The next morning Kimi woke with a groan as the dawn bell clanged loudly throughout the palace. Completely bleary eyed, she stumbled out of bed and tossed cold water on her face.

"I hate mornings," she mumbled as she dressed and prepared for a morning of lessons. Lord HaMinch believed paying attention in class was highly important and understood that the boys (and occasional girl) were too tired after morning workouts to do their best in school.

Kimi hurried to breakfast and sat down next to her sponsor. "Good morning," he greeted her kindly.

"What's so good about it?" muttered Kimi crankily as she ate her porridge slowly. Realizing she was being rude, she smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry; I'm not a morning person. At all. Here, talk to me in about an hour and I'll be funny and nice once more."

Furtan smiled at her with understanding. "You'll get used to it."

"I doubt it," Kimi muttered under her breath but smiled agreeably. She started to feel sick from the little porridge she did manage to eat. She hated eating breakfast, but knew it was going to be a long time before lunch.

Patrik sat down in front of Kimi and smiled cheerfully at all of them. "Good morning!" he cried and ignored the glares of his fellow pages. "Have any of you seen Regi Red yet this morning?" Everyone shook his or her head and Patrik looked concerned. He got up and scampered away, apparently to go find the female squire.

Kimi gave Furtan a questioning look. He smiled sadly. "Patrik worries about Ana." Furtan was the only one who called her what she wished to be called. "You could say he's devoted to her," he said slowly.

"Devoted to her?" Theobald of Vitry, called Theo, began to laugh. He was a tall and bony second year with sandy hair and lively green eyes. From the little Kimi knew of him, he liked to gossip and knew almost everything about everyone. "Patrik loves Regi Red. He never really got over the scare last year when she stopped eating." He leaned over Gary to Kimi and said conversationally while ignored Gary's glares, "Regi Red thought she was too fat and stopped eating. It wasn't noticeable to anyone until Patrik found out. I'd never seen him so mad. Luckily he made her start eating, I guess it was two months before he found out, and we managed to hide her problem from –"

"You need to watch your tongue," Gary said and shoved Theo away angrily before he could reveal anymore to the curious pages. "Regi Red's problems are her own, and we need not discuss it. Do I make myself clear?" His dark eyes were very hard.

Theo gulped and nodded, then returned to his plate. Patrik came into the Hall followed by a smiling Ana. Patrik did not look happy at all.

"Guess what, boys? My lord says we're to leave in two days!" she announced.

"Where are you going?" asked Gary after the well-wishers quieted down.

"South, to Persopolis. I've never been there before, and it should be exciting," her blue eyes shone happily. "My lord promises that I'll see and learn more of the Bazhir fighting arts."

Furtan had been studying Patrik's response to all of this and said quietly, "How long will you be gone?"

"My lord says we won't return to Corus for at least another year. After Persopolis we will ride north to the Scanran border to check on some former refugee camps and some forts. We'll be on the road a lot, and especially with the King's Own." Kimi looked at Patrik and saw that his body was very rigid as he studied his plate. "Well," she said as she stood up, "I need to get packing. I have so much mending to do."

"You haven't eaten anything." Patrik looked up and spoke for the first time.

Her curly red hair bounced and shimmered in the light as she turned and looked at the pages who were regarding her so carefully. She pretended to look startled, but no one was fooled, least of all Patrik. "You're right!" She picked an apple off the table and took a bite and swallowed it. Her eyes dared Patrik to say anything else. He didn't. "I'll take this for the road then. I'll see you all later; or maybe not," she pointedly glanced at Patrik who met her with a stubborn look.

"We will," he said quietly, and watched as she walked away. Patrik looked so miserable that the rest of the meal was consumed in silence.

------

"As you already know, we have classes in the morning until noon," Furtan was explaining to Kimi as they walked to their first class. "Now, the History teacher is Sir Myles of Olau and he's very old. We were all surprised he came back this year: we were convinced he was going to retire at the end of last year. Apparently he thought he could handle another year." Furtan held up his hands in a gesture that plainly said that he thought it was none of his business and he couldn't judge the aging history teacher.

"Hey Sir Myles!" Furtan greeted, somewhat loudly. "Another year?"

"Yes, one more year. I think I'm quite stable mentally, don't you?"

"Why yes, yes of course," Furtan stuttered. Kimi thought he was much too polite. Before her sat one of the oldest men she had ever seen, and she couldn't imagine teaching a class. Shaggy hair that was almost straight white covered his head and face, and wrinkles were visible where the hair did not cover.

"But I have gotten older," Sir Myles allowed as the rest of the pages took their seats. "And I have changed my mind about some things. Like the Code of Chivalry."

"We've talked about the Code of Chivalry a dozen times," said one third year page in the back. "Sir," he added when Myles looked at him.

"Yes, yes, but I believe it is good for the nobles to follow it, as the commoners now have theirs rights to follow."

"But that is entirely different!" burst out Gary. And Kimi watched in fascination as Sir Myles got the class to discuss nobles and commoners' rights and privileges. She saw a gleam in his eyes when someone mentioned the Lalasa Act that got put into effect six years ago concerning the rights of the serving class. She grinned at him when she noticed that on the board in the bottom corner was written "the Lalasa Act". The man, though old, was very smart and Kimi enjoyed the lesson thoroughly.

She was less pleased with the next class. Etiquette was next and the first half Kimi wanted to scream of boredom. She knew more etiquette than she could stand from her mother: both Yamani and Tortallan manners were taught to her. But they had been girl lessons, and she was lacking some skills in boy protocol, which annoyed her a little. So Kimi decided to sit next to Patrik and try to cheer him up.

"It reminds me of a game we used to play when we were little," Kimi said as they watched the first year pages get yelled at by the etiquette teacher. Kimi had been exempt from it because it was a lesson on how to bow to a Yamani dignitary and Kimi had passed on the first try.

"Hmm?" Patrik said. Kimi could tell he was still thinking about Ana because as much as he tried to hide it, he looked miserable.

"My brothers and sister and Jonathan and his sisters and I would have a queen or king for a day and we'd bow to him or her. If the bows weren't low enough for his or her liking, the monarch would steal my mother's fan and smack them over the head with it."

"Sounds to me like Prince Jonathan's going to be a great ruler with training like that," Patrik commented dryly.

Kimi laughed and continued her point. "Well, it seems to me that his life would be so much simpler and if easier if he only had a lady's fan." Kimi gestured to their teacher. The image was a funny one: a very large and beefy Mithran priest in orange robes holding a lady's fan and smacking the boys' heads with it.

This actually caused Patrik to smile. "Yes, of course. What man's life wouldn't be easier with a lady's fan?"

"Very few," she answered with a straight face. "If men were permitted to carry around lady's fans, men would actually have a chance in this world." But grinned, giving away the game, but Patrik continued.

"Does color make a difference?"

"But of course! Status is everything. Purple is the highest."

What color would his be?" he asked.

"Pink, naturally. With white flower designs on it. I can tell right now, when he isn't wearing orange, he's wearing pink."

"Yes, I can see it too. Pink is such a manly color."

Oh, but it is!" she exclaimed.

"That's why he wears it so much; he needs all the help he can get." Patrik laughed.

"Yes," she replied seriously. "I wore pink so often my mother didn't know what else to do with me except send me to be a page."

Patrik smiled again, although this time it was closer to a grin. "Oh? So that's why you're here?"

"Truthfully? Yes! I'll have you know that I'd be an embarrassment to women in general if I tried to be a lady. I don't even own a fan. My mother thought a sword would be close enough and so sent me here." She sighed dramatically. Patrik laughed in surprise but he grew serious.

"I can't see you being an embarrassment to women. You are a pretty little thing, and graceful. And you have a fine family. There is no reason why you wouldn't make a fine lady and wife."

Kimi was stunned into silence momentarily, for she wasn't being serious. When she opened her mouth to reply, the Mithran priest came up to them with an annoyed look stamped across his face. "Anjou! What have you been doing? This class is not to be used to flirt! Get to work. And I suggest, Queenscove, that you take your year studying in this class seriously, for I will not have you become a distraction to the boys." Kimi quickly flipped open her book and pretended to read it.

She glanced at Patrik who was also staring mindlessly at an etiquette book. "Were you flirting, Patrik?" Her voice was kept low and teasing so only Patrik could hear her; "because unless you like boys, I'm not much of a flirt."

Patrik laughed and risked a roasting glance from the Mithran priest. "You are a distraction, Queenscove, and I suggest that you try to stay on the majority of the teachers' good sides."

"Done," Kimi grinned at him. And to prove her point, no more mishap took place with her in the other classes.