Hey I know you guys hate cliffies, but that's why I love them. I like making you suffer…muahahahaha! Bwahahahaha! Ok, im done. I'm sorta sugar high. Lol.

On top of cloud 9: I ALWAYS check your fics! I have you on Author alert! I'm sorry I have to make you suffer, but it's always good to end with cliffies; it makes people want to read them more. Of course, you would read this without cliffies, wouldn't you? WOULDN'T YOU? Sorry, I'm a bit tired. About the blue globe, coming up, and the Black One…well, he's going to be in the main story a lot. I hope you enjoyed the story of the cheez-it transporter! Lol.

Zerrin of the Wind: It's always good to admit you're wrong. Ack! I'm sounding like my mother! But hey, I'm almost always wrong, and I get over it. And, yes, you aren't wrong on this one. It is a bad memory thingie, but Numair didn't make this one. But doesn't Maggur make bad memory thingies? Hmm…so maybe the black one is in league with Maggur. Oh no, could it be? I'm winking right now, but you can't see it…

Syl Rose: Hi newly new reviewer! It's great that you are reviewing my story! And join the club, I think Tamora Pierce is the greatest and she's my idol! But finding out online when I researched her that she's a fifty-year-old lady lady that's (I'm sorry, but I must say it) fat was a let down…but oh well! And thank you, thank you, I'm happy that you think it's a great story. And unless you have a candy transporter, I'm afraid you'll have to do without. But don't tell the others that…

Random89: I'm sorry I left ya hanging. And of course she's not dead, I just felt like putting that there! But that's you're random spazzy Mel for you…). And I hope you don't mind the thing I put on my profile…about your story…but I really think that it's amazing and I want others to know it too! Ok, don't cry, I know I'm nice like that. I'm so modest, I know.

Darkjdeg: heyy, erin, I'm so very happy that you reviewed my story and that you updated yours! Its amazing! I'm sorry, the Black One's identity is gonna be revealed at the END of the story. Sorry. And thanx for the compliement on the cliffy, not many other people seem to like them (glares)! Jk, you guys. And personally, I can't wait to find out what happens next. Even though I probably seem like a loser for not knowing what should happen in my own story, I reread it, and I feel suspenseful, and that makes want to write more! I know, I have problems.

You guys, I'm gonna have to break it to you: Cami's probably not going to be queen in this book. NO, do NOT get out your old stinky turkey sandwiches and throw them at me, I don't like turkey. It's just that if I want to do all the stuff I want to do in this book type thingy, I can't make her queen yet. Just like Dove wasn't queen of the Copper Isles until the second book. I'm really, really sorry. This book's gonna be about her studies, the Black One (dun dun dun!), and she's going to find out how Maggur makes the bad memory things. I may throw in some surprises about her life, like this chapter holds another memory. It's sad, but you'll get over it. There's one more thing I wanted to say…what is it…I swear, I have ADD or something like that…oh yeah! I just want to recommend to you. It's a TP thing. Can't say anymore, cause I know you want the story!

Cami found herself floating in an immense stretch of blackness. Unlike the little white room Irnai had brought her to, this had an air of dangerousness and she felt inferior to this dark area. She twisted, trying to find a bit of ground or something, but there was nothing. Then she turned again, desperate to find something to hold on to. There was a little rectangle floating by her. She moved her arms like she was swimming, but it was like moving through honey. Nevertheless, she grabbed the rectangle and clung to it as it moved. Then she stared down into it and saw a moving picture.

A gnarled hand with thick, yellow finger nails held a quill. It was dipped into a tiny pot, and was put to a piece of parchment. The mottled hand moved slowly, trembling. The writing was shaky and barely readable, but the letters began to make themselves clearer. The hand was withdrawn, and the entire paper could be read. It was a list of some sort.

Memory Globes: Color-Power

Red-1

Orange-2

Yellow-3

Green-4

Blue-5

Purple-6

Grey-7

Black-8

Clear-9

There was a key to the colors and numbers, but the ink was smdged, and illegible. The hand reappeared and the parchment was rolled up, and sealed with wax. The wax was blood-red, and the symbol in the middle was a 'W' and an 'M'.

Cami let the rectangle go, forgetting about the need to hold on to anything. It gently floated away, oblivious to the girl deep in thought. I saw Maggur, I'm sure of it, Cami thought. That's his symbol. The list was about the memory globes. Her blue globe in her room was a five, so it was pretty powerf-

The instant she thought about the globe, the endless darkness vanished, and was replaced by a towering image of the warlord. The giant Maggur grinned showing his awful rotting teeth. Then he withdrew a dagger, the same crooked dagger she had been stabbed with before. She looked up, terrified. The memory, she thought desperately. It must have been the one when I was five- An intense pain slashed her arm, and she cried out. It was so real. Instead of leaving, the man plunged the knife in her flesh again, and again. It glistened with blood-her blood. It's only a memory, she thought desperately. It's only a memory. That didn't work. Soon enough, she had forgotten everything except for the fact that the loss of blood was slowly killing her. "No," she moaned. "Stop, please, I'm begging you,"

But the man just grinned, and a pain shot through her stomach. "Don't," she groaned. "Just kill me, please, just kill me-" There was a flash of light and the scene disappeared. Red light filtered through her eyelids, and she opened them slowly.

"Cami?" Numair's soft voice penetrated her ears. "Cami, it's okay now."

"Wh-what?" Cami slowly pushed herself up, and her head roared, and her shaking arms collapsed, letting her fall back on the bed. "What happened?"

"You touched that globe and fainted," Amoret's face was as white as a ghost. "For a while you were silent, and then you started shrieking. I ran and got Master Numair across the hall. You were screaming and crying. I kept shaking you, but you wouldn't wake up."

Numair took over speaking. "I grabbed a potion from my room, a very powerful one, mind you. Amoret kept your mouth open and I poured the liquid down you throat. The rest is history." He looked concerned.

Cami grabbed Numair's shirt sleeve. "Please, get Kel and Merric. I need to talk to you three."

"What about me?" Amoret asked, looking hurt.

"And you," Cami wheezed. "Quickly." She lay back down and said no more.

When she woke up for the second time, she was in her bed, and the first thing she saw was Kel, then a bottle was shoved at her, and a vile tasting liquid was poured down her throat. Cami swallowed and gagged. "Augh! What was that stuff?" She looked at Kel's face, then changed her mind. "Actually, never mind, I don't want to know. Wait," she stopped. "Get Tobe."

"Tobe?" Amoret wrinkled her nose. "You mean that weird boy that sits with us? Why do you want him?"

Kel and Cami glared at the girl, and she immediately shut up. "I know where he is," said Kel, and left.

"Now for the second one," Amoret said. She stood by Cami's beside table-which was covered in potions-and Numair and Merric stood behind her.

"The second wha-" Then her tongue was burning and she quickly swallowed before she threw up. She glared scathingly in Amoret's direction another time, and the girl just smiled sweetly and handed Cami a glass of water. By the time Cami was finished rinsing her mouth, Kel was back with Tobe.

"For Amoret's, Merric's, and Numair's benefit, I will start at the beginning…" Cami started to explain how she came to Tortall, the diary, the king's plan, everything-except for the fight, which she just said that they fell down, for Amoret was giving her a look that said 'If you tell, I will kill you on the practice courts'.

"Now, what does this have to do with the globe, right?" Cami said. "Well, today, after I came back from the healers' where I saw Irnai, I brought Amoret in here. I had decided that it was the time for her to know the truth. But when we entered, we found an envelope and a blue globe on my dresser. I opened the note, which read, 'The Black One strikes again…'. We had no clue what it meant, and when I was putting the note down, my hand brushed against the globe, and I fainted."

"What did you see when you fainted?" Amoret asked eagerly.

"A lot more than you can imagine," Cami said grimly. She told them about the strange world with the floating image, and that when she thought of the globe, she was shoved into her memory. Obviously others would be wondering what the globe was, and therefore they would be plunged into the memory right away. Cami, on the other hand, didn't, so she had the privilege of seeing what she saw. Then she told them of the memory, and how it became worse. "Luckily Master Numair saved me just in time. I can't imagine how horrible it would be if the memory got even worse."

Stunned silence greeted that statement, and Cami gulped. She bent down, and grabbed some ink, a quill, and some parchment. She quickly drew up the list and gave it to Kel. "This is what the list looked like," she told the lady knight. Then she turned to Numair. "Um, Master Numair?"

"Hmmm?" The sorcerer was deep in thought.

"I feel much better since you gave me those revolting-I mean, relevantly delicious potions. Can we go to your quarters for the lessons?" Cami asked tentatively.

"Ah, yes. I almost forgot," Numair said. "Tonight my wife will be teaching you. Not me."

"Oh," Cami said. "Well, Kel, Sir Merric, Tobe, Amoret, thanks for coming. And you too, Master Numair."

"Of course," said the mage absentmindedly, and he wandered out of the room, muttering to himself.

"Bye Cami," said Amoret brightly, and followed Numair out, along with Kel and Merric, who were deep in conversation. Soon only Tobe remained as Cami got out of bed and grabbed her pack.

"That really happened?" Tobe asked.

"Yeah," Cami tugged on a shoe.

"Do you think those memory things could kill people? I mean, really kill?" Tobe questioned.

Cami stopped in the middle of pulling on the other shoe and concentrated. "I think maybe the black ones, and most definitely the clear ones. Why are you asking me these questions?"

"I don't know. I was just wondering, I guess. I just don't want anyone to get hurt." Tobe looked at her strangely, then said, "Bye Cami," and bolted.

Cami shook her head at the door. Ever since they arrived at the palace, Tobe had been acting strangely towards her. She could almost have sworn she had seen-she dismissed the thought with a wave of her hand, and put it out of her mind. Boys, she thought, smiling. They're always acting strangely.

She left her room and knocked on Daine's door. It opened to reveal little Sarra. Gone was the solemn-faced little girl who she had seen before; the Sarra now was jumping up and down and smiling. "Cami, Cami, Cami! Yay! Can you make me fly again? Can you? Can you?"

Cami laughed. "Ok, but just a little ride-"

"Yayyyyy!" the girl crowed.

"-if your mother says you can." Cami finished.

Sarra frowned. "Mommy's busy getting ready for you. But Daddy's here! Daddy!" She called, and Numair appeared, a brush stuck in his thick black hair.

"Sarra, what is it now-oh, hello Cami. Nice to see you." Numair said, seemingly forgetting he had just seen her a few moments ago.

"Nice to see you too," Cami grinned. "Your daughter wants me to mak her fly. Do I have your permission?"

"Certainly. That means 'yes'," He told his daughter, who went from looking confused to ecstatic. "May I watch?"

"Sure," Cami said, and looked at his hair. "Um, your brush-"

"Oh yes," he grimaced. "I almost forgot. I'll brush while I watch."

"Ok then," Cami said, then turned back to Sarra. I think I'll try something different this time, so she doesn't get bored with the same thing, Cami thought. She turned to look out of a window. A fluffy cloud floated across the sky. If only I could be that light, floating gently-wait! Floating! That dream! She would make Sarra float just as easily as Cami did! She would bewitch the air in the room into believing that Sarra was lighter than it was, and then Sarra was rise up. "I have to close all the windows and doors," Cami told Numair, who was wrestling with a particularly difficult snarl.

"Oh gods above!" Numair cursed, and a blast of light flew from his hand to his brush, and he stared crossly at a now-singed curl. "That's the third time that's happened today," he muttered, then he looked at Cami. "Oh, sure, do what you need."

Cami hid a smile behind one hand as she quickly closed and locked all the windows and doors. Then she took a few deep breaths and opened her mind to the air around her. Cami almost screamed; it was so loud! All the air particles were zooming around and bouncing merrily. Stop! She screamed with her mind. All the particles instantly turned towards her.

Um, hi, I'm Cami, the girl said nervously, and then thought, Screw the introductions. Get to the magic. She breathed in and out, and grabbed a coil of her power. That girl-she indicated Sarra, who was standing patiently in front of her-is lighter than you. Her mind-voice was thick with power and magic. That girl is lighter than you. She repeated, and she repeated the phrase over and over again until she was sure the air was convinced. After all, she wouldn't want to be the cause of her teachers' daughter's broken leg, would she?

Cami broke the connection and opened her eyes. Her gaze turned to Sarra. The girl was still standing patiently in front of her, waiting. Nothing happened. "Aw, man," Cami shoved her hands in her pockets. "It must not have worke-" The words flowed to a stop as Sarra began to rise from the ground.

"Wheeeee!" Sarra yelled gleefully, as she turned a few somersaults. Numair had long since abandoned his brushing and was staring at his little girl who was literally bouncing off the walls. "Cami, Cami, Cami! This is great!" she cried out.

"Well Cami's getting tired now," said Numair, regaining his ability to speak, even though Cami was nothing of the sort. "And Daddy has to go." He looked at Cami pointedly, who immediately understood. "Honey, fly into Daddy's arms so you don't fall when Cami releases the spell."

Sarra complied as Cami closed her eyes and said to the air, Sarra is heavier than you. All it took was that one simple comment, and suddenly Cami heard Numair go, "Oomph! You're getting big!"

Cami opened her eyes to see Sarra smile, and hop on to floor. She immediately hurtled towards Cami, crying out, "Cami, that was bester than before! I love you Cami!" This time Cami was ready for the hug that came next, and swooped the little girl in her arms and hugged her back.

Cami was hit with a wave of homesickness, or memory-sickness, if there was one. When she was five, she had a mother and a father too, but this girl had a happy life ahead of her, while Cami had had fourteen years of pain, misery, and the fear of death in a chaos-ridden country everyone called Scanra. It had been no picnic. Then Cami remembered when she was twelve, and her cousin and her best friend, Liam, had been drafted into the army a few days ago…

"Cami, this doesn't look good," her father said grimly. "We know that Liam doesn't agree with Maggur's…opinions, and I heard he was giving the officers some trouble…"

"He's gonna be okay," she said offhandedly. "What could possibly go wrong? I mean, you can't execute people for their opinions." How wrong she was.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Cami peered cautiously out the window. It was a serious-faced guard dressed in the required all-blue uniform. He had something draped over his arms. Cami nodded to her father to open the door, and when he did so, she wished she had never seen a door in her life. She looked upon the 'something' in the man's arms. It was Liam, his body riddled with arrows. His face was pale, and his eyes were wide open in shock. His mouth was slightly parted, as though he'd been speaking when he died. Instead of dying from wounds or blood loss, a fateful arrow had reached its mark: Liam's heart.

"He was trouble," said the officer simply, and dumped Liam's lifeless body into her father's arms and left, walking calmly down the street as though he had not delivered a death to a shocked family.

Cami slid to the ground, sobbing noiselessly, tears leaving streaks down her face. Her father lay Liam's body down in front of her, on the floor. Cami screamed, and tried to yank out the arrows. Liam's life flashed before her, Liam laughing, teaching her how to use daggers, Liam riding horses, their late night games of chess by the fire. Finally, she let go of the arrows, and stared at the door that the guard had come through. "That's your idea of fun, right?"

…

I know, I know, the memories are sad, but that's what makes her the greatest candidate for a queen! She's motivated! She wants to stop the people who tore her family apart! Review, Review, REVIEW!
Mel