((It's been waaaaaay too long since my last post. I hopeyou enjoythis newest chapter in the chaotic life of Lyssie Cooper. Page years are coming up pretty soon. Might be next chapter, might not. Please R/R. Cookies for reviewers!))

Lys smiled up at her sister. She was clad in a dark blue tunic with a white shirt underneath it. Her fawn breeches were cut a little long, but they were tucked into her leather boots and didn't get in the way. Faithful was perched on her shoulder as always and her sword hung from her hand. Her purple eyes showed a new found knowledge but still a dreamer's heart. Her smile was sweet and innocent, despite her fighter's form. Aly looked down at her sister and smiled half-heartedly. Blood dripped from Lys' blade forming a puddle on the ground. In front of them was a slumped over form, lying on the ground wrapped in mage's robes. Aly stepped forward, unsure at first, but then pulled back the hood of the robes. At first, the man was no one Aly knew, just some mage, but his features started to melt and change revealing someone else.
"Thom!"
Her scream filled the silence of the night around the Swoop and Aly awoke in a cold sweat. What had that been? Had Lys really…? It was just a dream… Aly tried to reassure herself but found herself needing to go for a walk. She got out of bed and walked out into the halls. The night was dark, but she could see well enough to find her way to her little sister's room. She pushed the door open and saw Lys sitting up in her bed, her face streaked with tears again.
"Lyssie?"
"Aly, when's Ma gonna be back?"
"I….don't know." Aly had almost said she was glad Ma wasn't back yet but no…she wouldn't say that to her sister, not when she was so obviously in need of someone, just someone to talk to. "Soon, I bet. In the morning, we can ask Da if he knows, alright?"
"A'right…"
Aly looked out the window and sighed; the sun was beginning to rise.
"It's practically morning now. Pull on some breeches and we'll go for a walk before breakfast."
"A'right."

Lys walked along closely beside her sister. The concept of a beach was still new to her. Waves crept up in the near darkness and tickled the young girl's feet. She yelped in surprise and jumped to the other side of her laughing sister.
"Da tells me you want to be a knight."
The young girl nodded, her bangs falling down into her eyes. She brushed them back and looked up at her sister.
"Ma telled me it'll be hard, cept I wanna try s'hard as I can."
"You know you'll probably be the only girl there."
"I know. I don't mind none."
"If you ask Da, I bet he'll teach you some of the things he taught Ma."
"What kinds o' stuffs?"
"All kinds," Aly counted off on her fingers as she spoke, "knife throwing, unarmed combat, spying techniques, ways to sneak around, how to fight with a dagger."
"Wow. D'you really think he'd learn me all that stuffs?"
"Of course! I could teach you some of it; mostly the parts that don't involve fighting are what I'm good at. And I can help you with your letters. I'm sure I'd be a better teacher than Thom."
"Really?" Lys' eyes widened in excitement, "Really really?"
"Would I say something and then go back on my word? Ok…maybe I would, but not to my little sister."
Lys giggled, now sitting cross-legged on the sand with her back to the water.
"When'll we start up?"
"Right after breakfast. We'll start with letters and then move on to the fun stuff. Just remember, the faster you get all your letters, the faster you get to learn the interesting things."
"A'fer breakfast." Lys nodded her agreement and stood slowly, brushing off her breeches.
"Come on then, we'd better go back in before Da and the boys are up."
"A'right. Race ya!"
Lys took off running, laughing happily. Reluctantly, and yelling at her sister the entire way, Aly followed at a sprint.

Dan gulped as he carefully checked over the desk, making sure he'd put everything back in its proper place. So, the Rittevons were planning something. He clutched the scribbled down copy of the letter tightly in his hand and then shoved it down his tunic front. No one would think to look there. He heard foot steps coming up the hallway and feigned tidying up, playing the part of the servant. A wry grin crossed his face at the thought of what his father would think if he ever saw Dan like this. He would be furious. Bronau Rittevon glared at the servant boy cleaning his room.
"Out."
"Yessir, right away."
Dan bowed and scrambled off down the hallway, laughing in spite of himself. The door to George's office was open and Dan could hear more than one voice inside. He knew George was minding the Swoop with his wife at war but that he was also coming to Corus every so often to make sure things were running smoothly.
"I'll be sure to the get the word to them, George."
"Thank you, Daine. You have no idea how much time you're saving me."
Dan cringed, it was the Wild Mage. He pressed himself against the wall beside the door, hoping she wouldn't notice him on her way out. There was something about her he didn't like, he figured it was the magic. Talking to animals was just downright bizarre. He watched her walk a ways down the hall and then he walked into George's office, shutting the door behind him.
"I got it, George."
"Tell me."
"The Rittevons are planning somethin'. I ain't sure quite what but I copied the letter down. Figured you'd get more outa it than I could."
George took the scrap of paper Dan had handed him.
"This is…good work, Dan.
"Thank you, George."

Lys sat alone in her room reading a book Aly had given her on famous lady-knights from the years before they'd been outlawed. She struggled over some of the words but managed to sound them out. Suddenly she heard a shouting bout between Ma and Aly. Since Ma had come back from Scanra, that's all they'd done, fight. And Ma hadn't even been home that long. Lys sighed and put the book on the trunk in the corner of her room. She lay down on her bed and stared at the ceiling, trying to ignore the fighting going on just a few rooms down. Was Aly going to leave? No, she thought, Aly promised she'd teach me. Aly wouldn't lie, right? Slowly, sleep drifted over Lys like a blanket and she slept through everything that unfolded in the Swoop over the next few hours.

Aly walked into her sister's room. This was the last straw; she had to get away for a while, away from Ma. Even still, she'd miss Lyssie. They had gotten rather attached over the last few weeks. Aly grinned as she thought of it. Lys idolized her older sister, wanted nothing more than to please everyone and tried so hard to learn everything she possibly could. She'd miss the games and just going out in the morning down to the beach to talk. But, at least it was only for a little while, right? Aly took Lys' slate off the table beside her bed and scribbled out a note on it quickly before walking outside and going down to her boat.

Lys rolled over as she woke up. A thud resounded through her room as she hit the floor. She rubbed her head absentmindedly and then stood slowly, fully intent on going to find her sister and see if she wanted to go down to the beach before breakfast. As she turned to get some breeches and a shirt, she noticed something written on her slate. It was from Aly.
"Dear Lyssie. I'm goin' away for a while. I'm sorry I'm leavin' you when I said I'd teach you, but I had to get away from Ma for a while. I should be back before she goes back to Scanra. Good luck with everything until then."
Lys stared at the note blankly for a moment and then threw it at the wall as hard as she could. It shattered when it hit the wall and the pieces tumbled down to the floor. How could she? Aly had promised! It wasn't fair. Lys pulled on her breeches and shirt and ran down to the beach, hoping it was a joke and Aly would be down there waiting for her. Her bare feet slapped the stones as she ran down through the fief. Everyone heard her passage but few understood. Stone gave way to grass, to soil, to sand, and Lys soon saw that Aly was gone. Her skiff was gone from the little dock. There was no doubt that Aly was gone. Lys fell to her knees in the sand and cried. Aly had broken her promise. She had left.