DISCLAIMER:I do NOT own Tortall or any of Tamora Pierce's original characters. Do not sue me. PLEASE do not steal my ideas or my characters. Thank you!

Chapter One: Wildcats

Why had she become a knight? Really? It was all she could do to just sit still through this hour-long meeting. She had not become a knight to put up with these..these meetings! She sighed as her friend and the king of Tortall continued. "Remember. Stay at the forts…" He continued to drone on as she considered falling asleep.

She was Nicola of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak. She was a descendant of the famous Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak. She had his dark eyes, the dark eyes of her family, but that was all. Her hair was golden brown that, when not tied back into a horse-tail, fell down in luxurious waves and loose curls to about two inches past her shoulders. She wore simple, comfortable clothing: tan breeches, a white, button-up, long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her shirt was tucked in. She also wore brown, calf-high boots.

Nicola sighed and looked up, finally speaking up. "Sir," she began, speaking to King Krystopher III. "We all know the rules of war. We have all been through it. Even me." She heard chuckles at that and smirked. Good that they thought her amusing and not simply an annoyance.

King Krystopher looked at her, brilliant sapphire eyes meeting her fiery but dark eyes. "Yes, Wildcat," as many of her predecessors had, she had earned a nickname. She was called the wildcat," but some people here seem to forget them though, year after year." He kept his eyes on Nicola the whole time.

She just glared at him. "I realize that, sir, but maybe those people learned their lesson." She crossed her arms and sighed. "Sir, I request to leave this meeting. You have already gone over your rules of war and I'd like to go and get a bit of practice and exercise in. Not everyone can keep in shape by just sitting around as some of you can. And I am just a green knight. I need even more practice." She heard more chuckles from some of the others that were in attendance to the meeting.

King Krystopher nodded and smiled a little at her. "Of course, Nicola."

Nicola grinned at him and bowed. "Then I am gone, Krys." She used her old nickname for him. She looked at her friend before she went, though. He had grown so much since they had been in training together, though he had been two years ahead of her. Unlike others of the famous lady knights of the past, she had not become involved with Krystopher. She had kept her distance with him, choosing to remain friends with him. She then bowed again to everyone else before she hurried from the room.

She closed the door behind her as she left, hearing Krystopher continue with the meeting. She smiled and hurried up to her rooms. She had left her sword and her daggers in her room, not thinking she'd need them in the palace. There was so much protection and who would want to ride through the busy streets of Corus just so they could attack the castle? She snorted. Not many. Especially since some of the castle walls had been rebuilt after an earthquake about fifty years earlier. They were much stronger now.

She grabbed her sword up from her bed as she walked into her room and clipped it to her belt. Then she picked up one of the daggers and clipped it to the belt beside her sword. She put two daggers at her ankles in sheaths, one in each boot. One was placed, within a sheath, at the small of her back. Then, two were placed, one at each upper arm. Both in sheaths, of course.

All of her daggers and her sword had elaborate designs etched into the hilts. There were even more designs etched into the blades of her weapons. No one knew where she had gotten the beautiful weapons, and even she could not recall when she had received them.

She just shook her head as she left her rooms, walking down to the stables. She had told the king and the council room that she needed practice and exercise. Well, she would be getting both, but not in the way they thought. She was going for a ride. She would be getting practice riding, though she needed none. She would also be getting exercise by riding, sort of.

She walked into the stables and nodded to the hostler. She knew him personally. They had met when she had insisted upon carrying for her own two horses. She did not want to load even more work on the poor man if she could just do it herself.

She immediately went to the stall of her mare; a gentle, mild-tempered, completely black mare. She smiled and slipped into the stall and patted the mare and gave her a carrot. "Hey there Midnight. Hey there, girl." She just put a halter(I'm not sure what's what with all of the horse tack. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) on the mare and took hold of the reins and led her out of the stall. The mare followed willingly.

Nicola swung up easily onto Midnight's back when they were outside the stables. She nudged the mare into a trot into the Royal Forest and onto one of the many paths. She smiled. "Peace and quiet," she whispered.

She rode for about a half hour, nearing the lake that was at the end of the path, when she heard a loud crash and a yell. She frowned. "What in Mithros' name?" she uttered under her breath. She kicked Moonlight into a gallop and came into the view of the lake…and then…and then…