Disclaimer: -looks- Yup, that's a disclaimer all right.

Muse responsible: Krathnae, of course.

Thoughts :Mindspeech:

(The reason it's so short up here is that I'm as eager to get to the story as you are! I left you with a cliffy. Mwahahaha. But I also left ME with a cliffy, and I get to find out what it was first! Nyaaaah! Er, if that made ANY sense whatsoever.)

And a reminder: This is between Van's time and Lavan Firestorm's time. Yup. There's about 300 years of empty spots there, which I am freely grabbing!

And for the record, I don't remember if the Equitation master is a guy or a girl, so now he's a guy, ok?

It wasn't long before they ended up in the Dean's office, with Kamaria trying to question Sitara the whole way but mostly failing, because a: Sitara didn't really know what was going on either and b: they were going away from Companion's Field, and the farther apart the pair were, the harder it was to Mindspeak without a boost.

Once in the Dean's office, Kamaria closed the connection between her and her Companion and sat down, looking from Nessa to Kenan, rather puzzled. The Dean sat behind her desk, but Kenan leaned against a wall, arms folded, blue-violet eyes faintly worried.

"Er, what am I here for?" she finally asked, and winced as she wished she'd thought of a better way to state this.

Nessa sighed heavily. "Kamaria, we know there is nothing you could have done to prevent this. In many ways, it's a good thing, because it gives the Heralds someone who will be a wonderful Farseer, if Kenan is to be believed, but in some ways…"

The Dean trailed off. Kamaria stared blankly at her, wondering what on earth the Dean was talking about-she wasn't normally this oblique. At last, she found her voice and said, "If this is about Sitara-"

"No, no, no!" said Nessa, sharply and suddenly more agitated than Kamaria had ever seen her. "We're talking about your lifebond with Alain."

Kamaria opened her mouth and closed it again, finding herself only able to give the Dean another blank, silver-eyed stare. "What?" she managed, after another few moments' bemusement.

Nessa cleared her throat and tried again. "Kamaria, there hasn't been a lifebonded pair of Heralds for...a very long time. The most recent ones were Vanyel and Stefen, and Stefen wasn't even a Herald. I don't even think we've ever had a pair of lifebonded Trainees-well, at least Trainees your age."

Kamaria thought about that for a moment, and slowly nodded, still confused. "I don't see what that has to do with anything, though."

Nessa sighed. "Although you and Alain bonded are strong, and will likely be a valuable asset to the Circle when you've got your Whites, it also gives the pair of you some peculiar weaknesses. If one of you is wounded, the other is distracted, correct?"

Kamaria considered this, and said, guardedly, "Only if we're actively linked at the time. Otherwise, I'm not really aware of him the…the way I am of Sitara."

Nessa nodded. "Alain said as much. But if one of you dies, there's an incredibly high risk of the other dying as well-" Kamaria flinched at the thought of Alain's death-"And we don't have enough Heralds for that."

Kamaria stared at her again, lost for words.

Kenan took up the thread. "We just want you to be fully aware of the risks of being lifebonded," he said, "I noticed how incredibly aware of each other you were in Weapons, though you were linked at the time-but even before one of you initiated the link, you moved as if perfectly aware of each other-" Kamaria's teacher groped for words-"Like…oh, if a pair of unbonded Heralds were lightly linked in the same room. That's pretty aware."

Well, Kamaria hadn't been aware of how she and Alain picked up on each other's thoughts, as Kenan described what else he'd seen in their interactions. But as he unveiled how he'd seen them together, time after time, she realized she was more aware than she had thought.

"The thing is," Nessa said, after Kenan had finished, "It…it may not be healthy."

Kamaria's complete puzzlement turned to anger within a second. "What?" she shouted, leaping to her feet and upsetting her chair, "That's like-like-accusing the Companion/Herald bond of being 'unhealthy'! I don't see any accusations that…oh, Tara is somehow ill because of all the time she spends with her Companion!"

Nessa's eyes had widened, and she raised her hands slowly, palm towards Kamaria, as if calming her down. "That's not what we're saying," she said, gently, as Kenan picked up Kamaria's chair and Kamaria flopped back down in it, "It's just-oh, it's hard to explain."

Kamaria was seething, but beneath the fury was a thread of uncertainty. What if…what if they try to separate us? Unbond us because we're not 'healthy', or something?

Nessa massaged her temples. "Allow me to be blunt. It's been a long day, Alain reacted pretty much the same way you did, and with both of you, these little talks have gone in the same direction-that is, away from the calm discussion I wanted into an argument. Before you ask, we're not going to try and separate you, because that would be worse in the long run. We have no idea what we're going to try to do, actually, but…just be aware, all right? And read this."

The Dean pushed a leather folder across her desk, which Kamaria picked up. It contained a sheaf of papers, but Kamaria didn't peek inside, still radiating indignation.

Kenan coughed. "Kamaria, that was a dismissal."

Kamaria glanced at her Farseeing teacher-who still looked worried-and sighed, acquiescing to his will. Turning, she left the room, followed closely by Kenan, who closed the door behind him and went in the opposite direction.

Kamaria returned to her room and lit the candles around her desk, still irritated, and yet intrigued by the folder. She sat down and opened it, slowly, and read over the first page.

The year of 769 A.F., reign of Herald-King Randale. By my hand, Vanyel Ashkevron.

It was a good thing Kamaria hadn't been holding the papers, or she would have dropped them. This wasn't just a sheaf of papers-though these were presumably copied from the archives rather than the actual copy-this document had been written by Vanyel Ashkevron, the most powerful Herald-Mage ever to have lived.

Kamaria was incredibly awed by him, astonished by his achievements and slightly intimidated by the power of the mage who had lived several centuries ago, as were most people in Valdemar. To be reading something he had written was…like holding a piece of the past, and the Trainee even fancied that she could feel the force of Vanyel's formidable personality radiating from the page.

Which was ridiculous, of course-Vanyel had sacrificed himself to protect Valdemar, long ago. Even if he had lived through the Final Strike, there was no way he would still be alive, nearly two centuries later. Kamaria shook off her shock and returned to the page.

I have been asked by our Herald-Chronicler to place details of being lifebonded in the Chronicles, for posterity. This was not undertaken lightly, and I know she hesitated before asking me, yet I am still somewhat reluctant to do this. However, future generations should know what it is to be lifebonded-and what it means to lose one.

A lifebond is rare, rarer than any other bond that can exist between two humans. It is a binding of souls, the making of two hearts into one…

Fascinated by the account, Kamaria read late into the night, nodding with agreement at Vanyel's explanation of a lifebond-heart constricting when she read the heartrending memory of what happened when he had lost Tylendel. As she read that only Yfandes had kept him alive, and how long it had taken to recover, a lump grew in Kamaria's throat.

So absorbing was the carefully-copied document that Kamaria became oblivious to time.

The next day, Kamaria was thoughtful all through her classes. She mused over Vanyel's writing-over what it felt to be lifebonded to Tylendel, and-though she nearly came to tears every time she thought of it-what it was to lose him, and his sacrifice to stay alive.

Death would have been a reward for Vanyel in many ways, ceasing his pain and returning him to the one he loved-and yet he had stayed for duty, held only by his tenuous bond with Yfandes.

Kamaria really only returned to the current world in History, where they were talking about the Lord-Marshal who had initiated the popularly-nicknamed Sweetsprings blunder. The Marshal in question had been appointed by a confused young King, whose father and previous Lord Marshal had been assassinated. In the chaos surrounding the beginning of his reign, with Karse pressing in and the town of Sweetsprings captured by enemy forces, the King-barely out of being a Trainee-had desperately appointed Navan, an old friend of his family.

Navan, while an honorable, just, man, was probably the single worst strategist Valdemar had ever seen. Even though he was the lover of Herald Sidra, who tried as best she could to guide him, Navan had made some incredibly foolish decisions.

The class was currently involved in a spirited debate on whether Lord-Marshal Navan could have been a better strategist, with some firmly on his side, saying he was confused by the chaos surrounding the start of his young friend's reign, and others-Kamaria among them-just as firmly on the side of him being a complete idiot.

The debate had carried out of the classroom as Kamaria headed out the door to Equitation, and this was because she was arguing with her Companion, who was adamant that Lord-Marshal Navan had simply been confused.

"He was an idiot, Sitara," Kamaria said sternly as she firmly brushed dust from the mare's side to tack up, "He may have been a good man, but he was a completely stupid strategist."

:But the confusion around King 'Mura's coronation, with that Karsite assassin: protested Sitara, :There was no way he could have predicted they moved when they did.:

Kamaria stared at Sitara in disbelief. "Sitara, Heralds with Foresight gave him advice, but he tried to do something no one could predict-and blundered so much, half the Guard got slaughtered!"

All right, she was exaggerating, but not by much. Sitara, however, remained stubborn. :The Foresighted Heralds said they weren't sure! He could never have thought the Sunpriests would get around him.:

Kamaria swung the saddle over Sitara's back and began to buckle it, continuing the argument. "All right, he might have sent that pair of Heralds northeast on misinterpreted information, but-"

:He wasn't an idiot! The Sunpriests were: interrupted Sitara, but Kamaria had had enough, and slammed her shields closed, cutting her Companion off before opening again and continuing. "Will you let me finish?" she said, glaring at Sitara. "You're acting like-like-oh, like Herald Sidra when she tried to let him keep his post!"

Sitara's hide twitched, but she held whatever it was she thought behind her shields, which by now had closed very firmly against her Chosen. Kamaria finished with the saddle and slid the hackamore over her Companion's nose. "And Herald Sidra! I can't believe she wanted that incompetent man to stay in his post! Talk about love being blind. I hadn't thought she would be that oblivious to the need of Valdemar-"

:WILL YOU STOP THAT? blasted Sitara into Kamaria's mind, making her yelp and almost fall over. Kamaria stared from where she had caught on herself on Sitara's stall wall, completely nonplussed. Sitara was quite clearly incensed-her tail was twitching, and her muscles were tense. :You're going beyond the realms of debate into the insulting! Would you not defend-oh, Alain in such a situation?

Kamaria found herself unable to do anything but blink at her Companion as she stood back up, her back against the wall. "What brought this on? All right, I may have been over the line in calling a Herald oblivious to duty, but what does Alain have to do with-with anything?"

:Nothing! Everything! I don't know.: Sitara's hide twitched all over, ears laid flat to her head, muscles still tense, and when a fly buzzed near her ear, she snapped it out of the air with her teeth. Her hackamore fell to the ground in the process, as Kamaria hadn't finished fastening it. Kamaria continued to stare.

"What is wrong with you?" she managed, at long last, and grimaced-that had not been what she had intended to say.

Intended or not, however, this was clearly the last straw for Sitara. :Do excuse me, Kamaria.: she said at last, muscles untensing slowly, though she looked no less angry, :I don't think I can take Equitation today.:

With that, the Companion somehow shrugged out of her saddle and walked out of her stall, with Kamaria still staring blankly after her.

What on earth was that about? she thought, picking up the tack, slowly, and setting it back on the wall. It's not like I was insulting her, or anything-but she sure acted like it.

Rather dazed, Kamaria wandered from the stable and ran into the Equitation master, who jumped back in surprise. "Was that Sitara you were shouting at?" he said, expression completely bemused, "I 'heard' her, not words, but you must have made her angry!"

Kamaria looked around beyond the Riding master, but saw no sign of Sitara. "I have no idea," she replied, "I mean, we were talking about Lord-Marshal Navan-who I still think was a blithering idiot in strategy-and she disagreed with me, I said something about Herald Sidra defending him, and she just-left!"

She glanced back at the Equitation teacher, who looked as blank as she did. "Will any other Companion bear you?" he said, at last, "Uh-it's rather important to ride each day."

Kamaria looked around, but saw no one. "One minute," she said to the Riding Master, and closed her eyes.

:Alain?

:What?

:Is Ramya busy?

:…no. Why?

:I…er, need to ride her in Equitation today.: replied Kamaria, sheepishness coloring the tone of her Mindspeech. :I made Sitara angry somehow, and now I don't know where she is.:

Alain clearly was as confused as Kamaria was, but after a moment of 'blankness,' he said, :She's on her way. Do explain this to me at…dinner, because I forgot a Logic paper was due today and so free period's not free for me.:

:Thanks.:

Kamaria broke the connection and nodded to the Riding master. "Ramya," she said, "She's on her way."

It didn't take long for Ramya to come trotting up, and for Kamaria to begin readying her for Equitation. This was distinctly odd-Ramya was taller than Sitara, and it was difficult for Kamaria to get the saddle over her back. Ramya helped where she could, watching with an interested blue eye. :If I'm not prying, what happened? she asked, as Kamaria finished the saddle and found the hackamore, :It's not like Sitara to do this. She loves the obstacle course.:

"I have no idea," said Kamaria, brushing some of Ramya's mane from her eyes as she slid the hackamore over her nose, "We were talking about Lord-Marshal Navan. I think he's an idiot, but she-"

:She, on the other hand, is firmly on his side.:

Kamaria didn't pause in adjusting the hackmore's straps. "Well, yes. Anyway, I mentioned something about Herald Sidra being a fool to back him, or something like that, and-"

:Oh. I see where this is going.: replied Ramya, sudden comprehension dawning in the Mindspeech. :And I know why she's upset.:

Kamaria stopped adjusting the stirrup-leathers, since they were set for Alain's legs and were too long for her, to peer at Ramya curiously. "Mind enlightening me?" she said, with heavy irony.

:Actually…I can't, said Ramya, realizing she'd gone a bit too far, :But you should apologize for whatever you said about Herald Sidra.:

Kamaria thought about this, but drew a blank. "All right, calling a Herald oblivious to duty is a bit much, but…" she began, and trailed off uncertainly. "Why does it matter so much to her?"

Ramya's hide twitched slightly, and she sighed heavily. :I can't tell you. Tighten the girth a bit, and mount up-or we'll be late.:

And since Ramya wasn't Kamaria's Companion, she had no bond to give the Trainee access to her shields, leaving Kamaria completely in the dark.

Well, there's another chapter. Anyone who wants to know why Sitara's so firmly against Kamaria in this…well, I'll just tell you to go to babynames dot com and check the meaning of "Sidra." Whoever guesses why Sitara's mad gets…I don't know, virtual brownies or something. Chapter dedication?

Shahanna: Well, I do do cliffies once in a while-hope you enjoyed the conclusion of that cliffhanger!

Lurks in Shadows: Who doesn't heart Kenan? Really?

Blade of Fire: Well, thank you! Sakabatou. I shall remember that. Though it's not really going to apply in this story, because Kenan's not Kenshin and was never a merciless assassin baptizing a new era in the blood from his sword, or whatever.

Moondance K'Treva: …the whole thing? Really-is flattered- Thanks! Hope you like this addition!

Thanks also to Jerry Unipeg and Dark Hermit Kaelin!

Reviews are loved-hint, hint.-

-Fireblade K'Chona