CHAPTER TWO: Trouble

She saw him. She did not know who he was, but to her, he looked like trouble. She had never seen him around before. She knew that not many people knew about this lake here. Why was he out here? Who was he?

As she was thinking, the mysterious man saw her. He raised an eyebrow. He had never seen a women dressed as she was. Where he came from, women were air-headed idiots who wore dresses and sewed all day, or they went to parties and flirted with al of the gullible men. He rolled his eyes even at the thought. "Who are you?" he called out to her.

Nicola almost fell off of her horse right then and there. He had startled her. She did not realize that he could see her. Well, obviously he could, but she had not realized it before now. She scowled at him. "That is none of your business. I am a knight and that is all you need to know. Who are you and why are you in the Royal Forest?"

He smirked and bowed down before her. "Why, m'lady. Or should I say sir? I am just a passer-by-"

Nicola interrupted him. "What was that crash I heard?" she demanded, unsure of what to make of this man before her. Why was he here, really? Was he really a passer-by?

The mysterious man almost laughed. "Oh, that? That was just me having a bit of a scuffle with a nosy little thief. M'lady, if I might ask, why are their thieves in the royal woods?" He smirked at her as he talked to her.

She glared at him. "You are too confident for your own good, sir. There are thieves everywhere in Corus. Even though the Rogue fell many years back, thieves do still exist today. Quit calling me 'm'lady' as well. It's annoying," she snapped.

He really did laugh this time. He threw his head back and just laughed and laughed for a few minutes. His blonde hair caught in the sun and Nicola just watched him. He managed to stop and he grinned at her. "I am called Evan. Evan Lucray. I am passing through, on my way to the southern deserts. My father is a Bazhir. I am going down to visit with him for a few months. I did not know that lady knights patrolled these woods."

Nicola listened to him and nodded. So that was why he had such tanned skin. And his eyes. They were so dark. The blonde hair, though, must have come from a Scanran mother or something of that sort. "I am not patrolling, Evan. Merely taking a ride so I won't have to deal with endless meetings and annoying noble-ladies and noble-men who have no minds of their own at all. Now, if you'll excuse me," she said, beginning to turn her mare, Midnight around.

Evan watched her and realized who this young woman must be. "You are the famed Wildcat, aren't you? Nicola of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak. You are the one who single-handedly killed the leader of the Tusaine armies. You are a legend in Scanra, m'lady."

Nicola frowned and looked at him. "Do not speak to me of that-" she was cut off in mid-sentence when she heard crashes in the woods. Her right hand fell to the hilt of her sword. She was alert quickly as she looked around. "Looks like we're going to be having a few visitors," she murmured to herself. She knew, too, that these visitors would probably not be friendly ones. She sighed and shook her head. Some warriors from Tusaine still resented her for killing their leader, and for three years they had been out to kill her. She had only been sixteen years old at that time. Now, she was nineteen and a full knight. They still hadn't given up.

When the five men came through the trees into view, her suspicions were confirmed. She saw the Tusaine warrior markings on their clothing. She rolled her eyes. "Don't you boys ever give up? I mean, three years now you've been after me. The war is over, boys."

Evan was silent through all of this, even as he drew a dagger from a hidden sheath. Nicola did not notice a thing.

The five men were men that Nicola did not recognize, but she had not expected to. The biggest man of the five attacked first, and Nicola drew her sword to block the attack. Evan rushed into the fight head on, fighting with only one dagger. Both of them, in their minds, knew that this would be a long battle.

A/N: Sorry it's so short, everyone. I just wanted to get Evan and Nicola's meeting through and the fight started. Remember, that I do not own the Tortall-verse and any of Tamora Pierce's characters. I love you all! Reviews keep the story going!