Disclaimer: This is a work of pure fiction… Valdemar and everyone in it belongs to Mercedes Lackey, only those few you don't recognize would be the product of my imagination… therefore, nothing belongs to me…as usual…

I know that this chapter doesn't seem relevant to the 1st one, but my wayward mind decided to come up with separate scenarios. They will tie in together later. I hope.

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Even with the hundreds of people who thronged the square, prepared to have fun at the celebration, it really wasn't too hard to identify her target. The man seemed enamored with bright and garish colors. Even when most of the celebrants wore colorful and dazzling clothing, his was the most…impressive.

You could hardly miss that blinding combination of orange, pink and red, Kalin thought to herself, as she silently but surely armed her dart. He is making it almost too easy.

Lord Javeranondin of Hollingsdown. Gods, his name is almost as impressive as the clothes he wears! She thought wryly, casually positioning her target within her line of sight. She didn't want to draw attention to herself, though in a crowd like this, most people didn't spare her a second glance. A quick look around made sure that no one was paying her close attention as usual, and making use of the opportunity, she raised the dart to her lips and blew, and watched with satisfaction as the tiny needle hit Lord Javerathan at his neck.

Ooo, that must have stung! She gloated with glee when the lord in question yelped and brushed away the needle, thinking that he must have been stung by an insect. Just give it a few more minutes, and My Lord will never know what in the world 'hit him'. Pardon the pun. It was all she could do to control her giggles and had to excuse herself to a quiet corner, once again, without drawing too much attention to herself.

It was wonderful to get commissions like this one, where she didn't have to kill anybody. Not like the last one. In this case, she had been hired to make a fool of Lord Javeranondin on a dare made by one of his friends. A practical joke, as it were. Though with friends such as those, one certainly doesn't need enemies! The needle had been dipped in a mild and relatively harmless poison. This one would make the target act like a drunk, and had the side effect of making them say whatever was on his mind.

Definitely going to be very entertaining to watch. Kalin grinned when she noticed the lord stumble a little. The lady he was with expressed concern on his suddenly unstable condition, at which he seemed to make a rather lewd reply and earned himself a rather tight slap.

Kalin almost choked at his dazed expression, which immediately turned into alarm as he realized what he had just said, and chased after the lady, trying to apologize, ignoring the stares and frowns coming his way. An indignant shout rang across the square later when Lord Javeranondin made another bumbling comment to his lady.

Oh, I wish I could have heard what he said to her, Kalin thought impishly, trying to muffle her laughter, shrinking into the shadows and hoping that no one was looking in her direction. But she needn't have worried. Everyone was drawn to the scene Lord Javeranondin was making, which now included him trying to sing a ballad (off key, of course) and dancing to whatever he was wailing at the top of his lungs. It was rather comical, especially since the lord seemed to be trying to balance himself on one foot and waving an arm wildly in the air.

What is he…Oh, he's trying to serenade his lady. That's so sweet!

But the lady in question didn't seem to think so. It was obvious that she was embarrassed, and was doing her best to push her way through the crowd that had gathered around her and Lord Javeranondin, but with little success. The poor lady was frantic to get away from there that she didn't realize Lord Javeranondin was behind her, and shrieked in outrage when something he said (or did, Kalin couldn't tell at that distance) made her furious enough to swirl around and give him a good punch in the nose. At that particular display, the crowd parted like a wave as she ran past them, leaving the lord sitting on the floor caroling at the top of his lungs again.

Kalin felt sorry for the woman, but oh, the look on Javeranondin's face when he was slapped was priceless, and the dancing! She hoped her employer was around to appreciate this very hilarious performance. Why, he was talking to himself now, and his words were slurred. He is going to pass out soon, she predicted. And sure enough, he slumped to the ground and started snoring. A few of the gathered gentlemen shook their heads while the ladies watched in horror at the now-prone figure lying on the ground. One of the gentlemen sighed and hefted Javeranondin to a quiet corner. Even over the din of the crowd, Kalin barely heard him mutter about the consequences of having too mush drink and having no head for it.

She grinned to herself. Well, it's time to go and report. Best get out of here while nobody's noticing. She told herself. Entertainment's over. She turned, and suddenly found her way blocked by something solid. She let out a surprised squeak and took a step backward, her hand surreptitiously going for her hidden dagger, and looked up at the face of one of the lords.

"What were you doing?" The man growled.

"Wh…what? Milord. I was just going to refill my tray, Milord." Kalin gestured her empty tray, part of her disguise for the evening. No one paid any attention to the servants, she knew. That was why she was dressed up as one of the waiters.

"Oh, no. That was not what I meant, boy."

Another part of her disguise was that she was dressed as a young boy, that way, no one would connect the event tonight with the 'real' her.

"Then, wh...what, Milord?"

He moved quickly, and before Kalin knew what he was doing, he had pulled out her dart from her pocket, and his arm was holding hers tightly. "I mean this," and waved the damning evidence in front of her. "Who are you? Who sent you?"

For a while, Kalin panicked. Godammit, I never noticed him! With her free hand, she slammed the empty tray into the lord, which he instinctively block, freeing her. After giving him a hefty kick at the shin, she immediately hid herself while he was otherwise distracted. This is bad, she told herself. This is very bad. He shouldn't have caught me. I'm going to have to be more careful in the future. Overconfidence is going to get me killed.

She could hear him cursing somewhere nearby, and kept herself still as a matter of training. He would never know that if he had just reached out his arm, he would probably be patting her head.

When he finally limped off, still muttering under his breath, she waited another few more minutes, just to be safe, and slipped out of her hiding place and into the shadows.

That was fun, she decided. Even with the last part. Assassins rarely took time to enjoy their skills like that. This was going to be one of her favorite assignments, as this time, she didn't have to kill anybody.

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:Damn! Didn't you see anyone come out this way?:

Slade bit back an oath as he limped out to the courtyard, where Herald Kerowyn was waiting, partially concealed by shadows cast by firelight. No one else was about as people were still celebrating.

"Not that I saw." Kerowyn emerged from the shadows, noting with concern as Slade limped toward her. "What happened to you?"

"Did you notice that commotion out at the square just now, Lord Javeranondin?" at Kerowyn's nod, he continued. "Well, he wasn't drunk. I think he was drugged."

"Why do you say that?" Kerowyn was all business now, and listened attentively as Slade reported.

"Caught one of the page boys with a blow dart in the alley there. He kicked me in the shin and ran off when I question him. I thought he came out this way."

"I saw no one." Kerowyn was striding back towards the alley where Slade had emerged. "Maybe he's still in there."

"No, I checked. There's no one in there now. Damn! How could he have just vanished like that?"

"Describe him."

Slade closed his eyes and tried to recall what he remembered of the boy. The trouble was, the alleyway had been dark, all he had were impressions. "Boy, slight build, dark hair. He was dressed in servant's livery. Must be twelve or so, his voice hadn't broken yet."

This time it was Kerowyn who cursed. "That fits just about half the pages and servant boys we have in the palace!"

Slade grimaced. "I hate to bring this up, but he might not even be one of our servants. The boy could have stolen the uniforms from any of the storerooms. Damn, I'd like to know how a boy that young got so good with that dart. He was so precise. Even in that crowd, his aim never wavered."

"Huh. Any link to Hastarllen? He was murdered by a dart as well. Poisoned"

Slade's response was a growl in frustration. "Hellsfire! I'm going to be keeping an eye out for that runt. Next time, he won't be running off that easily."

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Reviews!!! My humble self is ecstatically jumping for joy… More! More! More!

etcetera-cat: aww…shucks…glad you think it's good… my first attempt at fanfic (heh heh heh!) at any rate, I know my stuff needs tweaking, and I'll definitely work on it ;)

Breezefire: Hmm… You have a point there… I'm ashamed to admit that I've not really developed the characters yet. But let's just say that Slade is the younger son of a minor noble, and is accepted at court. The circumstances of him getting Chosen were mostly kept under wraps since he was already involved in his 'career' when Dartha decided to make life much more interesting for him ;P

JoeyStar x: hey hey hey! always nice to get compliments... read on!