Well, you know what? This is an unfinished chapter, but I'm posting it anyway to keep you all satisfied until I find a way to settle my issues with the librarian…

I'll put up part 2 whenever I find a chance to type it accurately.

My apologies again,

Cheeseycraziness

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(Nearly all of the dialogue in this part is directly quoted from First Test.)

Neal, behind all of the senior pages and Lord Wyldon, or as he called him, the Stump, looked around at all of the new and old faces. In front of him were the older pages, and he knew most of them. There was Prince Roald, Cleon, Joren, Zahir, Faleron, and all of the others.

Then, he turned his eyes to the pages in front of Wyldon – the first-years, like him. Unlike him, however, they were short and about ten years of age. Neal sighed quietly. Dom is definitely on my"payback" list, he thought for the twenty-third time.

First in the line was a brown-haired, freckled boy, who had a blank stare on his face. Neal kept back his smirk just in time. The dark-haired page with dark eyes endeavored to hide the nervous look on his face, and failed. He was worried to no end, and Neal felt sorry for him. A small blonde page seemed thoroughly uninterested in what was happening, glancing around with bored eyes and a displeased mouth. Another page had some of the straightest, brightest red hair he had seen in his life, and looked just a little nervous. The last in the line was a very tall, hazel-eyed, light brown-haired boy, whose face almost looked girlish. His eyes and his mouth were firm, and didn't give away any feelings at all. Neal was impressed at this feat.

After his inspection, Neal listened as boys got paired up with their sponsors. Faleron took the red-head boy called Merric in hand. Faleron was a good sponsor, and Neal thought Merric was very lucky to get Faleron.

Next was Quinden, the bored page, and he got stuck with Zahir. Neal grinned evilly at the torture the boy would go through. Zahir was a strict Bazhir, and not kind in the least.

The freckled boy was Esmond, who got Cleon as his sponsor. Esmond was so frightened by Lord Wyldon. Cleon's joking around should do him some good, thought Neal.

Dark-haired Seaver got paired with Roald. At first, Seaver looked like he was going to squeak with fear, but Neal knew Roald would be the best sponsor a page could get, especially for a worrisome page.

The tall, girly page was the only one who needed a sponsor. The Stump pointed at the boy, who was looking a bit nervous, but not much. "Your name and your fief?"

He gulped. "Keladry of Mindelan." Neal nearly smacked himself. This was a girl! He had thought she had decided not to come be a page after all – Keladry, or whatever she had said her name was, looked like both a boy and a girl, especially with her height. Lady Alanna was very short, and he thought a lady page would have looked more like her.

Zahir sniffed, and the attention of the group focused on him. "Girls have no business in the affairs of men," he said proudly, glaring at Keladry. She stared back in a calm defiance. Neal liked her style – she didn't look like she'd back down for over a century. "This one should go home."

"We aren't among the Bazhir tribes, Zahir ibn Alhaz. Moreover, I requested a sponsor, not an opinion." Wyldon replied icily, shaking his head. The Stump is too fair for his own well-being, Neal thought with a smile. He's actually standing up for the girl a little bit, and he despises her! "Will no one offer? No beginner may go unsponsored!"

It was a quiet moment, and then Joren raised his hand. "May I, my lord?"

"This drama just gets better and better," Neal muttered. Cleon and Roald heard, elbowed him.

Wyldon stared at the blond page, and Neal suppressed a grin. "You, Joren of Stone Mountain?"

Joren bowed, his light hair falling across his face. "I would be pleased to teach the girl all she needs to know of life in the pages' wing."

Cleon snickered, and Neal glared at him. Joren will have her out in a week! That's not fair! Neal's mind worked furiously – he had seen the Queen's Riders and Lady Alanna fight, and surely even a girl he had never heard of deserved a chance. Could there be a good solution?

"I thought Joren hated-" somebody muttered.

"Shut up!" a page hissed. The girl studied her feet carefully, and the Stump frowned.

"I had hoped for another sponsor. You should employ your spare hours in the improvement of your classwork and your riding skills," Lord Wyldon replied.

"I believe I can perfect my studies and sponsor the girl," Joren said. "And since I am the only volunteer-"

That's it! Neal thought.

"I suppose I'm being rash and peculiar, again," Neal said, his words dry as dust. "But if it means helping my friend Joren improve his studies, well, I'll just have to sacrifice myself. There's nothing I won't do to further the cause of book learning among my peers." Everybody turned to glare at him, including Joren and Wyldon.

Neal was finding it very hard not to grin at them.

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I hate having to leave you all like this. I would pick First Test to be the one library book I lose in two years of a near-spotless record.