Oh my word, I am so sorry it has taken me so long to update! My only, rather feeble excuse is that real life caught up with and then sat on me.

Also, I've started writing another fic, this one in Harry Potter, but you're just going to have to wait to find out what it's about.

In other news, Bright Feather is officially on hiatus until I get it rewritten; I look at the first chapters and wince. Unfortunately, it's not likely to happen soon, but I really, really would like to get it done. ButI reiterate,real life has caught up with and is sitting on me.

So. Back to the story. Enjoy. In this chapter, you get to actually learn about Kamaria's life before Alain! Gasp! Shock! Drama! Yep.

"Hang on a moment. What?" said Kamaria, staring at Kenan.

Kenan sighed, running a hand through his scarlet hair, hanging loose this morning and looking a bit odd. "I think that dream of yours was a Farsight vision," he repeated.

Kamaria blinked, then blinked again. "But-I wasn't searching-I don't even know where-" she rambled, but Kenan coughed quietly and interrupted.

"Kamaria, you're babbling," he said, gently, and Kamaria abruptly shut her mouth.

She opened it again a few seconds later to say, somewhat weakly, "But…why?"

Kenan ran his hand through his hair again. "I don't know," he admitted, "I've never heard of anything like this happening. Can you call Sitara?"

Kamaria shut her eyes nervously, and dropped the light shield between herself and her Companion. :Sitara, can you come to the Farsight lesson? she asked, :There's…something's come up and we need you.:

Sitara turned up a few minutes later, accompanied by Kenan's 'Lena.

Kenan turned to 'Lena and shut his eyes for a moment. Meanwhile, Sitara looked from Kamaria to Kenan.

:Would you mind telling me what's going on? she asked, sounding utterly confused.

Kamaria rubbed her temples for a moment, wondering how to tell it, then decided that tact could go hang. "I had a nightmare that Kenan is pretty convinced was a Farsight vision," she said wearily, Sending her memory of the dream in a rather untidy bundle.

Sitara processed this for a long, long moment, then snorted, shaking her head hard, giving an inarticulate Sending as she did so. :But-what-: she tried to say, whipping her head around to stare at Kenan, :Why are you-:

"No idea," said Kamaria, sighing.

"Shields," muttered Kenan, interrupting whatever Sitara had been going to say next, "It has to be your shields-or maybe an effect of the morel-" he ran a hand distractedly through his hair.

"Well, once you've decided what it is we can try and fix it," said Kamaria, tiredly, rubbing her eyes. "I got almost no sleep after Alain woke me up last night."

Kenan tilted his head interestedly. "He sensed your nightmare?" he said, "And Sitara didn't?"

"It's not the first time, either," replied Kamaria, lying down on the blanket to stare up at the sky, "I've sensed him having a nightmare before. But no, Sitara didn't sense it." She turned her head to look at her Companion. "Were you flirting again last night, then?"

Sitara sidled for a moment nervously. :Um. A bit more than flirting.: she said sheepishly, after a long pause.

Kamaria's eyebrows shot up. "Right. Uh, that's more than I needed to know," she said hastily, "No need to say more." She turned back to Kenan. "Sitara was. Er. Distracted."

Kenan chuckled evilly. "I remember the first time I had that conversation with 'Lena," he said, sidetracking for a moment, "But back to your dream. You had your ordinary shields up, didn't you?"

"Of course," said Kamaria indignantly, "What with the drilling you and Jasen have forced me through to try and find why they come down in the first place I always have them up."

"Good, good," muttered Kenan thoughtfully, "I think I'll have to consult on this, my dear, before I try and say anything definite and embarrass myself by being wrong."

"Oh, the great Herald Kenan isn't ever wrong, though!" retorted Kamaria, her tiredness translating into a slightly shorter temper than usual.

Kenan gave her a long, level look, and Kamaria chewed on her lip. "Um. Sorry."

"I'm canceling your lesson today," said Kenan firmly, standing up, "I'm off to the library and to see if I can find Jasen. Kamaria, go spend time with Sitara, either that or get some sleep."

Kamaria stood up hastily and handed him the blanket, clumsily folded. "See you tomorrow, then?" she said, tentatively.

Kenan smiled at her. "Or this afternoon, depending on whether I find anything and your current proximity to our newest Trainee. Good luck with her, by the way."

The redhead and his Companion wandered off in one direction. Kamaria looked at Sitara, who still was studying the river intently.

"Um," said Kamaria, and completely failed to think of anything else to say.

:Just say it and we can pretend it was tactful: said Sitara, staring resolutely away from Kamaria, :Or, you know what, we can just pretend this never happened.:

Kamaria cleared her throat uncomfortably. "I think that's the way to go, actually," she said, acutely aware that her face was brighter than Lirite's Scarlets, "So…uh…can you give me a lift to wherever Lani is?"

A few minutes light trot brought Trainee and Companion to where Lani was braiding Meira's mane, both of them lying in the grass where a few daisies were poking through. It was, Kamaria reflected, the very image of the 'Chosen doting upon their Companion rather sickeningly' cliché; however, as she had done the same thing with Sitara more than once, she supposed she had no real right to presume such things.

Sitara wandered off on her own business, the 'business' in question being either a late breakfast or an early lunch or both, and Kamaria dropped down to sit in the grass. She regretted it slightly as the dew soaked into her trousers; Lani had sensibly worn the heavier ones, but Kamaria had chosen the rather lighter type.

"That was a short lesson," said Lani, not looking up from Meira.

Kamaria plucked a few daisies and started fashioning them into a chain. "I told Kenan about my dream," she replied, "And-well, there's complications with my Gift, apparently, and he went off to go research it."

"Oh," said Lani, and fell silent for a moment. Then she looked up, almost shyly. "So…um…you're lifebonded?"

Kamaria's lips twitched in a smile. "Yes," she said, "It's been-" she paused, and blinked in surprise. "Gods, it's been over a year now."

"What's he like?" asked Lani, with an odd wistfulness to her tone.

Kamaria shot a look at Meira, wanting to see the Companion's take on the situation. Meira opened her half-closed eyes and nodded, just a bit, at Kamaria.

She took it as encouragement. "Well, his name's Alain LaFiara," she said, giving the Clan name the slight lilt she had heard him say it with, "He was a member of one of the trading clans, but then he was Chosen. He's been here for three, four years now."

"How did you meet?" asked Lani, clearly rather impatient with Kamaria's roundabout way of telling the story.

Kamaria gave her an amused look and chuckled faintly. "Well…to begin with, my parents are nobles, and my mother insists on coming to Haven every few years. My family actually has a suite in the Palace; unfortunately, it's only large enough for my parents and one of us. I've got an older brother, three younger, and a little sister, but Sivan-the older brother-is in the Guard, so as the next eldest they decided to bring me to Court."

At this point, Kamaria sighed. "Back at home I was a bit of a loner; I didn't like, and still don't like, all the trappings of Court with all the gowns and husband-catching and nonsense. I'm not really scholarly, but since I didn't much like the female cousins my age, who were and are absolutely obsessed with husband hunting, not to mention clothes and jewelry and hair-" Kamaria gave an extravagant shudder, and Lani giggled. "Anyway, I spent a lot of time with Sivan, until he left, and my next youngest brother, Mandel. I was kind of aimless; I would go riding, mostly to avoid Mother, but-I don't know."

"Anyway, they brought me to Court, and that was an utter nightmare. I was lonelier than I had ever been-at least at home I had my siblings and the freedom to go riding when I wanted-so in my effort to avoid people, I started hanging about Companion's Field, and-well, actually, I developed a bit of a…well…a bit of a fixation on being Chosen. I think it was the combination of being lonely and bored, but I found myself hanging around Companion's Field every spare moment, sort of…well, lurking."

Lani stared at her, then looked down at Meira, then stared back at Kamaria again.

Kamaria chewed on her lip uncomfortably and glanced away. "I'm not…well, I'm not really proud of it. In retrospect, it was actually kind of stup-" she trailed off as a nose nudged her arm.

"Ramya?" Kamaria said in some surprise. It was indeed Alain's Companion behind her, looking obscurely amused for some reason. "Sorry, Lani," she added hastily, "This is Alain's Companion-I'll get back to you in a second."

:What is it: Kamaria asked, dropping into Mindspeech.

:Firstly, Alain says to warn you not to come in the usual door; some pranksters, probably Bardic, have poured oil everywhere and they haven't cleaned it up yet. He also says that Nessa told him she needs to see both of you after lunch, so you can take the opportunity to drop Lani at Healer's.:

"What?" said Kamaria aloud, incredulous. Ramya heaved a sigh.

:It's under the pretext of Heraldic Trainees needing a physical examination so they know how to best train you, as if Rhi couldn't just look at a person and tell you, but they really want to try and root out this trauma concerning men; Sitara said something about you already having a run-in with Jasen, and I think you'll agree we can't allow this to continue.:

"…oh," said Kamaria after a long moment, "All right." She shifted again, uncomfortably aware of the dew soaking into her breeches, and becoming aware that actually, the breeze was a bit cold when juxtaposed with wet trousers.

Ramya lay down behind Kamaria, providing an unexpected warm backrest. Kamaria blinked in surprise. "Thank you, Ramya," she said, a bit uncertainly, reaching back to scratch the mare's crest.

Ramya sighed happily. :Do carry on; this is quite interesting, you know!

At Lani's puzzled glance, Kamaria shrugged. "She's being nosy," she said in explanation, exerting a little pressure on Ramya's shoulder with her back, then relenting. "Anyway, one morning while I was lurking I ran into Alain and Ramya. We had a short chat, then I…er…I believe I ran away for some reason. I don't entirely recall why."

"But didn't you just know?" blurted Lani, before clapping a hand to her mouth and looking mortified.

Kamaria meditatively added another few daisies to her chain. "I didn't," she said, finally, "I was…drawn to him, yes, but not in a way I could identify, and, well, I'm known to be more than a bit thick where it comes to my own emotions. Or, well, I was. Not so much anymore." She smiled, softly. "Being lifebonded…clarifies things."

Lani looked rather wistful, but did not venture any further questions. After a pointed look from Meira, Kamaria said, "Look, I've got a few things I need to, er, clear up, so I'll just meet you at the warning bell for lunch at the fence, all right?"

"Mm," said Lani, her attention now almost entirely on Meira. Kamaria stood, waited for Ramya to stand, and wandered away with her lifebonded's Companion.

"Do you know what that was about?" Kamaria asked Ramya as soon as they were out of earshot.

Ramya shrugged, tossing her head. :Meira's doing her best to figure out what the trauma was, and she's trying a new angle by talking over your lifebond with Alain.:

"Oh," said Kamaria, "So, do you have any idea what I can do in the meantime?"

Ramya nudged Kamaria with her nose in a different direction from the one in which they'd been walking. :Weapons.: she said, firmly, :You're well enough, and since you were cut short with Kenan, you might as well.:

Kamaria sighed at this, but waved at Ramya as she altered her course and headed for the salle.

It was good to see Rhi up and about after his broken hip; the Weaponsmaster grinned as Kamaria entered the salle. "Couldn't avoid me forever, could you?" he said gleefully as he searched through the practice swords for the one Kamaria preferred to use. "Well, let's see what Kenan and Kiril taught you, then!"

He tossed Kamaria the practice-sword, and she dropped immediately into a guard position. "Kenan's faster than you," she said, making a note of where her year-mates were practicing around the salle, "Beware."

Rhi gave an evil chuckle. "But you're the one freshest out of Healer's, my dear." He hefted his practice sword. "Out of practice, hmm?"

"Well," retorted Kamaria, as Rhi lunged and she dodged, "I didn't spend my time lounging in bed nibbling grapes. No; I was developing-" she lunged, and had to dodge as Rhi swiped at her-"A strategy."

The banter subsided as Kamaria found her best grip on her sword. Rhi worked carefully with her for a few minutes, warming her up and making sure Healer's hadn't entirely destroyed her reflexes, before picking up the pace.

Kamaria, for her part, was doing her very best to try and strategize against Rhi. The frequent games of hinds and hounds had helped her a great deal; however, this was happening much, much faster than the games she had played with her father and Kenan.

Luckily, the weeks Kamaria had spent under Kenan's tutelage had not been in vain. Since Kenan was quite short and slender, he preferred to dodge rather than take a hit from someone bigger than he was, and Kamaria followed his example. Even the long-ago acrobatics lessons came in useful, as Rhi came in with an overarm blow and Kamaria surprised herself by executing a perfect one-handed tumble away from him.

Finally Rhi stopped the bout and nodded appreciatively. "Well done, Kamaria," he said, grinning, "Kenan's rubbing off on you, I see."

"Well, considering that my body type is closer to his than yours, I've been working on dodging," replied Kamaria, panting hard, but still on her feet.

"True, true. Well, enough of that. Pair up with Tara for a while. Oh, and Kamaria-" Rhi added as the Trainee turned-"Work with your left hand from now on."

The Weaponsmaster turned, and grinned as he heard a bitten-back curse in Nihon. Perhaps I should have a word with Kenan, he mused as he watched Edim using the staff against Jakob, I'm not entirely sure she knows what that actually means.

The warning bell for lunch found Kamaria drenched with sweat, waiting for Lani to come in from the Field. "What have you been doing?" asked the other Trainee with frank amazement, "Running the field?"

"Weapons," said Kamaria succinctly, wincing as her left hand cramped again. "Rhi's got me working with my left hand now, and considering I'm not long out of Healers', I'm only just barely up to it."

Lani stared at Kamaria, wide-eyed. "You were in Healers'? You were sick?"

Kamaria considered the truth, which was complicated, and settled for the answer that would take the least breath. "Yep. By the way, you need to drop by there after lunch so you can get examined, you know, to make sure you're fit for Weapons classes and such."

"Oh," said Lani, seeming to take this in stride, "Meira mentioned something about that."

Kamaria led them away from the usual entrance, remembering Alain's warning, and brought them in the back door, where she hastily handed Lani off to Vera, saying something about needing a bath and Lani needing to drop by Healer's. Vera had obviously been informed; she winked as Kamaria headed towards the baths.

Ah, the multitudes of uses for Companions, Kamaria mused as Tara handed her a towel in the bathing room, Transportation, protection, gossip…

Kamaria scrubbed quickly and nearly inhaled her lunch, remembering what Alain had said about them needing to see the Dean. Sure enough, as soon as she rose from her seat in the common room, Alain got up from his table and joined her on their way down.

"So, do you know what this is about?" asked Kamaria, as they clattered down the stairs, "More about our lifebond being unhealthy, or something?"

Alain groaned. "I hope not," he said in exasperation, "Fending off the ladies whenever we try and spend a few moments alone is bad enough."

"Ah, good, you're here," said Nessa, who came around the opposite corner just as Kamaria knocked at the door, "Sorry if I've kept you; I had to go find the Bardic Dean."

A burly man who looked more inclined to eat an instrument than play it rounded the corner after a moment, and gave both of them an amiable nod. "Name's Brien," he said, succinctly, "Though I guess you're supposed to call me Dean Brien, or something. Thanks for coming; we've got a bit of a pickle on our hands."

Kamaria and Alain exchanged glances as Nessa went into her office, muttered something under her breath, and spent a few minutes shifting papers so all four of them could sit.

The 'bit of a pickle' soon became apparent as Brien twiddled his fingers for a moment, then began to speak. "You lifebonded types can tell if someone else is lifebonded, right?" he asked.

Alain and Kamaria exchanged another glance. "I think we could," said Kamaria, and Alain added right after, "We haven't really had the opportunity or the need before."

The Bardic Dean sighed. "Right, so I've got a young bard named Ira. Very talented young chap; plays nine instruments, good voice, just made Journeyman. But-well, the general opinion is that he's been listening to too much of the Sunsinger and Shadowdancer cycle, or hearing too many legends about Vanyel, because he now believes himself lifebonded with a noble lad named, oh, what is it, Mandel, I think."

Kamaria's mouth fell open, and she emitted a squeak before saying, "He thinks-lifebonded-my brother?"

Brien looked at her in confusion. "Your brother?"

Alain picked up where Kamaria was left gaping and said, "Her brother Mandel's a Healer Trainee."

Brien shook his head. "Not him, then; he's not in any of the Collegia, not even a Blue. House, er, Penerith."

Kamaria sighed in relief. "Oh, you mean Mandar Penerith," she said gratefully, "I've met him."

Brien shrugged. "Mandel, Mandar, similar enough. Right. What's worse, Ira's managed to wangle Mandar into believing he's lifebonded too, or they decided it together, and his parents aren't exactly pleased. They're trying to arrange a marriage for him; he's heir of his house."

Kamaria was still limp with relief, so it was left to Alain to say, "Go on."

The Bardic Dean sighed. "Well, to summarize, Mandar's parents are dead against this, and Ira's music has been suffering. I hate seeing talent go to waste, and frankly, I'm not at all sure they're even lifebonded. So since we don't have Companions to go check-" both Kamaria and Alain shifted a bit in their seats-"We'd like you two to determine whether or not they're actually, er, bonded."

Kamaria looked at Alain. :Think we could manage it? she asked him, hardly aware that she had slipped into Mindspeech.

Alain shrugged. :We're supposed to be able to tell.: he pointed out, :I guess it's one of the things we're just supposed to…you know, know.:

Kamaria sighed. :Maybe I could use Farsight on them: she said, without much hope, :Does it show up on Othersight?

:I don't know, something to ask Kenan.:

:Or Jasen.:

:Or you could ask a Healer when you go to pick up Lani.:

"That's a good idea," said Kamaria aloud, and was greeted with a confused look from Brien and a slightly less confused look from Nessa. She turned to look at the Dean. "How long was Lani's examination supposed to take?"

Nessa checked the time-candle. "Well, if she's there now, probably another half-candlemark or so. We've got a good Mindhealer who'll be asking her questions while examining her, apparently at random; hopefully it will work."

Kamaria had a sudden alarming thought. "This Mindhealer is a woman, right?" she asked, anxiously.

Nessa gave Kamaria a look that said, clearly as words, How stupid do you think I am?

"They meet every night in the Rose Garden," said Brien, "I suppose they think it's well hidden."

"I thought the Peneriths lived in the city, though," said Kamaria, in confusion.

Brien waved a hand impatiently. "The Rose Garden, the tavern the Rose Garden," he said, hastily, "After dinner."

Alain and Kamaria both turned to look at Nessa, who sighed. "Do either of you know where it is?"

Alain nodded promptly. Nessa grabbed a piece of parchment and started scribbling on it. "Right, the two of you hereby have permission for tonight only to go into the city and find the pair of them in the Rose Garden. Kamaria, you say you know Mandar?" Without waiting for an answer, Nessa signed the paper with a flourish and pushed it over the desk. "Don't wear Grays, and actually, Kamaria, wear a hat. Ride your Companions but walk from a street away or so; don't take any weapons, they'll be able to get you out of trouble, if there is trouble."

Brien coughed. "Erm, there is one thing worth mentioning," he said, awkwardly, "Uh…the Rose Garden is a tavern primarily for…well…men."

Kamaria and Alain both gave him blank looks. Brien shifted in his seat, sighed, then said bluntly, "Shaych men."

All eyes turned to Kamaria. She sighed heavily. "I suppose it's a good thing I don't have much figure," she said, resignedly, "I don't think I have any boy's clothes, though."

"Don't worry," Alain assured her, "You can wear mine."

Next chapter: Adventure of the Crossdressing Kamaria! Although I sincerely doubt I shall actually call it that, unless of course you, my dear readers, clamor for that title instead.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I shall begin work on the next one pronto! I think I'll have rather a lot of fun writing it, actually...