Jamesy (A/N: sorry! I couldn't resist! =D) didn't say anything either, only stared at Cordelia.
"Well, let's . . . um . . . take a rest from walking, shall we?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't really work.
James had already started a fire, and was toying with a stick as he waited for someone to speak.
Ted just stared moodily into the fire, not saying anything.
Cordelia, uncomfortable with the quiet, said "I . . . suppose you want me to tell my story?"
"If you want to." I said eagerly. I wanted to hear everything.
Ted and James both nodded.
Cordelia sighed. "All right, here's what happened . . ."
*~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~*
"I'm . . . a maid at Lord Donovan's manor," she began.
"You worked for him although he's evil?" James interrupted, breaking his silence.
Cordelia looked at the ground. "Well, what could I do about it? I had to get closer to him in order to be able to do anything."
That made sense to me. I waited for her to explain further.
Cordelia continued, "Well, I didn't like his evil ways. I hated Erik, who began to always come over to the manor. I hated having to listen to my – master talk about the 'glorified Queen Maydria' and how she would take over the world. I decided to do something about it."
She paused, looking at us. "I wasn't sure what to do at first. I was only a girl! What could I do to save Kyrria from the conquest of a mad fairy?"
"Well? What did you do?" I prompted.
"I didn't do anything at first. But I did begin to take lots of long walks into Frell in my spare time, so that I could think things over."
*****Flashback*****
Cordelia walked along slowly, thinking hard about what was happening. How could she help stop this evil?
She passed by stalls and vendors, sniffing at the smells of the freshly baked bread, and foods, and seeing piles of red and golden apples and other fruits. She ignored these things, and instead, wandered to where the merchants were selling their wares: exquisite elf and fairy-made jewelry, carvings by Agulen, and all types of trinkets and treasures.
She stopped to admire a few things, but, although she chatted lightly with the merchants, her mind was always thinking about Maydria. Maydria, and her control over Lord Donovan, Erik, and the ogre clans.
Her thoughts lasted all the way until she accidentally took a wrong turn into an alley. All thoughts of Maydria flew out of her mind as she spotted a wrinkled old woman, sitting under a brightly colored cloth canopy.
An idea flashed into her mind, and Cordelia hurried towards the old woman.
"Hello, child, how may I help you?" inquired the old woman, her shrewd eyes studying the young girl.
"I . . . just wanted to ask . . ." Cordelia began uncertainly, "if you could teach me something about herbs and potions."
The healer smiled, her wrinkles showing clearly. "Why, what a curious thing! You want me to teach you about the uses of herbs for healing and potions?" She sounded amused and thoughtful.
"Yes, please!" Cordelia blurted. "I want to learn about this stuff -" she waved her hand, the gesture taking in the vast array of herbs and plants and bottled medicines that the old woman was selling.
The herbal healer regarded her. "Well, dear, if you really want to, I suppose I could . . ." she said slowly.
"Thank you!" squealed Cordelia, delighted. Impulsively, she gave the old woman a hug. The healer smiled, and from that moment on, a friendship was forged.
*****End of Flashback*****
"Wow!" I exclaimed, amazed. "So you really learned that stuff?"
"Yes." Cordelia said proudly, her eyes shining. "And I've learned so much! I can make all types of potions and powders and everything!"
I saw James and Ted exchange a glance. "How did this help?" Ted asked, obviously making an effort not to be rude or start accusing Cordelia of something.
Cordelia's smile widened. "Guess."
I searched my mind and came up blank. "No idea." I admitted.
James and Ted both shook their heads.
Cordelia smirked. "Well, let's see . . . one, I saved James' life. Two, I drugged Lord Donovan's food. Three, I put all the bandits to sleep. Four, I sent Erik to sleep, therefore making him lose your trail. Five . . ."
"What?!" all three of us exclaimed in unison.
"Wait. Start at the beginning – with saving James's life." Ted said.
Cordelia grinned. "All right. That day James was captured. Lord Donovan was all for just killing him. He even had it all planned out. But of course, me being me, I intervened. When I brought him his tea that afternoon, I slipped some powder inside it. I call it – forgetfulness powder."
I was deeply intrigued by now. "And?"
"And of course, Lord Donovan completely forgot what he was supposed to be doing. He dropped off to sleep, and when he woke up, he remembered nothing about James. That is, until a guard reminded him. But at least he didn't kill him." Cordelia said with obvious pride.
"Thank you." James said quietly.
"No problem. And on to the next thing – drugging Lord Donovan's drink. Did anyone else think he was a little bit queer that day when he was asking Lela to write the letter?"
"You mean, actually begging me to write the letter? And not remembering what he was supposed to do? I thought that that was weird." I said, grinning.
A smile quirked at the corners of Ted's mouth. "I thought you were weirder." He told Cordelia, but he wasn't being mean, only teasing.
Cordelia grinned. "All an act on my part. I had put some sleep powder, mixed with forgetfulness potion into his food and drink. That's why when Lela first met him, he was normal, but later, he started to act strange. Oh, and in case I forgot to mention it, he fell asleep while you guys were escaping."
"Why didn't he come after us when he woke up?" I asked.
"Oh, that. That's because I put enough sleeping powder to keep him asleep for three days." Cordelia's brown eyes glinted with mischief.
Realization dawned on all of our faces, and we all began to view Cordelia in a new light.
Needless to say, I was deeply impressed. "And the bandits?" I queried.
"Oh, that was also sleeping powder, in another form. I'm pretty good at archery, and I just attached the powder to arrows and shot them in the bandit's direction. I was up in a tree, too, and no one was able to tell the difference between my arrows and James's."
James looked startled. "Really?"
"Really." Cordelia told him. "I taught myself some archery . . . but Lord Donovan doesn't know that. He thinks that I know very little with archery. I'm pretty accurate, though – just not as good as you are, James."
"So how long are the bandits going to be asleep?" Ted joked.
"Several days, at least." Cordelia said indifferently. "If you want a more accurate time, three days, seven hours, and twenty-three minutes."
I was aware that I was gaping, so I quickly closed my mouth. "Wow," was all I managed to say.
"And Erik?" James asked, interested as well.
"Oh, the same thing as the bandits. Except he never knew what hit him, because there wasn't even an arrow." Cordelia grinned. "I just . . . accidentally . . . dropped it on his head."
I giggled. "So he's out too."
"Should be, until . . . say, four days from now?" Cordelia said innocently.
All of us laughed at that. We talked a bit more, as all of us became warmer and more open to her.
It occurred to me that Cordelia wasn't really as shallow or as weird as she had seemed when we first met her. She was actually very intelligent, from what I gathered.
Cordelia seemed to trust us. And I was willing to trust her, although Ted and James were a little more cautious and hesitant. I knew Cordelia would soon win them over.
So it was that Cordelia became a permanent addition to our group.
And as we got ready for sleep that night, I couldn't help but be grateful that Cordelia was with us.
My last waking thought was, "What surprises would be awaiting us next?"
*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*_~_*
A/n: Ok, I have a little confession to make. This is actually my first real FF story ever, so I'm actually surprised u guys reviewed so much! I'm so happy that u like my writing & this story. It's inspired me to write other stuff too. So I just wanted to say a general thank you to everyone who read & reviewed, and I want you all to know that if it weren't for u guys, I wouldn't even continue this story or write any others!! Luv ya all! *~*~AryaWinds~*~*