I apologize for not updating this for such a long time. Due to a serious case off writer's block, my mind shut down for a while, but I am now back on track!...hopefully...

Yelena POV:

Life in the Keep was trivial, and I settled into the routine of waking up, doing work, and going back to bed again. Of course, with breaks for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Irys had tested me for any abilities that I might had magically. While it was proved that I excelled in magic that involved the mind, I couldn't do anything physical like move objects using the power of my mind, or light a piece of dry wood on fire. But then, I had Leif for that.

Dax, Corinne and Rowena had all been very supportive of me, even if the other students didn't take to me as well. They did petty things to me like tripping me and pretending it was an accident, spilling soup on me, making me drop my books, etc. Cahil had also been distant and disdainful around me, but at least he kept his feelings to himself while he taught me slowly, but surely to ride.

I was moping; there was no other word for it. My life was boring as of the moment and I was slightly amused by the fact that unless something dangerous happened to me, I wasn't quite happy. That wasn't entirely true, however, and I just wanted Valek to come.

While my life had been boring, Corinne's certainly wasn't. She was now being very secretive and very often, I would catch her skipping classes to go out to the gardens. One day, out of absolute boredom, I followed her and was astonished to see her in a shady corner with another girl around our age. Both were dressed in dark clothes and wore a black cloak with an intricate design inked in red on the back. They dipped their heads together consulted with each other for a moment, before slipping around the corner and disappearing outside the Keep.

I moved to follow, intent on finding out what Corinne was trying so hard to hide. A hand reached out and tugged me into a dark shed. Gasping, I spun in outrage to my attacker and kicked out at him.

The man pushed me away from him, against the wall. I squirmed away. "Who the hell are you?" I gasped.

I could see that he was one of the gardeners here. His unkempt curly hair fell over hsi face, concealing it so that I could see him clearly. When he brushed it away, I almost gasped again. He was probably the most attractive man that I had ever seen, with his warm toned skin and laconic smile. What caught my attention more than anything was the fact that his eyes were two different colours. One was hazel with bright green specks and the other was grass green with golden sprinkles. Huh.

"I'm the person who just saved you from a whole lot of trouble," he informed me brusquely as he walked away.

What? "What kind of trouble are we talking about?" I demanded, pulling his arm back so he faced me.

He looked at me with such intensity that I flinched and drew back. "Trust me, stay away from those two. They will bring nothing but death and blood."

This words caused a chill to run down my spine. "What? Why?"

He turned around the corner, shaking his head. When he disappeared from view, his disembodied voice floated around the bend distantly. "Remember me..."

I ran after him, but when I looked around, there was nothing but thin air. He was gone.

Valek POV:

Booruby was undoubtably a market town. The streets were bustling with noise and activity, all the merchants on either side of the streets were advertising their own wares. Children ran underfoot, getting in everyone's way and twice I had to lift a hand from my bag to prevent being pickpocketed. Amateurs.

This time, I had disguised myself as a woman, thinking that most people would be more likely to talk to an undistinguished female rather than an intimidating assassin. The only other time that I had dressed up like this was when I was spying on the royal family in Ixia to gain information before assassinating them. I had forgotten how uncomfortable it was. My skirts fell to the floor, and the wig itched. I'd had to stuff my chest with wool handkerchiefs and needless to say, I didn't want to repeat this experience. Ever. Again.

Of course, I had also put on some makeup to seem like a woman, rather than a grown man in a frilly dress. Oh, if Ambrose could see me now, I'd never live it down. I groaned when I realised that I still had to meet my operatives at Booruby to enlist their help. In my costume. Holy snow cats, as Janco would say.

More than anything, I missed Yelena. I would gladly give up everything just to go to her, but for my commitment to catch this Neri, or Desta. And anyways, I couldnt' go to her like this anyways, wearing this..this...

My thoughts flew away when I glimpsed one of the signs frequently put up by merchants to attract more customers. "Find your Destiny," it read in bright blue letters. Underneath the large letters were instructions telling me where to go as well as a picture of a crystal orb. I hesitated for a moment, but decided to go. There wasn't any harm in trying, after all. Desta and Destiny sounded similar and for all I knew, this could be it. Plus, if my instincts were right, like they usually were, I wouldn't have to meet my operatives looking like this. I was surprised at how much that prompted me to investigate this seemingly harmless fortune-telling booth.

The part of the market that this booth was at was shady, to say the least. Here, people didn't loiter, and they hurried to get their tasks done and return home as soon as possible. I felt a prickle of danger...and when I did, something was wrong. I thought about that for a moment before I realised that this was just too obvious of a place for it to be. If Neri, or Desta was as dangerous as Maryse said she was, then she would already be anticipating my arrival. That said, she would also place traps for me once I came to this booth. And then, who knows how long it would take for me to get out of that mess.

However, I couldn't just abandon all my obligations and ignore this. Immediately, I bent down to pick up a handful of sand and wiped it on my face, as well as my clothes. I could now blend in with the most poverty-stricken citizens and would not stand out in this part of the market. Of course, the people walking around me looked at me like I was crazy. I would sneak close, but not actually go there. Hopefully, someone could have their fortune told and I could see what these people were about. If Neri made an appearance, I was pretty sure that I could spot her, even if she had makeup on. She and Maryse were sisters, so I had that close family resemblance to work with.

As I came closer, I glimpsed many people that seemed to be Sandseeds. This was highly unusual, since people of that clan usually like to stay in the Avibian Plains. They were conversing with a customer.

The man who was getting his fortune told flipped out three tarot cards. From the distance I was at, I could only tell that all of them were a rusty-red colour.

"Blood is in your future," the woman in the flowing gown intoned hypnotically. "Blood will be everywhere. It will be your only salvation..."

I was taken back by that. Didn't most of these people just tell their customers what they wanted to hear so they would get more business? However, I had to remember that nothing about this was normal. Taking advantage of the situation, I snuck into the back of the booth without being seen.

The back had a flap that led inside. I dropped to my knees and wriggled through, cursing my long skirts in the process. Inside, I could see that there was a flap that blocked off the front room from the back. In the back, there was a wooden crate, which had been used as a desk, judging by all the ink marks on it. A stack of papers was under the crate and I could see that they were just recordings of all the fortunes that they had told. I scanned through a few of them. Bloob, blood, blood and more blood. These people really didn't know how to do business.

My breath caught as I suddenly thought of something. Using my nails, I dug into the dirt under the papers to reveal more crinkled papers. They were all written in code and it was one that I didn't know. I wouldn't be able to take these away with me, as soon as the people noticed that they were missing, they would suspect something. The only thing that I could make of it was that they were all signed D. and the paper came from the Citadel, judging by its quality and the trademark stamp.

I swore silently. Yelena was at the Citadel. If something happened to her, I would never forgive myself.

Yelena POV:

Stumbling into my dark room, I sighed and fell into a chair by the fire. I had just gotten back from a torturous riding lesson with Cahil and I was exhausted. A month had passed and while the other students of the Keep had learned to back off, Cahil still endeavoured to make my life as difficult as possible. He told me to do impossible things and then sneered at me when I wasn't successful. I considered broaching this with Irys, but I didn't want to make her life any harder. These days, she always had dark circles under her eyes, even though she didn't seem depressed at all. It seems that Corinne wasn't the only one with secrets.

Sighing, I changed into my nightgown and crawled into bed. I lay there, staring up at the moonlit ceiling until my eyes began to close of their own accord and I drifted off.

Some time later, I woke to the panic one feels when there is a stranger in one's room. I sat up and felt frantically under my pillow for my switchblade, my throat constricting in fear. The shadow moved closer very quickly. Gasping, I held it out and unsheathed the blade, stabbing it into the general direction of my attacker.

Before I knew it, the blade was wrenched from my grasp and a body slid over mine, pinning me down on the bed. The person blocked out the moonlight, so that all I saw was pure darkness.

I held still, wondering what the shadow would do with it. My wrists were pinned on either side of my head and the shadow leaned in closer. I tried to squrim away in terror, until I caught the faintest whiff of...musk.

"Hello, love. Have you been good while I was gone?"

Please review...I'm getting an idea of where the story is going, but nothing really firm. *sighs*