A/N: Sorry for the delay (again) but I was suffering from a major writer's
block. Also, I may not be answering reviewers for a while-but I still
appreciate them a lot, so keep it up!
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Evening Petition dispersed soon, to Tayli's relief. She hated being looked at as if she was some kind of freak show exhibit. Smirking a little, she pictured it in her mind: 'Come see the woman who acts like a man!' someone would shout. 'Challenge her to a duel, 10 to 1 odds you'll be beat!' Anyone who put her in a freak show could make a massive amount of money on it, she decided. Men were just too proud to admit defeat. She'd had to trounce each new recruit at Menlan's school, because none had believed that a woman could fight. Thinking of Menlan, Tayli felt a twinge of homesickness, before brushing it away swiftly. * He'll be proud, * she reminded herself.
The knights slowly left the Hall, Tayli being one of the first to leave, literally sick of the crowds. William, Zachary, and Luke left simultaneously, although Tayli noticed with well-hidden disgust that Luke, with a coy, giggling damsel on his arm, was going in a completely different direction from their rooms. She'd have to watch out for that man.
Once the three of them were outside the hall, William announced that he was going to find the kitchen.
"Don't mind him," Zachary whispered to her sidelong, "he's always hungry." Tayli smiled and William grinned.
"Always. You want anything to sate your ever-growling stomach, Zachary?"
Sir Zachary grinned good-naturedly, caught. "A few sandwiches would be nice."
William snorted but agreed, and then asked Tayli if she wanted anything. Tayli, thinking back on the long hours of ration-less riding she'd done that day, felt her stomach scream at her to say yes.
"Actually, I haven't eaten anything since breakfast." She smiled a little at William's shocked face.
"Right. A dozen or so sandwiches for Sir Eat-a-lot," he saluted Zachary, who saluted right back, "A bite or so for me and a 7 course meal for the dainty dame." Tayli smiled and Zachary burst out laughing.
"Sounds good."
"How will I ever manage to carry it all back?" he wondered before wandering off in a random direction to find the room of his choice.
Zachary smiled at her and together they set off to the common room, Tayli leading because she knew the way, while Sir Zachary obviously hadn't been paying the least bit of attention to the directions.
While they walked, the horse-loving knight asked her questions about Moonflight.
"What is your horse like? Stallion, gelding, or mare?"
"A stallion," she answered. "Completely black."
"Do you have records on his bloodline? My mare is descended from the finest horses in the King's stables."
"No. My Master bought him for me three years ago-all I really know was that his sire was one of the fleetest they had."
"Ah. How is his temperament?"
"I find it gentle and fun-loving; everyone else thinks he's high-spirited and skittish, not to mention dangerous."
"My mare, Nayla, is the tamest thing you've ever seen-but when you get her blood riled, it's amazing how vicious she can become, and then I'm her only master."
Tayli chuckled softly at the knight's bragging. "I am always Moonflight's only master. Or mistress."
"Moonflight?" Zachary queried, and Tayli shrugged.
"'The flight of the moon' was a poetic name for night and shadows that I found somewhere. I liked it, and it suited him." She didn't add that 'laiel ov fa sla el' fa lon' (wait for the flight of the moon) was part of an old Kiin ballad-that was a piece of information the knight didn't need to know.
The knight was silent for a moment. "Is he always like that?"
She glanced at him questioningly.
"Like with Terian," he specified quickly.
Tayli turned back to watching the hall, not seeing the surprise and hint of confusion mixed with a little fear that flashed across his face as she answered in a flat, even tone, "Of course."
By this time, they had arrived at their common room. Tayli eased the door open, senses on the alert as Sir Zachary started talking about horses again. She barely heard him; concentrating on the dark room they were about to enter-and saw that something was amiss. The curtains around the window seat were billowing slightly and it was cool in the room-which meant that the window was open. Which, in turn, meant that someone had come in through the window-some shadowy feeling told her that it hadn't just been the servants who wanted to let the fresh air in. In that case, they'd have pulled the curtains aside and probably lit a fire-there was none. Abruptly, her hand shot up into the air at the level of her shoulder, making the Kiin gesture for silence-it was easily understandable, a raised open hand with the palm facing away from the gesturer. Zachary stopped talking abruptly, if only because Tayli had involuntarily hit his face in her movement.
When he made a slight noise of protest, she hissed almost inaudibly, "There's somebody in there."
That silenced him immediately, and Tayli opened the door a little further, slipping in, her widened pupils taking in everything in the room. There was no one there, and even the curtains had stopped moving in the silence.
Wait-that wasn't right. The curtains had been billowing just before, they should have been moving, but weren't anymore. Silently, Tayli left Zachary standing at the door and padded across the room; careful not to let her booted feet make any noise on the carpeted floor.
She was at the curtains, and she could sense that someone was standing behind them, tense and trying to keep their breathing shallow. One hand firmly on Kanai's hilt, she snaked out an arm and jerked the heavy curtains aside in one fluid movement.
She was instantly attacked. She dimly heard Zachary give a shout as the man who'd been standing on the window-seat jumped her, a glimmer of light giving away the blade in his hand. Tayli caught him full on and threw him off of her before struggling to keep him on the floor. She could feel the heady wave of adrenaline that surged through her, the energy and enhancement of her senses acute. Her heart pounded and so did the rest of her body as she fought to keep control, both of herself and the other man.
He'd managed to catch his blade on her shoulder in the dark, and the sharp, white-hot pain only fueled her rage. Growling, she grappled with his wrist, eventually holding it down while he heaved and rolled to try and get her off of him.
Suddenly he tried to roll over on his stomach, intending to reverse the positions-but Tayli, prepared for the possible tactic, merely lifted her weight slightly and let him roll, shoving him to help while twisting the wrist that held the deadly steel up behind his back. When he let out a grunt of pain she swiftly brought the side of her hand down on his neck, half-paralyzing the man and causing his head to jerk upwards involuntarily. With a final heavy blow to the man's temple, the unfairly matched fight was ended.
The whole tussle had taken little more than a minute, and Sir Zachary was still fumbling to light the room when Tayli stepped away from her opponent, his blade in hand. Panting a little, she motioned Zachary over with the light to inspect her cut shoulder.
Tayli cursed under her breath. The wound was deep enough to be bleeding profusely, and hurt. It wasn't the worst of any of her old injuries, but her shoulder still throbbed.
Sir Zachary whistled and Tayli nodded, grim.
"You bind him," she said. "I'll take care of this."
Zachary looked skeptical, but did as he was told and found some rope to bind the unconscious man on the floor, while Tayli went to her bathroom to look for something to clean and fix her wound with.
The bathroom did not look promising-everything was just too fancy to be marring with her blood, and the lush towels that were available didn't suit her needs. In the end, she settled for using the basin and pitcher of water there to rinse her cut out. Carefully, she rolled up her sleeve and was just gritting her teeth to begin when the others arrived.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Evening Petition dispersed soon, to Tayli's relief. She hated being looked at as if she was some kind of freak show exhibit. Smirking a little, she pictured it in her mind: 'Come see the woman who acts like a man!' someone would shout. 'Challenge her to a duel, 10 to 1 odds you'll be beat!' Anyone who put her in a freak show could make a massive amount of money on it, she decided. Men were just too proud to admit defeat. She'd had to trounce each new recruit at Menlan's school, because none had believed that a woman could fight. Thinking of Menlan, Tayli felt a twinge of homesickness, before brushing it away swiftly. * He'll be proud, * she reminded herself.
The knights slowly left the Hall, Tayli being one of the first to leave, literally sick of the crowds. William, Zachary, and Luke left simultaneously, although Tayli noticed with well-hidden disgust that Luke, with a coy, giggling damsel on his arm, was going in a completely different direction from their rooms. She'd have to watch out for that man.
Once the three of them were outside the hall, William announced that he was going to find the kitchen.
"Don't mind him," Zachary whispered to her sidelong, "he's always hungry." Tayli smiled and William grinned.
"Always. You want anything to sate your ever-growling stomach, Zachary?"
Sir Zachary grinned good-naturedly, caught. "A few sandwiches would be nice."
William snorted but agreed, and then asked Tayli if she wanted anything. Tayli, thinking back on the long hours of ration-less riding she'd done that day, felt her stomach scream at her to say yes.
"Actually, I haven't eaten anything since breakfast." She smiled a little at William's shocked face.
"Right. A dozen or so sandwiches for Sir Eat-a-lot," he saluted Zachary, who saluted right back, "A bite or so for me and a 7 course meal for the dainty dame." Tayli smiled and Zachary burst out laughing.
"Sounds good."
"How will I ever manage to carry it all back?" he wondered before wandering off in a random direction to find the room of his choice.
Zachary smiled at her and together they set off to the common room, Tayli leading because she knew the way, while Sir Zachary obviously hadn't been paying the least bit of attention to the directions.
While they walked, the horse-loving knight asked her questions about Moonflight.
"What is your horse like? Stallion, gelding, or mare?"
"A stallion," she answered. "Completely black."
"Do you have records on his bloodline? My mare is descended from the finest horses in the King's stables."
"No. My Master bought him for me three years ago-all I really know was that his sire was one of the fleetest they had."
"Ah. How is his temperament?"
"I find it gentle and fun-loving; everyone else thinks he's high-spirited and skittish, not to mention dangerous."
"My mare, Nayla, is the tamest thing you've ever seen-but when you get her blood riled, it's amazing how vicious she can become, and then I'm her only master."
Tayli chuckled softly at the knight's bragging. "I am always Moonflight's only master. Or mistress."
"Moonflight?" Zachary queried, and Tayli shrugged.
"'The flight of the moon' was a poetic name for night and shadows that I found somewhere. I liked it, and it suited him." She didn't add that 'laiel ov fa sla el' fa lon' (wait for the flight of the moon) was part of an old Kiin ballad-that was a piece of information the knight didn't need to know.
The knight was silent for a moment. "Is he always like that?"
She glanced at him questioningly.
"Like with Terian," he specified quickly.
Tayli turned back to watching the hall, not seeing the surprise and hint of confusion mixed with a little fear that flashed across his face as she answered in a flat, even tone, "Of course."
By this time, they had arrived at their common room. Tayli eased the door open, senses on the alert as Sir Zachary started talking about horses again. She barely heard him; concentrating on the dark room they were about to enter-and saw that something was amiss. The curtains around the window seat were billowing slightly and it was cool in the room-which meant that the window was open. Which, in turn, meant that someone had come in through the window-some shadowy feeling told her that it hadn't just been the servants who wanted to let the fresh air in. In that case, they'd have pulled the curtains aside and probably lit a fire-there was none. Abruptly, her hand shot up into the air at the level of her shoulder, making the Kiin gesture for silence-it was easily understandable, a raised open hand with the palm facing away from the gesturer. Zachary stopped talking abruptly, if only because Tayli had involuntarily hit his face in her movement.
When he made a slight noise of protest, she hissed almost inaudibly, "There's somebody in there."
That silenced him immediately, and Tayli opened the door a little further, slipping in, her widened pupils taking in everything in the room. There was no one there, and even the curtains had stopped moving in the silence.
Wait-that wasn't right. The curtains had been billowing just before, they should have been moving, but weren't anymore. Silently, Tayli left Zachary standing at the door and padded across the room; careful not to let her booted feet make any noise on the carpeted floor.
She was at the curtains, and she could sense that someone was standing behind them, tense and trying to keep their breathing shallow. One hand firmly on Kanai's hilt, she snaked out an arm and jerked the heavy curtains aside in one fluid movement.
She was instantly attacked. She dimly heard Zachary give a shout as the man who'd been standing on the window-seat jumped her, a glimmer of light giving away the blade in his hand. Tayli caught him full on and threw him off of her before struggling to keep him on the floor. She could feel the heady wave of adrenaline that surged through her, the energy and enhancement of her senses acute. Her heart pounded and so did the rest of her body as she fought to keep control, both of herself and the other man.
He'd managed to catch his blade on her shoulder in the dark, and the sharp, white-hot pain only fueled her rage. Growling, she grappled with his wrist, eventually holding it down while he heaved and rolled to try and get her off of him.
Suddenly he tried to roll over on his stomach, intending to reverse the positions-but Tayli, prepared for the possible tactic, merely lifted her weight slightly and let him roll, shoving him to help while twisting the wrist that held the deadly steel up behind his back. When he let out a grunt of pain she swiftly brought the side of her hand down on his neck, half-paralyzing the man and causing his head to jerk upwards involuntarily. With a final heavy blow to the man's temple, the unfairly matched fight was ended.
The whole tussle had taken little more than a minute, and Sir Zachary was still fumbling to light the room when Tayli stepped away from her opponent, his blade in hand. Panting a little, she motioned Zachary over with the light to inspect her cut shoulder.
Tayli cursed under her breath. The wound was deep enough to be bleeding profusely, and hurt. It wasn't the worst of any of her old injuries, but her shoulder still throbbed.
Sir Zachary whistled and Tayli nodded, grim.
"You bind him," she said. "I'll take care of this."
Zachary looked skeptical, but did as he was told and found some rope to bind the unconscious man on the floor, while Tayli went to her bathroom to look for something to clean and fix her wound with.
The bathroom did not look promising-everything was just too fancy to be marring with her blood, and the lush towels that were available didn't suit her needs. In the end, she settled for using the basin and pitcher of water there to rinse her cut out. Carefully, she rolled up her sleeve and was just gritting her teeth to begin when the others arrived.