A/N: Most of the characters are of Tamora Pierce's design, and though Faleron is my own, I borrowed the name from Protector of the Small. The storyline is mine though.

Kalasin of Conté, or just Kally, was sulking. No one else knew it, though. Secretly, Kally had been sulking for four years.

Ever since her father, King Jonathan of Tortall, had refused her requests (or, more accurately, demands) to be allowed to train for knighthood, she had sulked.

Of course Kally had worked hard in her studies as a healer, something she was very Gifted in. And she'd been perfectly happy in front of her family, even her brother Roald, who was allowed to train for knighthood.

But it had been a struggle. When she'd turned twelve, the first girl page since Alanna the Lioness had begun her training. She'd had a year's probation, but she still became a page.

Of course Keladry of Mindelan could train to be a knight. Why stop her? She wasn't a princess, and too precious to risk in battle.

Kally knew she wasn't being entirely fair. Keladry couldn't have helped being the first girl any more than Kally could've helped being born royal. And Prince Roald couldn't say anything bad about her. Apart from a mortal fear of heights, nothing seemed to be wrong with this girl.

Just from hearing about her, Kally knew that she could have been best friends with Kel, as she was known. But, under the circumstances, it couldn't happen. Try as she might, Kally couldn't rid herself of the injustice of it all.

So now it was September. Kally had just turned fourteen and would've been made a squire the spring past, if she'd been allowed to be a page. Kel was starting her third year of page training.

Kally knew she was supposed to be married in two years. She was promised to some prince she hadn't even met. Already she knew what she thought about that.

Overwhelmed with it all, Kally sought out the woman who had been her friend since she was eight. Finding the door that listed Veralidaine Sarrasri and Numair Salmalín as its occupants, she knocked.

Daine, at 19, was a source of constant surprise for all who knew her, one of which Kally was glad to be. It puzzled her why her friend had wanted to share her bed with a man 14 years older who had been her mage teacher. But years of training in etiquette had forced her never to mention it.

Now, as Daine pulled open the door, baby dragon Kitten in tow, Kally knew she was about to bring it up.

"What's the matter?" Daine asked, grasping her shoulders. Kally knew she had the look of a girl who was about to burst into tears. She let them come.

Kally cried until all her tears were gone in the sympathetic arms of her best friend. Then she poured out all of her woes to Daine and finished up with the remark that she had no idea why she'd cried about it.

Daine, amazingly, laughed. "It's normal, Kally. You're a teenager now. You're bound to have moods like that."

"And what if I don't want them?" Kally retorted, biting back sharper words.

"Well, I'm afraid you can't do anything about them. I had them, too. Just not as bad as other girls. Being People on the inside will do that to you."

"If I can't be a knight, why couldn't I have been a Wildmage like you? When anyone doubts your ability to fight, you just shift into something with teeth and set them straight. Me? I'm just a dainty little princess, too delicate for fighting."

"Kalasin of Conté, you get that idea right out of your head. If you want to fight, then fight. Don't let orders stop you. Look at Kel, look at the Lioness! And I'll have you know, Nealan of Queenscove is 17, and he's in Kel's year. Age is not a barrier."

"Veralidaine Sarrasri, you get that idea out of your head," Kally said, half laughing. "I'm promised as a bride, remember?"

"Yeah, that was wishful thinking," Daine said with a sigh. "Still, don't let it get to you. And come to me anytime you need a friend."

"Daine," Kally began, hating the question already, "Why do you love Numair? He's fourteen years older than you!"

Daine sighed. "I should've known this was coming. I've always loved him, Kally. I just didn't know for sure until our first kiss. It's not exactly something I can explain. You'll understand when it happens to you."

"It never will." Kally sighed heavily. "You got lucky, you and the Lioness. You've both got great men who simply adore you. All I'll get is a foreign prince who's probably too stuck-up to live."

"I'll excuse that comment as teenage madness. Now find something productive to do before you say something I can't excuse."

Kally knew when she was beaten. She left Daine's room, feeling slightly better.

She made her way into the royal wing. She couldn't leave the castle without permission, and she wanted to visit Corus, the city surrounding it.

Queen Thayet, her mother, sat in the sitting room. She willingly gave Kally permission, reminding her not to be late for supper, and Kally made her way into the city.

She was in the marketplace when it happened. She ran smack into someone else.

"Ouch!" Kally cried as she went down. "You better not have meant that!"

She picked herself up off the ground and found herself glaring into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. The glare faded almost immediately.

The eyes belonged to a young man, not much older than she was. Although his eyes were astounding, so was the rest of him.

Kally found that her heart was beating a mile a minute. "Who are you?" she managed to croak out.

"Prince Faleron, from Maren," the handsome young man said. "Who are you?"

This was the man she was supposed to marry. "Princess Kalasin, from Tortall." Her mouth was betraying her. She should not have given him her real name.

She saw the light of recognition in his eyes. Those amazingly blue eyes.

"So. Is this how my betrothed greets me? By running into me?"

His voice was full of reproach, but Kally wasn't fooled. His eyes were laughing.

Not knowing what made her do it, she leaned over and covered his mouth with hers.

"How was that?" she asked haltingly when she pulled back.

Prince Faleron apparently didn't trust himself to speak. He just pulled her to him and kissed her again.

Neither of them remembered that they were in a crowded marketplace. They clung to each other like they were the last two people in the world.

Suddenly, a voice in Kally's ear made her jump back. Looking for the speaker, she saw a hawk with human lips looking over at her.

"Daine, don't do that! You scared me."

Daine could change her shape, and often did.

"Kally, you're late for supper. The queen's furious. And who's your friend there?"

Faleron had been standing there, confused and red-faced.

"Daine, this is Prince Faleron, from Maren. Faleron, this is Veralidaine Sarrasri."

"Nice to meet you," both said at the same time.

Daine changed her mouth back into a beak and flew off. Kally grabbed Faleron's hand and pulled him toward the castle.

"Come on," she said. If we hurry, we can make it while they're still eating."

So Prince and Princess made their way through the city. The delegation from Maren that Faleron had been part of (and had slipped away from) followed at a slower pace.

Upon seeing the two hand in hand, Queen Thayet almost exploded. And she would have, if Kally had not introduced Faleron. As it was, she only forbade Kally to leave the castle for 2 days. This was fine with Kally, as that was Faleron's punishment for giving his bodyguard the slip.

Two years later, Kally kissed Faleron again, this time in front of thousands of spectators. As she walked away from the crowd, now Faleron's wife, she realized something. Daine had been right. When she had first seen Faleron, she had instantly known what it was like to be in love. And it wasn't any thing she could explain.

But that didn't mean she wasn't living happily ever after. Even if she couldn't be a knight.