A/N: Okay, I'm not very adept in horse names and colors etc, so you guys will have to endure my simpleton version of explaining them. Lol. Short! So terribly short is this chapter! I am ashamed of myself. I think the next will probably be the same length. Sorry guys. Both of these I want to end in a certain place.

I really shouldn't be updating, as I have tried to stay five chapters ahead and I'm still on chapter 17 but! You guys are soooo awesome with reviews. So heres the chappie. (See? I told you reviewing makes me get it out earlier.)

Disclaimer: This belongs to Tamora Pierce. All hail Tamora Pierce. The stuff you don't recognize belongs to me.

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As a Shang, she'd been in many fights. Her reflexes were honed close to perfect. And yet here she was surprised and stiff. It's not like she had never been kissed before, no, Joel had kissed her many times. But there had always been something, something she couldn't quite put her finger on, missing. Joel had always been like a friend to her, and no matter how many times he kissed her that was all she could think of him.

No! This is what I did NOT want to happen! What gives him the right to kiss me? Prince or not. Arra pushed him away and without a word picked up her box with the gloves in it and stormed away.

"Arra wait . . ."

"No, I don't think I will." She said coldly.

"Arra," He was closer now, "will you just wait? Look--"

Arra spun to face him. "No, you listen to me! I am not one of your court ladies you can kiss whenever you fee like it. I will not just swoon over you. And, contrary to priar belief, I do not want to kiss you."

Liam grab her arm to stop her from leaving once again. She twisted out of his hold easily though and continued her stride.

"Arra, I'm sorry. It was just . . . spur of the moment—" But once again he was cut off.

"Spur of the moment! We were doing nothing romantic to spur any moments!" She entered the building and the conversation was dropped because someone might overhear. Arra went straight to her rooms refusing to think about anything. Though, at the moment she wasn't sure she'd be able to organize them. Her thoughts were much in the state of her emotions, a jumbled swirl.

Arra, slipped off her boots and changed into something more comfortable to sleep in, she had her blankets ready for her when she heard a tapping at the window. She looked and found her blue falcon there. She let him in and he immediately flew to the chair by her desk. "So what do you think about the name Colbalt?" She said softly.

He screeched, but it was a softer sound on in agreement. She smiled faintly, "Then Cobalt it is."

She went into her bed and snuggled down into it. Arra found the most comfortable spot and still sleep did not come but, unbidden as they usually are, thoughts did come.

Mistake! From the very beginning it was a mistake. From the moment I came into Tortall I should've read the signs. I was shot by an unknown person with a poisoned arrow! My second mistake was accepting to teach and my third, and most terrible one, was accepting his offer for a spar and being in any way kind. Argh! I'm such an idiot!

Arra's fingers found their way to her lips. His kiss was . . . different from Joel's. She realized what she was doing, had she been close to admitting liking his kiss? She shook the thought away and, finally, went to sleep.

The next few weeks Arra forced herself to stay busy, from helping Thayet learn her way of riding and practicing with Cobalt. That was where she was now. She lifted her gloved hand up into the air and whistled she heard a loud screech overhead and not too long later Cobalt could be seen flying towards her. He landed well enough on her arm his wings still outspread. Over the few days he'd been with Daine he had lost all of his childish fluff and now owned hard blue and white feathers.

"That's very good, Cobalt." She cooed handing him a treat from a pouch she kept now.

"You're getting quite good at that." Thayet commented.

"Thank you." Arra said with a smile. "You yourself are becoming very talented in the art of riding without a bridle."

"I doubt I'll ever be talented, that alone belongs to you being the inventor of such. But I believe I've got the hang of it." She started. "Which is why I asked Onua a special favor."

Arra raised her brow. A favor? What kind of favor? But she didn't ask aloud instead she threw her hand up into the air to set Cobalt off again and waited for Thayet to continue.

"I wasn't sure if it mattered but better safe then sorry right? I asked her to bring a Karucian horse—"

Arra was to surprised to keep her mouth shut. "And she succeded?" She was surprised. Karucians were very protective of their large breed of horses.

Thayet smiled. "Yes, I believe she did. I would like you to see it. I believe he's quite young and I'd like you to train him."

Train him? "Let's see to it then." The queen slid down off of Ghost and led Arra to a different set of stables Ghost following along obediantly. Onua also appeared and further led them to the right place.

"He is magnificent." Arra breathed. Before her stood a horse of large breed, very deep red color and a white strip down his head. "Is he a mean one?"

"No, actually he has a very nice disposition." Onua said. Arra nodded. Then on remembering blew into his nostrils, they flared for a moment but that was all.

"I'm going to check him out." She entered the stall carefully.

"You don't think I can choose a proper horse?"

"No, I want to see how he'll fare with this sort of riding," She stopped momentarily and looked up at Onua over the doorway of the stall, "Unless you'd like to check for that?"

Onua muttered something unhappily and Thayet grinned. Arra continued to follow the horse's muscles. Once before she had tried to teach a fine, but not Karucian, horse the riding but he hadn't been up to it. From then on she studied horses and found there were certain muscles to look for. She exited the stall smiling.

"A fine candidate," Arra looked back at the horse and said, "I can start tomorrow on him if you'd like."

"Start what?" Onua asked suspiciously.

"Training." Thayet said simply.

"You aren't going to train him to do tricks are you? Nothing odd. Because he is already partially trained for riding." Arra grinned towards Onua but said nothing.

Cobalt should be waiting out here somewhere. She turned a corner and found him perched on the gate further uncovering what the corner hid she also found Liam. She whistled and immediatley Cobalt took flight. He landed neatly on her gloved right hand; (she only wore one of the gloves so her left had was bare) she looked into his hazel eyes from that distance for a bit longer but when he took just one step to lessen the distance she turned on her heel away from him.

She could hear his feet pounding on the ground as he ran to catch up with her but she forced herself to keep her pace.

"Arra why won't you even hear what I have to say?" He asked.

She laughed a short humerless laugh. "It didn't occur to you someone might not want to listen to you?"

"Arra don't be like this."

"Like what?" She asked innocently. Then as if suddenly understanding something she added. "Like a commoner, perhaps?" I'm not a commoner either . . . not really. But he doesn't need to know that!

"How can you even say that?"

"Quite easily. Need me to say it again?"

"No Arra! I didn't know you'd take it like this! I'm sorry."

"How did you think I'd take it? Did . . . did you think I'd just as soon kiss you back, you'd say you loved me I'd say it back, and somehow you'd convince your parents to let you marry me and all would end happily? Hm? Well, things don't work that way. Yes, believe it or not, even as a Prince you can't have everything you want." Arra had stopped walking and was talking very pointedly to Liam.

"I don't know what I thought, or think." He said softly, a bit of hurt apparent in his voice. And with a very small pang she noted he denied none of it.

"Oh, no. You were thinking. You were just thinking with what's in your breeches instead of what's in your head." With that she turned away and continued walking. Liam, too shocked by what she had said, did not follow.

Arra set Cobalt off again to find food for himself with instructions to just tap on her window.

Arra splashed some water on her face from a basin. She changed and hopped into bed. She covered her head with the cover and rolled up into a ball. It was then she let out a long sigh. Why? Why couldn't he just let me be? All I wanted – no I didn't even want to come to Tortall. That was something I had to do. A sudden chill ran through her and in the moment her hand flew to her chest landing on the Fate's Mark.

As though pulled somewhere else without her knowing it Arra found herself in the same grey plane she'd been to before.

"Now, Arra, I've put up with a lot with you." The same Fate with the silver blue hair said. Her pits of eyes seemed to bore into Arra. But she stared back.

Fate took another step towards her. "It was my very own words, I believe, to accept the prince's affections. A kiss. A kiss can mean so much. Why do you push him away?"

"I do not want his affections."

Fate frowned. And came closer still to Arra. She put one long finger on the bottom of Arra's chin and looked directly into her eyes. Arra could somehow see sadness in those black pits. "Please do not take this path. You will need his love above everything."

"If there is anything coming my way I can deal with in on my own. I don't need him." Arra said defiantly.

"Strong words, my dear. Very strong words." Fate shook her head slightly. "We shall see."

Arra sat up in bed gasping for air. There was an insistant tapping at her window. Cobalt! She stood and let him enter though he first nipped her finger. "Ouch! Sorry, don't blame me!"

Arra went back to her comfortable bed determined to get some sleep. She closed her eyes and appeared to be asleep but her mind fought with itself. And one question made Arra think. Why do I need his love?

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A/N: Like I said, short. The next one will be around the same length I'm pretty sure. And I have an estimate for how long the whole story will be. Sadly, I think I'll be lucky to make it to 30 chapters. Well, I guess we'll just have to see, hm?

Sorry, Tinufuir, no spars in this chapter or the next, mostly just thoughts and such. But the one after that . . .