Sorry it's been a while! Ravyn, please don't kill me for being late! I'm sick still, with a stupid and stubborn cold, and I'll write whenever I get the chance! But I have a 2 hour time limit now! Don't kill me, cause I will get one up every week if I have access to an internet source! I've also thought up a new system. *** means it's changing pov.

After the King finishes his. coughing fit he states, "I hope we will become great friends. It's late now, so we'll drape a heavy curtain over your cage to keep out the light." They then untie me and order me back in the cage. Before closing and locking the door they place a tray of food on the inside. They also place a large amount of water in a large bottle and put some small containers next to it. The king spins the combination, blocking it from my sight as he does so, and I am lowered back into the room once more. I sit on the soft structure to contemplate their questions and responses more closely. My name was easy, of course. If I called myself Lady or some other fancy title they'd assume I killed for a financial reason. Asking to be called princess or something just as wishy-washy would seem a weakness. People like that did things for power. By not making any other comments I remain an unknown element. A majority of the personality types fit into the common section, while a majority of the nobles and royalty have the same incentive. The second question they asked. that one takes much more thought. How can this be considered strong when healing magic from time to time is still a must? When Uncle Kujas' punishments still take days to recover from? Still, the idea that he'll push his soldiers as hard as I've been pushed is ridiculous. How often has he had both legs broken, silenced against magic attacks, a three hundred pound backpack on, rubbed in a food the turtle monsters will do absolutely anything to get at and eat, locked in a room filled with them and not allowed out until they're all dead? That is one of the mildest forms of punishment he gives us now. it seemed much harsher when he started doing it. Of course, I was only four then, and Catalina couldn't help me. She had a room of her own to work on. I learned many important survival skills doing that. I can survive without food for many days, without water for longer. If I have either I can survive for twice the amount of time without the one I don't have. I currently have my supply of food to live on, so I won't ever touch the stuff they try to feed me. The water I inspect and decide it will be safe to drink. That decided, I take out my jerky supply and eat some. I don't fill my stomach entirely; so as to make the food last longer. I stop when I no longer feel hunger pangs. I then dip a small container into the water and drink my fill. I am slightly tired but I know I mustn't sleep just yet; doing so would spoil me. Instead I check the places where my knives were hidden, patting myself all over. I find five they missed, two I keep behind my head, miniaturized and tied in with hair. They did not suspect the toenails are attached with tree sap and other spelled knives lay hidden under them. The last is usually the most painful to take out, but I can tell it's still hidden. My tongue has run over my teeth once already, and the metallic blood I taste is a sure sign. Now that I know where my remaining knives are kept I should exercise. I mustn't get lazy and be unable to run when I escape. I lie on my stomach and do fifty sit-ups slowly. I begin to get faster and faster starting at fifty-one, until I would be seen as a blur to all but the ones looking very closely. That accomplished, I flip over and do fifty pushups. I lift my right hand from the floor and do fifty more, then switch hands. I grit my teeth. Here comes the tricky part. Carefully, I curl all but my right pointer finger into my hand, put the other behind my back, and lift myself from the floor. I then start doing pushups with my one finger. I stop at fifty and drink some water. I then do my left pointer finger, followed by both thumbs, middle, and ring fingers separately. This exercise was only introduced to me three months ago, and I am still amazed by my progress. When I reach my right pinky alone I cannot lift myself, so I allow the other pinky to work with it. They are not as well trained as the other fingers, and I must make them do extra. I stop at seventy-five, when both fingers raise screams of protest. I walk over to the raised soft platform and test its weight. It seems very heavy. That decided, I flip it over and do pushups with it on my back as a light weight. I then do seventy laps around the cage at a slow jogging pace. Any faster and the cage would spin. Satisfied, I lean against the bars and fall asleep.

*** ***

Zidane runs his hand through his hair as he watches the security camera. It shows him what his prisoner is doing at the moment, and the whole group is gazing in awe as she does yet another set of pushups, this time with only one finger. "She wasn't kidding about having trained a lot," He mutters to himself. He had overseen her from their discovery of the criminal being a child. "This is a strange child." Comments Queen Garnet, walking over to him. He nods in agreement. "I know. It's just scary that she didn't know what a chair was." The queen smiles at him saying, "You make that joke with every person we imprison." "I always did it as a joke. I never expected someone to actually have to be told what it's called. And the way she seems so scared of everything. It's as if she thinks we'll kill her if she makes one wrong move." Eiko and the rest join them, their eyes never leaving the screen. The queen responds with, "When I talked to her earlier she as good as told me she expected to be tortured. I had to explain we didn't torture people and why, and she still looked skeptical. It's like she's never been treated kindly her whole life." The girl called Clara who it showed has finished all her pushups, it seems, and is now testing the bed. "When should Freya and Fratley get here?" Asks Zidane. "They received our message about the girl an hour ago." Eiko pursed her lips before answering, "Freya will be here in three hours. Fratley is staying in Burmecia, just in case that partner wasn't a trick." Zidane nods, temporarily taking his eyes from the screen. A sharp gasp from Steiner makes him look at the knight instead, a small wonder. His mouth is only an inch from the floor. Looking at the screen again it is obvious why. She has turned the bed over and is doing pushups with it on her back! He hears a small giggle from Eiko, and then a hand forcibly closes his mouth. They continue to watch as she runs about a hundred laps around her cage. When she stops she is just barely winded!! After all that exercise without a break she's just barely out of breath. She then leans against the side of her cage and is immediately asleep. "She doesn't even know the bed's meant for her to sleep in," Murmurs Eiko, shocked. She had had a hard time adjusting to the technology when she moved from Madain Sari to Lindblum, but she at least had known the basics. This kid doesn't even know how to sleep in a bed! When it became entirely clear she was fast asleep and not faking they all leave for their beds. Steiner still seems dazed by this display of strength from their prisoner.

Sorry! It would've been up 2 days ago but SOMEBODY lost my floppy disc. but no harm done! (loyal reviewers approach from behind with knives to find Catalina at her back watching them) I'm really glad you red this, and READ RAVYN CRESCENTS STORIES!!!!! She's about two hundred times better than I am, and I'll Never Tell is a stroke of genius! I only wish she would update all her stories more often. Read Guardian by Luki Dimension, too! He's excellent and has me, the queen of cliffhangers (according to my reviewers) topped!