A/N: Howdy all (: Firstly, I wanna thank everyone for the encouragement I got on the first chapter. It means a lot, really (:

Thank you very much to princesspomegranate and Girl In the Library Corner for their reviews :D

And extra thanks to princesspromegranate for the BETA work ^.^ Would be lost without ya, lol (:

Enjoy!

. : Chapter 2: The Beginning : .

The thought was banished at the start. Papa cursed and yelled and sent me to bed, making me promise to never say anything like that ever again. That it would never happen, no one would ever allow it. And to never ever, ever, under any circumstances, mention it to Mama.

It had confused and angered me. I had stomped back to my pallet and buried myself in the furs. Why couldn't I go? What was so special about a boy that allowed them to go?

But, true to the promise I made, I didn't mention it again. And neither did Papa or Uncle Darian.

A year passed. The cold came and went and summer had arrived again. Fallon had learned to babble almost understandable words, and walked reasonably well. Caelan had grown prettier and more mature. She got her first crush, on Dagonet, strangely enough. I thought she was mad. Boys were good for tackling and pushing into mud puddles, not to be blushed and giggled over.

I changed little. My hair got longer, I got taller, and I could run faster. That was about it.

I was sitting at the stream, dangling my feet in the water, watching Dagonet standing absolutely still with a spear in his hand and water up to his knees.

"Caelan told me to tell you that you gotta see her and Mama about your new tunic after this."

My sister had taken to sewing, and Dagonet suffered a lot of her creations. They weren't that bad really, but what kind of sister would I be if I didn't tell her otherwise?

He grunted, throwing the spear into the water, then grabbed it and pulled it out, fish and all.

"Another one?"

"Yes. Aunt Ana says you make too many holes in your others in practise," I smirked.

Uncle Darian and Papa had been training him for five years now, for when his 'time' came.

He waded back to the bank and dropped the fish next to me, with the other one he'd caught.

"What do they need me for now?" he grumbled, running his fingers through his cropped brown hair to mess it up even more.

"See if it fits," I replied, in my best 'durh' tone. "Don't be daft, Dag…And Caelan wants to see you…" I finished with a grin, inspecting my grubby fingers.

He was almost more fun to tease about this than she was.

Sure enough, his cheeks coloured and he ducked his head.

"Quiet, Malise."

He only used my full name when he was trying to be stern with me.

"Why? Everyone knows she likes you. I bet she wants to get married, and have babies, and…ow! Dag!" I scowled at him and rubbed at the back of my head where he'd cuffed me. "What was that for?"

He glared at me and said, "Shut up. I'm not marrying her."

I grumbled, "You're no fun…"

"That's right. So be quiet."

I humphed and glared at the back of his head as he descended back into the water. "You're mean. I'll tell Uncle Darian."

"Do warriors tattle tale?"

I bit my bottom lip. I hated it when he pulled this card.

"No," I replied sulkily. "They look out for one another."

"And do warriors sulk?"

"…No."

"Do you want to be a warrior?"

"Yes."

"Then stop sulking, little warrior."

"Shhh, Dag!" I hissed at him, glancing around me wildly. "Don't say that! What if Papa or someone hears you?"

He chuckled, "There's no one else here to hear me, silly."

I relaxed a little at his words, but kept glancing at the rolling grass around us in case someone was to jump out of it. Papa may have forbidden the idea of me going with Dagonet, but I had become intrigued with it. Or at least I was intrigued with the idea of being a gallant warrior that featured in many a story around the fire.

Dag humoured me, taking time out of his day to teach me bits and pieces of what he was being taught. How to properly hold a sword and string an arrow (next we would work on making it fly straight). Which wood made the best arrows and how to fletch them, how to sharpen throwing knives and every other kind of blade. And how to take proper care of your horse- something that every Sarmatian learnt anyway.

Since Dag was also being trained by old Miach, our ancient healer, I also got instructions on how to bind wounds and splint broken bones. That was as far as we'd gotten there. Stitching made me queasy.

"…Papa will be mad if he finds out, won't he?"

"Then he better not find out then," he mumbled as the fish once again consumed his attention.

oOo

It was several nights later, when the Elders and our parents were having their monthly 'adults only' time, when the forbidden was talked of again. Dagonet, I and our brother and sisters were in the separated sleeping area of our tent, while the adults spoke in the main room.

Caelan sat on her sleeping pallet, sewing cradled in her lap while she spoke in hushed whispers to Kaley and Kyla. Dag and I sat near the heavy material barrier, trying to catch snippets of the conversation outside and appear like we weren't. Keal and Fallon played not far from us, having been put under our supervision.

Romans had been mentioned a few times, the name mostly growled or spat by the men. The rest of what they were saying was hard to hear.

I glared at the floor in annoyance, pulling at a loose thread in my skirt.

"Why can't they talk clearer?" I whispered to my best friend, leaning back against the pallet we were sitting against.

"That would ruin the point on having a private meeting," Dag pointed out smugly.

I shoved his arm, "Shut up, smarty pants."

He shoved me back, and sent me sprawling.

"You'll pay for that!" I growled, leaping to my feet and tackling him as he laughed at me.

His laughter became an 'oof' as I collided with his stomach and we both rolled around the floor, struggling to best the other. If he got me pinned, I'd have no hope; because he was three times my size and had triple my strength. But I was more agile and managed to dodge most of his attempts to trap me.

We rolled past the crack in the door and just as we did, a voice carried through.

"They are due in five years! We are running out of options, Faolan!" the exasperated voice of Rafer said. He was one of the elders. "We need to come to a decision-soon. If you do not have a son to offer then we will all suffer."

"I have no such son," Papa returned, his voice icy. "Even if we were to have one, he would not be of age when they come. It would be the same outcome."

"There is another way..." Rafer continued.

"No!" Papa spat.

I could almost see his fists clenching, perhaps one reaching for a sword that wasn't there. I found he did that when he got mad, out of habit no doubt.

"Faolan, please, calm yourself," the older voice of Milchek, our clan leader, said evenly. "It is time we think about the situation seriously. We cannot move- they will only begin a manhunt for us all. They will not see reason. Darian's youngest will not be of age either, only Dagonet will be taken. They will not see it as a debt fully repaid."

"It's never repaid, though, is it?" Uncle Darian growled. "They come again and again. No amount of our blood will satisfy them. It would have been better if we had died in our service. Then we would not be condemning our children to this fate!"

"Darian…" the soft voice of my Aunt Ana soothed. "Sit, it is not your fault."

"We understand that this is difficult, for you most of all. All of Sarmatia has felt the Roman's cruelty. But we must survive to fight another day," Elder Milchek said.

"There is no point in fighting if our children are dead!"

"What do you suggest we do?" Mama spoke up, her usually sweet voice was hard. "Send one of the girls instead?"

There was silence and Dag and I stared at each other in shock, leaning close to catch the next words.

"No…" My mother whispered after no one answered her. "NO! You can't be serious?"

"I'm afraid, Phyla, that I am. One of your daughters must take the place."

"No, they would never allow it. They only take sons, they can't…" she trailed off, choking of the end of her sentence. "They can't…"

"They would not be seen as a girl. We'd have to disguise them, teach them, like a boy." He explained.

"Silence, old man," Papa snarled.

A fist was brought down on the wooden table, rattling mugs.

"Or you will see what the Romans made of me!"

"Faolan!" Mama cried. "Sit. Down!"

"Goes for you, too," Aunt Ana muttered, no doubt tugging on Uncle Darian's tunic. "All of you, enough is enough. The girls aren't going, that is the end of it."

"Then what do you propose we do?" Rafer sneered.

I never did like the man, and now my dislike of him grew.

"Sacrifice many to save just one?"

There was a scuffle, something smashed, then a loud thump.

There were several gasps, then my Aunt's voice sounded, "Darian! Release him, now!"

"He wants to send more of our children to the slaughter, if he is so keen, he will be the next in line to Death's door," my Uncle said, in the lowest, most frightening voice I had ever heard.

The girls had stopped giggling, the babies stopped playing with their wooden carvings, and we all fell silent, staring at the flap.

There was a heavy sigh, breaking the muffled whimpers of, who I assumed was, Rafer. "Let him be, brother. His blood is not worth dirtying your blade, or my floor. There has been enough killing," Papa said sounding tired, and defeated.

"I'll take him out to where the pigs are slaughtered then, shall I?" Darian's voice was laced with a kind of dark humour then sent chills down my spine.

"He deserves death for this treason! Sending daughters? Our daughters? Do you have any idea what would happen to them if they were discovered? You remember what the Pigs did to their own women- let alone what they would do to ours!"

"It does not matter, because they aren't going," Papa replied calmly.

"Not all, Faolan, just one," Milchek eased, equally as calm.

There was another paused, before my mother broke it, "Malise?"

My breathing stopped and Dagonet's wide, frightened eyes swung to mine. I was to go? Me?

"She is the logical choice. Caelen would never stomach that life, she is too much like you. Fallon won't be old enough, but Malise…she'd make a fine knight, as good as any boy. You can't tell me you don't see it in her, or know that she trains with Dagonet when they think we aren't looking." The leader said.

'Shit!' I mouthed at Dagonet, glaring at him. 'You said…'

He waved me off and leaned closer.

"Whether she would make a good Knight or not isn't relevant!" Papa insisted. "She is my daughter, and I will not allow it!"

"Then, we will have to prepare for multiple funerals."

oOo

It was very quiet after the meeting had ended and everyone had left. But it wasn't an easy quiet, the air was thick and tense and both my parents were refusing to speak or look at us, mainly me. Mama was sitting at the table, needle and thread in hand, mending a cloak or some such thing. And Papa was leaning against the side, looking out into the dulling world that we called home.

I took a deep breath, and held it for a moment. Caelen was obviously trying to ignore it, instead busying herself with Fallon. The words of the meeting kept ringing in my head, replaying over and over, eating away at my curiosity.

"Am I to go with Dagonet?" I asked in a rush, drawing all the eyes to me.

Mama dropped her sewing on the table and fixed me with her stern, blue-eyed gaze. "No, you most definitely aren't."

"But what about when they come? What will happen?"

"Malise…" Caelen said, in an attempt to hush me.

"We will deal with that when the time comes." Mama said, shooting a glance at Papa. "You are not going."

"I can do it," I said in a small voice, drawing my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. "I can be just as good as Dag."

Mama sighed and said, "It's not about whether or not you can do it, Mali. It isn't worth the risk of losing you. The life of a knight is not one you want to live. It is no place for a little girl."

Tears stung the corners of her eyes as she finished, "I won't lose you, Mali."

"You wouldn't lose me, Mama," I smiled. "I'd come home…"

"Enough, little one," Papa interrupted as one tear slipped down Mama's cheek. "That's enough."

"But…"

He gave me a look that had me swallowing my words.

"Malise."

It was the clearest warning.

"I can do it," I whispered into my knees. "I can."

Papa sighed heavily and came to sit at the table, taking Mama's trembling hand in his and stared at her. She ripped her hand from his and stood so fast her chair knocked backwards. Caelan gasped in surprise and even I started at the sudden display.

"No!" Mama snapped, pointing a quivering finger under Papa's nose. "No baby of mine will ever face the pitiful life of a knight! How dare you, her father, even consider it?"

"Phyla…"

"Do not speak to me! You're in with the horses for a month, you hear me?"

"Phyla, please…"

"Don't!"

My older sister tugged nervously on my arm.

"Come on, Mali. I think we should go and see Uncle for a while…"

As my parents continued to stare each other down, I nodded my agreement and stood, hurriedly trailing after Caelan and Fallon out of the tent. Together we ran across the village to Dag's home and Caelan rapped on the thick tent walls and stuck her head through the flap.

"Caelan?" I heard my Aunt's confused voice say.

"Can we come in?" My sister asked quickly.

Without waiting for a reply, I sulked in under her nose and stalked across the warm, homely room to fall on my backside at Uncle Darian's feet, "Mama and Papa are havin' it out."

"Because you refused to keep your mouth shut!" Caelan cried, bringing herself and little Fallon in out of the crisp night air.

Putting out baby sister down, she crawled across the floor to where the twins were playing.

"If you hadn't mentioned it, everything would be fine!"

I snorted and rolled my eyes at our Uncle.

"The Elders meant that I was to go, didn't they?"

He sighed, exchanged a look with Aunt Ana and ruffled my hair, before saying, "Aye, Mali, they meant it."

"She can't go," Caelan sniffed. "She's a girl, girls don't become knights."

"Then I don't want to be a girl!"

Uncle Darian chuckled. "You certainly have the spirit of a warrior, little one. But you don't want to go into service."

"But bad things will happen if I don't, won't they?" I asked softly, staring down at my hands.

I looked around, noticing for the first time that Dag was missing.

"How come Dag gets to go without a fuss?"

"It's part of the contract," Aunt Ana said sadly. "The sons of past Knights have to serve, there's nothing anyone can do for my boy."

She sounded like she truly regretted that. I bit my lip as her eyes filled with tears. "But we can do something for you. We will figure something else out. We will, you'll see."

"But there isn't time!" I insisted. "I haven't any brothers, and if you wait to train me I won't be as ready!"

Uncle Darian raised his eyebrows, "Just how much have you heard?"

"Oh…enough…"

I knew the basic story, everyone did. But the men didn't like sharing anything else, but they did tell Dagonet, to prepare him. And getting information out of Dag was easier than shooting a still target. So I've heard, anyway. My arrows don't fly straight.

He didn't look convinced. "So…I hear Dagonet has been tutoring you in the art of warfare."

Caelan gasped, "Malise!"

I averted my eyes, "Uh…maybe…."

Uncle Darian laughed and asked, "And what have you been learning?"

"…Stuff…"

He settled me with level eyes. "Malise…"

"Swords and stances and arrow making and sharpening and the likes," I muttered finally. "And, I didn't mean to shoot ol' Hiccy, honest! The arrow just went…in the wrong direction…"

Dag had had a terrible time explaining why the goat had an arrow in her arse. My Aunt and Uncle both laughed and shook their heads while my sister huffed.

"If you knew what we were doing, why didn't you stop us?" I asked them curiously.

The pair of adults exchanged another glance. "It wasn't hurting anything…almost." Aunt Ana chuckled.

Uncle Darian smirked.

"Your aim needs work, girl."

I pouted and replied, "I know."

"You've always wanted to learn. It was a way for Dagonet to keep in good practice and you picked up a few things…from what I hear, you catch on to it pretty quickly."

I nodded quickly, grinning, and said, "I love training! It's the best ever, better then cooking or sewing or any of that other stuff."

He smiled, almost sadly, and took my small, smooth hands in his large, calloused, ones.

"I won't deny it, Mali. I believe you would be a great Knight; one to be reckoned with. And you have something that I can't imagine any others will have."

"What's that?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"Willingness." He shook his head. "It would give you an advantage. Those who want to learn, learn better, and faster, than those who don't."

I replied in a soft, but firm voice, "I want to learn."

My Uncle was silent for a moment as he studied me, finally he nodded slowly.

"I know."

A/N: Well? How was it?

As most of you know by now, I'm moving. And it's kinda taking up a lot of my time. And once we've moved, we won't have internet straight away, so I can't really tell you for sure when the next chapter will be up. I never know the what's happening until its happening lol. I'm guessing we'll be leaving in the next 3-4 days though. So when I suddenly drop off the radar, you'll know why lol. For updates on what's happening, check my profile. I'll try to let you guys know as soon as I do.

Anyways, thanks so much for reading. Don't forget to REVIEW! (:

~Meg xx