Janiya and her friends are mine, except for Anders and Inness...that's about all I own right now.
Chapter 3 – Blood Oaths and Magic: Once again, a manservant came to lead me to a part of the palace I had never seen before. This time, it was some meeting room where King Jonathan waited. When we reached the door, I felt as though I was being led to the gallows. What could the king, of all people, possibly want with me?
I soon found out. Inside the room waited not only the king, but also Lady Alanna, Sir Gareth the Younger (Duke Gareth's son) and Lord Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak. After a moment, I saw that Queen Thayet was there as well, and kept shooting her husband angry looks. That was all I noticed before I managed to overcome my temporary paralysis and bowed low. I stayed in that position, not even daring to lift my head until the king said, "That's enough." I straightened, my fear increasing at the coldness of that deep voice.
"Janiya of Tirragen, do you know why you are here?" the king asked. I swallowed, trying to clear away the huge lump in my throat. I managed, enough to get out, "No, Sire, I don't." I had a suspicion, though, one I didn't like. It seemed my father's legacy was going to cause more trouble than I had bargained for.
"You ought to know, Tirragen," snapped Sir Gareth, glaring at me. King Jonathan gave him a quelling look, and then turned back to me. "Page Janiya, you are aware that your father was a traitor. Yet here you are, trying to become a knight. One of my knights. Tell me, how can I trust you?"
Anger was beginning to quash the fear. I knew this was it. Time to make my case. "Because, Sire, I am not my father. In fact, I hate my father for what he did. I don't know what drove him to do what he did, but I'm not like that. I would never turn on one I had sworn allegiance to. It's just wrong to do that, plain and simple."
Sir Gareth made a slight, disbelieving sound. Lady Alanna and Lord Raoul glanced at each other, their expressions quite unreadable. Queen Thayet, on the other hand continued to glare at her husband. The king kept his eyes on me. I didn't dare to meet his eyes, afraid of what I'd see there.
Finally, the king spoke. "I'm not sure I believe you. You're ten years old. I doubt Alexander meant to become a traitor at ten, either. I think it would be best if you signed a blood oath, here and now, that you will never knowingly betray the Crown." He gestured to a piece of paper, a pen, and a knife that sat on a table. I began to walk toward the table, intending to sign, when I stopped. This wasn't right.
"Forgive me, Sire, but I can't do this," I said, fighting to keep the anger out of my voice. The king raised a brow and asked why. "Because it isn't fair. My father broke the law, not me. Why is it I have to pay for his mistake? I was only three when he died, barely old enough to understand that he'd done something wrong after the fact, much less before. Why – " But I could no longer talk. There was a funny popping behind my eyes and suddenly, silver fire – the fire of magic – poured out of my hands. I was terrified. This had never happened before. Yes, things had sometimes moved of their own accord around me, and once, I had seen a picture in the flame, but nothing like this had ever happened. Of course, I'd never been so angry before, either. I watched helplessly as the fire engulfed the table, immolating it instantly. There was a roaring in my ears, and my world went black.
A/N: So...how was it? The blood oath idea's been playing in my head for a while, and I hope you liked it.