Author Note:
Sorry it's a little later on Monday than I would have liked, but I had to work this morning and this is my favorite chapter, so I wanted it proof read and perfect for everyone. It's also Christmas Eve! YAY! Anyway, Merry Christmas. Consider this my present to all of you.

Anonymous Review Responses:
Me- Thanks. I'll go back and look it over later. I'm glad you liked Neal's part.

Wolf – Thank you. I hope you continue to enjoy.

-7-
Second Year

Inara had been home for a month when her parents announced they would be taking a trip to Masbolle. Apparently, Dominic really wanted to see his cousin Inara and both Neal and Kel thought it would be good for Corin and Inara to practice together and keep their skills at the level Lord Padraig expected. Several days and way houses later, Inara dismounted Hikari in her aunt and uncle's main courtyard. Two hostlers came to lead the horses away, while a young boy and his older brother came out into the yard. The smaller of the two ran, while the taller walked slowly, hands in his pockets. The small eight-year-old thrust his arms around Inara's waist.

"Hey Dommie," Inara teased him hugging him back and rustling his hair.

"It's Dom now!" the boy said indignantly. "I'm going to be ten in two years." Inara nodded and released him.

"Was your ride pleasant, Uncle Neal? Aunt Yuki?" Corin asked. He smiled at his cousin. Inara smiled back.

"Very pleasant indeed, Corin," Yuki replied. Corin nodded.

"Ma and Da are out on patrol with the men-at-arms. I'm supposed to show you to your rooms."

"Let me do it!" Dominic demanded. Corin rolled his eyes and was about to refuse the child but Neal cut him off.

"Alright, lad; you can show us," he told him, winking at Corin. He and Yuki followed the boy inside, leaving Corin and Inara alone in the courtyard. They stared at each other for a few moments, before Inara smirked and drew her sword. She had it in the guard position before Corin could even copy her. He swung his blade up to meet hers. As soon as he was ready, Inara began a pattern. Corin blocked each of her strikes, and parried with his own attacks.

"You're faster," Inara told him.

"No harness," he replied casually.

"Probably not the best idea you've ever had." She paused to block one of his strikes. "You're going to be feeling it when we're back at the palace." Corin shrugged in response, but continued to guard against her. They went at it for a good twenty minutes, neither gaining the upper hand. Corin was definitely much faster than he usually was. Inara grinned, finally seeing an opening in his defenses and took it. Metal flashed against metal, and Corin's blade went flying, landing point down in the dirt two yards away. Both pages panted as Inara laid her sword's point at her cousin's throat. The court yard suddenly erupted into applause from the watching men-at-arms, startling both pages out of their trance.

"Uh-oh," Corin muttered as he spotted his mother and father watching him. They had just gotten back and were dismounting, handing off their horses. His father wore a grin, but his mother did not look the least bit pleased. Inara turned to see what her cousin was watching.

"How much trouble are we in?" she muttered to her cousin.

"A lot," Sir Nealan had come up behind them. Yuki was standing by the house, holding Dominic back with her arms so he wouldn't run toward his brother and cousin and likely get hurt. Apparently Inara's parents had been watching for a while but Neal didn't interrupt them for fear of causing an accident.

"Alright men, nothing to see here," Lord Domitan suddenly said, using his former commanding sergeant voice. The men-at-arms began to disburse as Neal and Kel walked toward the two pages, Neal picking up Corin's sword as they went. "Come, we'd best leave them in the hands of those who know best," Dom said quickly to Yuki, who nodded and let him guide her and Dominic inside.

"But I want to watch Corin get in trouble," the boy whined. Dom slapped a hand over his mouth and carried him into the fief. Kel and Neal watched them go over their shoulders. The two pages did as well, longing to be with them.

"So, who wants to explain what you thought you were doing?" Kel asked them. She held her hand out to Neal who laid Corin's blade in her palm. She studied it, and Corin wondered if she was actually going to give it back to him. Finally she handed it over, and Corin slid it into his scabbard at his waist. Inara's hung in her hand as she stared at her feet. "No answer?"

"I wanted to see if I'd forgotten anything," Inara muttered just barely loud enough to be heard.

"You wanted to see if you'd forgotten anything?" her father mimicked. He threw his arms in the air and began pacing as he usually did when upset, angry, or worried. "Kel, do you believe her! Of course she forgot something! She forgot it was a stupid idea to fight with blades when there was no one else present. What would have happened one of you had gotten hurt?"

Inara looked at him and then back down at her feet. Kel couldn't decide if she should remain glaring at the pages or if she should laugh at the dramatics Neal was putting on. "I'm sorry," Inara muttered.

"Sorry," Neal repeated. "Could have had her head chopped off and would have expected me to glue it back on; doesn't think sometimes." By that point, even Kel had lost interest in him and turned back to the pages.

"Corin?"

"I shouldn't have done it, Ma. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"No, you weren't," she paused. "You won't do something like that again? Not while you're here; at least not without me or your Da or Uncle Neal to monitor?"

"No ma'am," both pages replied.

"Fine then," she told them. "Go inside and wash up," she added. "Oh, and Corin?"

"Yes Ma?" Both pages paused.

"You didn't let Inara win?" she asked, smiling at him. Corin grinned at his cousin and shook his head.

"She's one of the best, Ma," he added, laying a hand on Inara's shoulder.

"I'm not that good," she replied.

"Yes you are," both Corin and Lady Keladry told her. Inara smiled and allowed her cousin to lead her inside, leaving Kel alone with her best friend.

"They're gone," Kel told him. Neal finally stopped pacing and looked around.

"You let them get away?" he asked her, glaring. Kel just laughed at him.

"Come on Sir Meathead. It's time to wash up for supper."

A few days later, Inara sat on the ground in front of a bench in the court yard with her father. Neal had decided to teach her a few ways to care for a wound without magic and was having her practice on him.

"That's right. Make sure it's tight enough. You need to make it so it stops the bleeding," Neal told the girl as she put a fresh bandage over the non existent wound on his arm. Inara followed his directions exactly.

"I just don't see how this could help," Inara argued with him. She hated lessons like this. It made her long for the power the rest of her family possessed.

"Trust me, it'll help," a female voice told her. Kel walked into the court yard and took a seat on the bench beside Neal. She looked over the bandage. "Your papa saved a page with something like this when were kids," she told the girl.

"Merric," Neal muttered, remembering. "Mithros, I feel old," he added with a laugh. "You were twelve," he told Kel.

"And you were seventeen," she reminded him. "You were old then," she laughed.

"You didn't think I was," he told her. Kel was about to retort, but she paused and stared at him.

"What?"

"Inara has a question for you," he told her, a smirk on his lips. He swept a hand through his hair which he wore loose on his shoulders at the moment. "But you have to answer honestly. It's important," he added.

"Papa," Inara whined.

"I'll answer truthfully."

"Will I need your headband?" he went on ignoring his daughter. Kel glared at him. "Alright then; Inara, ask your aunt about what we discussed the day we left the palace." Inara sighed, not really sure she liked being in the middle of her father's scheme.

"Papa says… well, I think he's crazy. I told him he was. Who was the first person you had a crush on when you were younger?"

Kel's eyes widened when her niece finally spit out the question. She looked from Inara to Neal. "Where did you come up with that question?"

"Papa says that I'm surrounded by too many boys, and that I like Evan. But I can't. I'm too young, and I can't have a crush on Evan, he's my sponsor."

"That wasn't an answer, Keladry," Neal interrupted.

"I-," Kel looked right back at him and noticed his smirk had turned into a full fledged smile. By not answering, Kel had confirmed exactly what Neal had suspected for the last month, ever since he'd seen Evan with Inara.

"Spit it out," Neal teased.

"Inara," Kel told the girl. "Your father may be delusional most of the time, but for once, what he told you is probably right. But I was a little kid then. I didn't know what I was thinking." She directed the last part more at her best friend.

"You really liked Papa? You got all giggly over him?"

"No," Kel answered. She wasn't looking at Inara, but at Neal who was near hysterical laughter. "I never got giggly. I'll tell you later. Right now, I need to talk to your father alone," Kel told her. Inara shrugged and walked inside. She had barely gone through the arch way entrance when Corin grabbed her shoulder and put a hand over her mouth and motioned for her to be quiet. She nodded and he released her, pulling her into the corner where they could watch the adults.

"Are you done yet?" Kel asked Neal when he stopped laughing for a second. He took one look at her face and burst into laughter again, tears streaming down his face. "I WAS TWELVE!"

"You were," Neal agreed, laughing still. He slowly got himself under control. "I'm sorry. Really," he told her. Kel turned her back on him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Come on, Kel. You have to admit it's funny."

"I don't think it's that funny, Nealan!"

"Ok, well, if I'd known then it wouldn't have been funny. But now it's hysterical."

"What do you mean, 'if you'd known then'? When did you find out?" Kel turned back, leaning on one arm as she faced him.

"For sure?" he asked her, still smiling. "Just now," he told her. "I kind of guessed when I started teasing Inara about Evan." He paused and saw that Kel was frowning. "Did you really think I've always known? Kel, I was a teenager. I wasn't paying any attention to anyone younger than me, at least not in that way."

"You really had no idea?"

"Knight's honor; Mithros, you must have thought I was a real jerk; here you were with feelings for me, and I… who was it that I was pinning after at that point?"

"Uline of Hannalof," Kel told him scornfully.

"Uline?" Neal stared at her, wondering exactly how she remembered that, when he couldn't. "Oh, right. She was pretty. And older than me," he laughed.

"You really do find this funny, don't you?" Kel growled at him, although she did have a small smile on her lips. Neal just nodded. "Ok, so it is a little funny."

"Kel, it's a lot funny," Neal told her. "Please tell me you gave it up? You didn't marry Dom because you couldn't have me."

"You're too full of yourself, Sir Nealan of Queenscove. If you remember, you were the only one who would speak to me for several months. You were the first person at the palace to actually show me kindness. It's not a surprise I equated our friendship to actual feelings."

"Tell me Kel," he laughed.

"No, I don't. I still liked you when we became squires, but when I saw you next, nothing."

"You fell out of love that fast?" he pouted. Kel grinned. "Ok, well, considering that's when you met Dom, I'll let it slide."

"You'll let it slide, will you?" Kel teased him, getting up.

"Yes, yes. I can understand how someone as young as you could confuse the mere good looks of my cousin for the supreme glory that is my radiance," he told her laughing. Kel glared at him and pushed him backwards. Neal fell rather ungracefully onto the ground behind the bench, still laughing as Kel stomped off. "Did you dream of gazing into my eyes, lovingly? Or perhaps you shuddered at my touch," he called after her. "Did you wish to run your fingers through my hair?"

"Shut it Nealan!" Kel yelled back at him.

"Oh Kel! Beloved Kel," Neal called back, before submitting to hysterics, still lying on the ground on his back.

Inara and Corin burst out laughing at the two adults but had to cover their mouths as they ran into the fief, so as not to alert Neal to their presence. Not that he would have noticed anything at that moment.

"My ma and your Da; that would have been interesting," Corin told her when they were safe in his bedchamber.

"Interesting, but you and I wouldn't be here," she reminded him. "I never imagined it though," Inara laughed. "Aunt Kel's not really angry at him, is she?"

"Ma? No way. I bet you she's telling Da right now." Corin laughed. "Wow! Poor Ma. Although, I can understand why Uncle Neal is laughing."

"Remind of this if I start getting all girly over some boy," Inara ordered him.

"It's a promise," Corin answered, as both of them started laughing again.

A week passed before Neal could look at Kel without laughing hysterically. Corin was wrong about Keladry telling Domitan. Every time Neal started laughing, he and Yuki looked confused, and Kel would glare at her friend and march off. One night at supper, after they'd gotten Neal to stop laughing a messenger arrived from Corus. The Odocoileus had returned in large numbers to areas of Tortall along the northern boarder. The royal command had come for Lady Knight Keladry of Masbolle to ride as soon as possible to Fort New Hope and take command until Lord Raoul arrived at Fort Steadfast to decide exactly where to place her. The messenger also carried a message for Sir Nealan of Queenscove. He was to accompany Lady Keladry and once again serve as the chief healer at New Hope, now a fort instead of a refugee camp. However, even if Lord Raoul placed Keladry elsewhere, Neal was to remain at New Hope and serve whoever commanded there.

Throughout the realm, similar messages were being conveyed to knights. Corin and Inara accepted it as the price to pay for having parents on active duty. They knew that in the not so distant future, they too would be called to the aid of others. Only Dominic complained at the idea of his ma leaving him. He was still angry about her injuries from the past winter and had since then adamantly refused to enter page training when he was old enough. Kel finally calmed him while Neal packed their things. The two knights left the next morning.

Two days after their departure, Inara and Corin entered the courtyard after going down to the town for the day. They found two more horses than there should have been. The two pages immediately ran into the fief, searching for signs of the owners of the horses. They found Dominic leaning his ear against the closed sitting room doors. The boy motioned them closer to him. Corin and Inara pressed their ears to the wood.

"Dom! Don't give me that! You know just as well as I do that your talents are wasted here. The Own needs you! I need you!" The voice belonged to Lord Sir Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak. He sounded upset.

"Sir," Dom replied, his voice even. "My family needs me here."

"Your family? Dom, your wife is out there fighting for your family and I know you want to be too."

"It doesn't matter what I want," Dom hissed.

"Dom, don't." That voice was Yuki. Inara realized her mother was inside as well. Dom seemed to collect himself.

"My lord," he paused. "I knew what I was doing when I married Kel. Only the commander can marry and stay in the Own. That's the law."

"I don't care what the gods blasted law say, Domitan. You were my best sergeant. Please! Serve under me, just until we've got the Odocoileus under control. You won't officially be in the Own."

"Haven't you already disobeyed the King enough for a while?" Dom asked. "Besides, if I wasn't officially in the Own, who would be responsible if I did something stupid?"

"That's a weak argument, Masbolle."

"I'm running out of them, my lord," Corin heard his father confess. He sighed and took Dominic by the arm. The boy cried out quietly that he didn't want to go, but he couldn't prevent his brother from leading him away. Inara watched him go before turning back to the sitting room door.

"So, you'll come?" Raoul's voice was pleading.

"I don't know. With Kel and Neal gone, I was supposed to bring Corin and Inara back to the palace," Dom explained.

"I'll ask two or three of the men-at-arms to escort them," Yuki told him.

"But what about Dominic?"

"I'm not going anywhere, Domitan," Inara's mother reminded him. "The steward can stay at Queenscove a while longer."

"I guess that I've run out of excuses. When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow at dawn," Lord Raoul replied.

"I'll come back to the inn with you tonight, but I insist you both stay for supper," Dom replied. Lord Raoul laughed.

"Fine, fine! Squire! Inform one of Lord Domitan's messengers to go to town and tell third company that we'll be joining him after supper."

Inara heard footsteps and jumped backward as the door flung open. She didn't move quickly enough and Jasson spotted her trying to hide in the shadows. He glanced at her as he closed the door once again and started walking. Inara fell into step beside him.

"You heard?"

"Yes," she admitted.

"Corin?"

"He knows. He took Dominic away. They'll be fine. Uncle Dom need's to do this," she replied. Jasson nodded; his mouth tight in a grim line. "And you?"

"I'm scared. I keep remembering Port Legann and when the Odocoileus came to Corus. I saw the boy's head," Jasson confessed. Inara always thought he knew more than he had let on.

"Lord Raoul will protect you," she assured him. "And you're able to fight back. You're not helpless, Prince Jasson."

"When did you start calling me Prince?" She didn't answer. She'd figured he was a squire and so much older than she was. "It's Jase, from now on, alright?"

"Alright."

"Take care of yourself, alright pup?" he told her. Inara nodded this time. "And the others. They need you to."

"I know," she replied, leaving him at the entrance to the courtyard. "I'd better go help Mama with supper preparations," she added as she walked off. She wouldn't admit she was scared of Jasson going north to fight the immortals that had nearly killed her aunt, just as she wouldn't admit she was scared for her papa, her aunt, and now her uncle.

Two weeks later Inara entered her room at the palace about two bells before supper and shut the door to start her unpacking in private. She would join her friends when the time came. She gazed around her room, taking in the familiar surroundings as her eyes fell on a package on her desk. Inara grinned and went to it, pulling the note off the top.

Page Inara of Queenscove,

You were already gone before we could congratulate you on your little examinations. This might not help with the training, but it'll certainly help you become you. Goddess bless, Lady Page.

Lady Knights Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau, Keladry of Masbolle, and Norina of Heath

p.s. – your mama gave us your measurements

Inara opened the package and pulled out a silk garment. The gown was sage green with pale yellow trim. It was a cross between a Yamani kimono and at Tortall gown, and Inara loved it immediately. It made the perfect statement. Underneath the dress was a pair of sage green slippers and gold hair piece. Smiling, she laid the whole thing on her bed, and tucked the note in her box. She couldn't write a thank you note – the last time she did, at Midwinter, it had come back to her unopened. Her mentors weren't going to accept any thanks except her shield. She would thank them that way. Inara went back to unpacking before changing into the new dress for supper.

When the supper bell rang, she stepped out of her room and shut the door, looking up and down the hall. She stood in front of her door for a few moments, surveying the hall.

"You don't have to stand there you know?" Evan's voice reached her from behind. She spun and threw her arms around her neck. She had to stand on her very tip toes. "I take it you missed me?"

"Only a little," she laughed.

"Evan's got a girlfriend," a familiar voice taunted from behind her again. Benton and Sam stood side by side, laughing. Evan turned beat red.

"If he does, he didn't tell me," Inara joked, turning to her other friends.

"Wow! It's the pup!" Sam laughed. Apparently he and Benton hadn't recognized her from behind with her long hair loose down her back, and wearing her new gown.

"She's turned into a girl," Benton added, as she hugged them both. They were silly, but they were her year mates.

"Last time I checked, Inara's always been a girl," Yancy told them. Corin and Asten were behind him. "Nice dress, pup."

"Thank you," she replied, as he led the way down the hall to fall into step with Lord Padraig.

"Time to choose sponsors," Asten told her, slinging an arm over her shoulder. "Oh, I'm sorry; did I muss her ladyship's hair?"

"Oh yes; how dare you," she laughed, putting her own arm around his waist. "I missed you people."

"And our man smells?"

"Yes, Benton; and your man smells," she agreed.

"Well, that looks like a sad bunch. I think I'll take on another first year," Corin told the group when they could see the shy looking first years.

"In that case, I'd better not," Sam laughed.

"And why's that?" Corin asked his former first year.

"Because the kid you choose to sponsor is going to need protection," Sam explained.

"Come on! I'm a great sponsor. You turned out fine and you didn't have protection," Corin argued back. Yancy, Evan, and Asten all started whistling. "Hey!"

There were five first years to be chosen. Despite protests from his friends, Corin remained true to his word - as did Sam – and he decided to sponsor Nicholas of King's Reach. The group, Nicholas now in tow, followed the rest of the pages into the mess hall they shared with the squires. Inara looked at the squires tables. She knew Jasson was up north, but Seth and Tobeis were missing as well.

"All free knights have been called up north," Evan told her, when they took seats. "Seth's still in the south. The Odocoileus are gathering there too." Sam and Corin sat on either side of Nicholas when the rest of their group took seats.

"Where's your dad?"

"Fort New Hope. He's under Lady Keladry's command," Evan replied. Inara opened her mouth to ask something else, but he shook his head. "I'll tell you later," he promised. She shut her mouth and nodded.

"If I might interrupt your conversation," Corin laughed. "I know it must be incredibly important, but I have a new boy to introduce," he added. Inara rolled her eyes.

"Masbolle, I thought it was my papa who was the overdramatic one," she told him. Corin glared at her.

"As I was saying, Nicholas of King's Reach, this is Yancy of Nond, Evan of Jesslaw, my cousin Inara of Queenscove," he started.

"She's a page?" the younger boy stated. All the boys except Corin immediately glared at him. Inara sighed and rolled her eyes again.

"Yes, I'm a page," she spoke. "And I don't take kindly to stupid boys."

"I meant no disrespect," Nicholas told her. "My Pa went through training with a girl. Said she was one of the best; saved his life. I was just surprised is all," he added.

"Alright then," Inara smiled.

"If I might continue?"

"Is he always like this?" Nicholas whispered to Sam, who nodded vigorously.

"The world is against me!" Corin groaned, as everyone else laughed.

Inara spent the evening alone practicing some exercises in her room. She went to sleep early and woke even earlier. Lidia welcomed her back that morning with an extra warm bath and a brand new leather harness with two pounds of weights attached. Evan came by her room shortly after the first bell after dawn to find her staring at it and testing its weight in her hands.

"It's worse when you're actually wearing it," Evan told her from her open doorway. "Can I come in?"

"Of course," Inara laughed, still holding the harness. "Is it as bad as Corin and Asten made it out to be?"

"Only if you take it off," Evan told her. "The only time you should is for bathing and sleeping."

"You're kidding," Inara exclaimed.

Evan shook his head. "I've worn mine every day since I put it on two years ago." Inara frowned disbelieving until Evan pushed his tunic sleeve off his shoulder so she could see the harness underneath. "Wear it over you shirt, otherwise it'll chafe your skin. And then it really hurts," he told her.

"Wonderful," she told him, pulling off her tunic. "Help me with this?"

"What are you doing?"

"Might as well get a jump on Hakim, Sam, and Benton," she laughed. Evan nodded and grinned, holding up the harness and showing her how to buckle it on. "Oh Mithros, Asten was right. They're trying to kill us," she told Evan as she pulled her tunic back on over her shirt and harness.

"Don't complain in front of the others; they'll catch on to you," Evan advised her. Inara laughed and sat down in the window seat.

"You promised you'd tell me later," she told him. Evan nodded and sat down on the end of her bed, across from her.

"Well, I got home and no one was there. Mother took my sisters to Cavall for a few weeks. My dad was off somewhere else. He wouldn't tell me where. But for about a week, I had the whole fief to myself, save the servants and my grandfather. He's really old, so he never leaves his room."

"Evan," Inara interrupted. "You're stalling."

"Sorry," he muttered. "Anyway, when dad came home, I asked to speak to him. Of course I had to wait until he'd finished his evening lesson with Tobe, but he did finally allow me into the sitting room. Tobe was there, but he left when he saw me. I guess he figure out I wanted to talk to dad alone.

"I guess it took me a while to explain everything. I told him that it was embarrassing that no one realized Owen of Jesslaw had a son. He claimed he'd never kept me secret. Everything I said, he basically denied," Evan told her. "I don't think he realized he did any of it. I don't think his ignoring me was intentional," Evan added, when she opened her mouth. "I know he does love me. He just wishes I was a girl."

"So, what happened?"

"We spent a week together. He invited me to share lessons with him and Tobe, and sometimes it was just me and him. A week later the attention faded again and by the time he left on royal orders about two weeks after he'd gotten home, we were back to square one."

"That's not fair, Evan," Inara told him, jumping to her feet.

"Pup, relax. I tried. Dad just doesn't get it. I understand a bit better now," Evan told her. "It's not me. Tobe says he sometimes talks to him like he was Lady Kel. Dad just really likes the idea of lady knights. Maybe he'll ask you to be his next squire."

"I won't accept," Inara told him. "I couldn't. Not when he treats you like he does. Boy or no."

"Maybe I should put on a dress, huh pup?"

"Don't you dare," she replied. Evan was staring at his feet. "You listen to me, Evan of Jesslaw. You're a talented page and a wonderful young man. You're going to make your whole family proud when you get that shield, and then it won't matter in the least what that old man thinks of you," she told him.

"You've got to let this go now, Inara," Evan replied. "I tried talking to him, just like I promised," he added. Inara frowned but one look from Evan and she nodded her head. "Good. Let's go find Corin, Sam, and Nick. I think the poor kid may need more help than Tirragen can provide."

"I think you might be right."

Inara fell into the normal routine of training and classes. She was much more tired than she'd been last year, but she knew it was because of the two pound weights settled on her chest. Her one day head start on her year mates kept her a little less tired then them for about a week before they were all once again at the same place. However, Evan's advice was beginning to pay off. She barely ever took the harness off.

By the time October came around Inara felt like she could follow her routine in her sleep. In fact, sometimes she actually did. The only thing that didn't seem to change was Gilyith and his treatment of her. Every chance he got, he made a crack about her heritage or sex. His friends seemed to grow back bones of their own. However, they never made comments to her. Instead, Inara found out, after Evan had gone missing for an entire afternoon that they chose to make their insults in front of her friends. She had tried pleading with her friends, but the one thing they wouldn't listen to her about was the need to defend her honor. "I know it's not true. You know it's not true. That's all that's needed," she'd told them. Only Yancy had an answer for her.

"You may have resigned yourself to living with your reputation being dragged through the gutter, but we haven't. Part of being a knight is protecting those who need protection and there is no rule exempting other knights. When I have my shield I'm not going to feel guilty when I help protect someone's honor because there was a girl in my past that I didn't stand up for. I'm sure our other friends will agree with me."

She accepted his words, touched at how much her friends cared about her. But it didn't make her any less angry when they ended up in the infirmary because of her.

And now, she thought as she made her way to the healer's wing, they'd gotten Nick involved. Inara sighed and walked into the main office.

"Page Inara," the young clerk smiled when she saw her. "It's a pleasure to see you in one piece," she laughed. Inara smiled back and nodded. Her grandfather's new clerk was used to her comings and goings. So far, she hadn't made her own forced visit to the healer, and was actually quite glad. She just wished she could have avoided the infirmary all together. Instead, she now walked through the door then lead to the treatment area.

"Inara!" Nick called out to her when he saw her. He was sitting on the edge of one of the beds, leaning around Duke Baird who, if he was free, saw to all of her friends. Sam lay on the bed beside him, and Asten was in a chair, his arm in a sling.

"What did you fools do now?" Inara complained, as she walked closer.

"You told us not to tell you anymore," Asten told her. Inara shook her head and draped her arms around his neck, hugging him.

"You're all way too sweet for your own good," she told him. "So, broken arm?"

"Sprain. Duke Baird said it'll be fine by tomorrow," he informed her. Inara sighed and went to Sam's bed.

"And you? What happened?"

"Nothing. I felt like taking a nap," Sam replied.

"Thorville knocked him out," Nick told her. Inara glared at her year mate who gave her a grin back.

"What about Nick?" she turned on the first year. "You're not supposed to help them," she told him.

"Inara, leave the boys be; it's their choice," he grandfather told her. Inara looked at him and shook her head.

"It shouldn't be. I never asked for help. I don't…"

"You didn't ask. We volunteered it, pup. Just accept it and say thank you," Asten told her. Inara sighed and turned back to her grandfather.

"Leave this one with a black eye. I want him to understand what happens when he defends my honor," Inara said, pointing to Nick. The boy appeared to have a few broken fingers in addition to his black eye. Duke Baird smiled and nodded. Nick stuck his tongue out at her, while she took a seat on Sam's bed.

"How many?" she asked when Duke Baird left them alone.

"Thorville, Lorrence, Hakim, and the new boys Edmond of Disart and Arwin of Stonegate," Sam listed for her. "Don't worry. Asten gave Lorrence a couple of broken ribs, and Nick here blackened both Edmond's eyes. Lord Padraig sent him to his grace to have one healed so he could actually see."

"And you?" she asked him. Sam just grinned wickedly.

"Hakim and Arwin just left."

"I will never understand you boys," she told them.

"You don't need to," Asten replied. "In fact, you shouldn't."

"Right, because boys being a mystery is a good thing."

"Would you want a boy who wasn't at least a partial mystery? That's all in the allure," the older boy told her. Inara looked taken back for a few moments.

"I don't want a boy," she told him. "I'm eleven!"

Asten just shook his head and changed the subject to finding out what they'd missed in history and etiquette, the two classes their little "tumble" had caused them to be excused from. Inara stayed with them until Duke Baird told them they could leave. Sam had to come by the next day and make sure he didn't have a concussion, but otherwise, everything was fine.

"And Corin said I had the hard head. That's the second time you've been knocked out," Inara laughed at Sam as they left. He slung his arm over her shoulder.

"What can I say? If I wasn't crazy before, I probably am now."

Lord Padraig switched the pages to tilting and fencing at the beginning of November. Inara was relieved to be away from staff fighting. She preferred using her sword over the long, heavy wooden stick. However, she was incredibly shocked, when Lord Padraig asked Inara to pair with Gilyith to demonstrate for the first years.

Nervously, Inara stepped toward her training master as Gilyith did the same. She hadn't faced the older boy in any type of physical confrontation since he'd fallen in the water a little less than a year before. It didn't matter that Lord Padraig and Sir Zahir were present. She didn't like the idea. Both pages bowed to their instructors and then to each other.

"Queenscove, Striking; Marti's Hill, defending," Lord Padraig bellowed. Inara let out a sigh of relief as she took her stance. "High strike, high block," he ordered. The pages instantly obeyed. They did it a few more times before he switched them to middle and low combinations. Only when Lord Padraig felt confident that the first years understood did he turn the older pages over to Sir Zahir.

"Queenscove, you'll continue with Marti's Hill," the knight told them, as he paired up the rest. Inara bit her lip and nodded, before focusing her entire attention on the boy in front of her. He sneered.

"What's the matter half-breed? Afraid of getting hurt?" he snapped once their instructor was out of hearing. Inara doubted the older man would have cared.

"No," she replied, continuing the drill. Three highs, three middle, and three low.

"Aww; not in a talkative mood? I thought all sluts loved to gossip," he remarked, trying to make her angry. Inara just glared a bit deeper, but she didn't hesitate in her moves, nor did she change pattern. It wasn't necessary to reply. She'd been taught to fight clean and fair, not throw the customary insults back and fourth. She was a lady, she didn't have to talk with a nasty mouth. "You shouldn't be here. You and your people," he hissed. "I shouldn't have to waste time or breath on you."

"Then shut up," Inara replied, keeping her cool.

"You keep getting your friends in trouble, you know?"

"I don't do anything." She paused, defending herself against his blade. "They made up their own minds."

"You can't deny it. They wouldn't get into fights if it weren't for you."

"I think it's you and your friends that are getting them into trouble."

"You can think whatever you want, whore. We both know the truth," he answered, sending his blade into a high strike when they were supposed to be on a low. Inara immediately brought her blade up to meet his. His trick would have worked on the first years, and maybe even Benton or Hakim, but Gilyith should have known he couldn't get past her that simply. The taller boy withdrew his blade and settled back into the pattern as if nothing had happened. Inara let him believe she thought he'd made a mistake, but she narrowed her gaze so that he was the only thing she saw. If he tried again, she would be ready for him.

She didn't have to wait long. However, his next attempt wasn't preceded by an insult. This time he fully deviated from the drill. He swept his blade at her in a new pattern. Inara just barely defended each blow. She refused to strike back, but defended herself until she was forced to step out of line. In the corner of her eye she saw Sir Zahir with his back turned, correcting Asten, who really didn't need correcting. She knew he probably saw what Gilyith was doing and had decided to ignore it. She wasn't going to get any help from him and if she gave in to Gilyith, she knew he'd probably spin it so that Lord Padraig thought she'd been at fault.

It was Benton and Corin, who were paired together, who saw the problem first and Corin who asked Lord Padraig to help him with his stance.

"Masbolle, I'm busy with the first years. Sir Zahir is perfectly…" he broke off as he turned and saw Gilyith backing Inara out of the line. He suddenly forgot what he was saying and strode over to them. "Marti's Hill! I do not believe I or Sir Zahir called for a free style duel?"

The older page immediately stopped what he was doing. He looked at the training master and bowed. "I'm sorry, my lord. Inara's a good fencer and I thought we might try something a bit more difficult," he replied.

"Queenscove didn't seem very receptive to your advances, Marti's Hill," Lord Padraig replied. Sir Zahir came up behind him.

"What happened here, my lord?" he asked. Inara resisted the urge to glare at him.

"It seems one of our pages took it upon himself to issue new practice orders."

"I see," he spoke, glaring at Inara. She met his gaze steadily.

"Page Gilyith, you'll report to the smiths for one bell after supper tonight. And neither I, nor Sir Zahir, will ever see you breaking drill again. Am I clear?"

"Yes, my lord," the older boy told him. Lord Padraig nodded and turned his back, calling the end of weapons training for the day. Gilyith glared at Inara before stomping off. Sir Zahir was even harder on her in archery than he usually was.

Later that night, Inara put her books together. The boys would be coming to her room to study and she wanted to make sure they had more room. Even though their numbers had decreased with Seth and Jasson becoming squires, the addition of Nick had kept them at eight pages. Someone knocked lightly on her door, and Inara went straight to answer it. She pulled the door open and was hit directly beneath her ribs by something round and hard, forcing all the air out of her lungs as she fell to her knees; something she was beginning to hate. When her vision cleared she saw Gilyith re-sheathing his sword.

"I don't take kindly to punishment work, half-breed," he told her, and spit on the ground in front of her before walking off. Inara rested on her knees until she regained her breath before attempting to struggle to her feet. A sharp pain spread through her lower chest, forcing her back down.

"Oh please, please don't be broken," she whimpered, talking to herself. She tried to stand again, and winced as the pain shot through her again, and she once more returned to her knees, squeezing tears from her eyes. She fell further, her hands against the ground, palms down as tears fell. She pushed herself up, one hand still on the floor the other against her chest. "Mithros, please don't let him have broken my ribs. Please. Please be ok," she begged.

"Inara?" Evan had arrived, ready to start studying. She looked up at him through tears. "What happened?" he asked immediately kneeling at her side and helping her to stand. At first she thought she'd be forced back down by pain, but her body only emitted a dull ache.

"Gilyith," she muttered, as Evan helped steady her. "He knocked on the door, and I answered. The next thing I know, he shoved the hilt of his sword into me," she told him, as he led her back inside the room.

"Did he hurt you?" Obviously she was hurt, but she knew he meant broken bones; something that would send her to the hospital wing.

"I thought so; but I think it might just be bruised," she replied, brushing her eyes and sitting down in her chair. She pulled her shirt up to see a fist sized black and blue just beneath her ribs.

"Ouch," Evan winced.

"I've got some bruise balm in my desk," she told him. "I don't understand it," she muttered, talking to herself. The bruise was bad, but she'd had worse and she'd never been brought to tears or forced to her knees by one before.

"What's to understand," Evan replied, coming to her side with the jar of bruise balm. He handed it to her. "Apparently, he's not afraid of you anymore."

"Hmm? Oh yeah, I guess not. I don't even know why he was in the first place."

"Face it pup. You freaked him out when he didn't die and no one could figure out how he lived."

"I didn't do anything," she reminded him, yawning.

"You're not getting sleepy on me again, are you?" he asked her. She shook her head when there were more knocks on her now open door.

"Is the puppy ready for play time?" Benton asked from the doorway. Corin, Asten, Nick, Sam, and Yancy stood behind him. "What happened?" he added when he noticed Inara sitting in the chair putting bruise balm on her stomach.

"Long story," she replied.

"Gilyith," all the other boys replied at once, even Nick. "Are you alright?" Corin asked her.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Just a bruise."

"Ok, well, we'll just have to make sure he doesn't get you alone," Asten added.

"I thought he was too afraid of her to touch her," Sam put in.

"Guess he's over it," Yancy told them. "His attention span was never very long." Inara just laughed. She loved her friends.

Author Note:
Sorry I was so late this time. Everyone have a very Merry Christmas, and see you all next Monday.

Fateless Wanderer