A/N: Disclaimer - All of the canon characters and settings are property of the incredible Tamora Pierce. This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction, so please R&R and I'll try to improve!

2

Compromise

When false dawn began to light the sky next morning, the pale grey glow that suffused Nishiko's room woke her instantly. Though she was quite capable of sleeping through violent storms and raucous parties, even slight changes in light disturbed her slumber and once she was up, there was no going back. Fortunately, she liked the feeling of preparedness that came with waking up early and could easily draw the curtains at night if she wished to luxuriate in sleep for longer. Sitting up in bed, Nishiko rubbed her eyes and began to think seriously about her newfound predicament. With a sad little sigh, she said goodbye to dreams of riding into battle next to Lianokami and reflected on how those dreams had come into being.

As far back as Nishiko could remember, she had known and loved Lianokami like a sister. When Sir Nealan and Lady Yukimi had still lived at the Royal Palace in Corus, before Duke Baird had passed away and bequeathed his lands and title, they were rarely apart from their childhood friends Crown Prince Roald and Princess Shinkokami. After Tortall won the Scanran War and peace returned to the realms, Yuki and Shinko both had daughters just seven months apart - and both children were, of course, different from most. Though the girls had the eye colors of their Tortallan fathers, they resembled their Yamani mothers in all other aspects. In Tortall, they were mistaken for the children of Yamani dignitaries and were criticized for being strangely emotionless. In the Yamani Islands, their bright eye colors and "rambunctious" behavior made them unnatural. Everywhere, they were mistaken for one another.

When Lianokami was five and Nishiko four, they accompanied their mothers' on an official state visit to the Yamani Islands and remained there for three years. While Shinkokami and Yukimi assisted with matters of state, their daughters learned Yamani ways and trained with the warriors of the Yamani court. Both discovered an aptitude for fighting they had never known they possessed - their only previous fighting experience being the kind of unprincipled roughhousing that children their age tend to find endlessly amusing.

Together they learned the basics of the warrior's craft; how to fall without injury, twist, jump, dodge, and roll to avoid attacks, kick, throw, and punch as powerfully as a Shang, shoot arrows and throw knives as accurately as an assassin, ride horses, and wield a bō (staff) and naginata (polearm) with ease. The girls practiced interminably, learned from the ceaseless criticisms of the Emperor's training master, and rose early each morning to clean their weapons and do strengthening exercises together. When one grew weary of endless drills devoid of apparent improvement, the other always urged them on bolstering their will power as they both soldiered on together growing stronger each day.

On the voyage home from Tortall, they swore solemn vows to use their new skills to fight and defend the realm side by side. True to her promise, Nishiko's first request upon returning to Queenscove was that she be allowed to receive instruction from the Sergeant-at-Arms. Nealan had agreed warily and hoped she would grow out of this rough-and-tumble phase just as his own sister Jessamine had when she was seven. Two years had passed and each Midwinter Festival brought the Queenscove family and the Royal family back together in Corus; each New Year, Lianokami and Nishiko had reaffirmed their promise to try for their shields as one.

Now everything is different, Nishiko thought dejectedly. I never imagined that I would feel sorry for Liano. I was really angry at her last night, but I suppose it's not her fault that her subjects are close-minded. Nishiko shook her head to dispel her bitter thoughts and slid out of bed leaving her untidy sheets and memories behind to be dealt with later. After pulling on a pair of tan-colored cotton hose and a Queenscove-blue tunic, she stood up straight then dropped on her hands to the cold stone floor and began to push her body up with her arms straight, then slowly ease back down to hover above the floor, hold, and repeat. She continued with various strengthening exercises that worked her arms, legs, and abdomen until the sun rose to a gleaming semicircle on the horizon. Nishiko wiped sweat from her face and drank a glass of water from a pitcher that the chill of early summer had cooled as it sat on the windowsill overnight.

Before Nishiko exited her room, she grumpily pulled on a pleated, black skirt that brushed her ankles - an unwanted gift from her father's Keeper of the Wardrobe who had insisted that Nishiko wear it over her hose in order to "save the Ducal house from disgrace." When Nishiko had asked what was so disgraceful about her legs, the fussy old laundress had shaken her head sanctimoniously and threatened that Nishiko would obey or else would never have her clothes washed for her again. Unlike most noble children, Nishiko did chores - for her parents insisted on instilling an appreciation for servants' work in their daughter. However, she simply could not stand doing laundry. Nishiko sneezed whenever she smelled undiluted washing soap and her hands felt swollen and itchy after scrubbing endless piles of clothing.

Feeling outwitted, she had agreed to wear the stupid skirt in order to avoid doing laundry and maintain peace in the realm. In reality, Nishiko did not mind wearing it all that much since it was made of a very breathable fabric that did not impede her when she walked, ran, or fought. However, on principle alone she hated the wretched thing and swore dramatically that it would get pinned in a door and lead to her death whenever the washerwoman was within earshot. Nishiko looked at herself in the long mirror next to the door, tucking the blue tunic into the waist of her skirt and braiding her long hair back into neat plaits before stepping out onto the stairway.

As she descended the twisting spiral tower, Nishiko thought about the plan that she had hastily abandoned last night in her eagerness to finally get an answer out of her parents. Since her father had not made up his mind one way or the other as of last night, she still had time to persuade him further. Step three of the plan was now out of the question since it had involved Lianokami casually discussing who she hoped her Knight-Master would be within earshot of her parents. Since Lianokami was out of the portrait, Nishiko proceeded to what remained of the fourth step: sparring with Lianokami in front of her parents to prove that she was strong enough for the road ahead. The absence of Liano was easily remedied since Byrum Sadler, the Queenscove Sergeant-at-Arms who had taught her all she knew about Tortallan-style combat, was always happy to be her opponent in any kind of duel.

Instead of stopping at the first landing and going down the main staircase to breakfast, Nishiko continued further down the tower steps and onto the servants' floor just above the wine and grain cellars. Nishiko quickly edged along the walls of the hallway, careful to avoid getting in the way of the sleepy scullery maids exiting their rooms and heading toward the kitchens, until she reached the door she was after. Knocking softly on Byrum's door took all the restraint she possessed, but the former soldier did not need much more noise to coax him from bed. The door opened a crack and a bleary yellow eye peered out of the gloom to assess the situation.

Byrum grumbled in objection and moaned, "Niiiish, why must ye wake me at the bum crack of dawn on a Sa'urday? I hear no army attackin' the citadel and breakfast is not even started yet, so this cannot possibly be urgent enough to warrant such a rude awakenin'."

"Please, please don't call me Nish," Nishiko pleaded. "If you must abbreviate my name, I much prefer Shiko. Nish sounds like the sound my teeth make when I grind them."

"I only do it to annoy ye," he rumbled, "and since ye're annoyin' me at the moment I think I'm entitled to annoy ye right back!"

"Look Byrum, I'm deeply sorry that I disturbed you at this early hour," Nishiko interjected hastily. "But right now you are the key to all of my dreams becoming reality!"

Byrum narrowed his eyes and opened the door a little wider. "Ye sure the battlefield is where ye belong and not the player's stage? I reckon ye'd be a great little actress."

Ignoring the jibe, Nishiko requested, "Would you invite my Honored parents to the practice yard in two hours to watch us duel with fist, staff, and bow?"

"Aren't ye forgettin' somethin' important, lass?" Byrum prompted.

"Pleeeease?"

"Aye, very well," Byrum agreed with a grunt. "Mind I won' take it easy on ye just ter help ye prove yerself to the Duke and Duchess. Ye're on your own cos I fight to kill." He winked encouragingly. "Now go on with ye and leave me be. I see ye in two hours on the field o' battle."

Byrum slammed the door closed as a final protest against the earliness of the hour and Nishiko, unfazed, skipped away contentedly. She ate a light, but energizing, breakfast and ran two swift laps along the Queenscove's crenelated ramparts preparing for the battles to come.

Two hours later, she found herself facing off against Byrum while her parents sat in the outdoor gallery seats and watched the demonstration. They began with archery. Two painted targets had been set against hay bales eighty meters from the shooting line. Byrum shot first with a yew longbow and his five arrows landed in a neat cluster in the center circle with one bullseye. Nishiko picked up her recurve bow and adjusted her stance so that she stood perpendicular to the target with her feet shoulder width apart. She nocked her first arrow, raised her bow so the arrow pointed slightly up toward the sky, and loosed. Five shots later she had three bullseyes, two center circles, and one outer circle that had been blown off-course by a sudden sea breeze.

Feeling relatively satisfied with her first performance, Nishiko prepared to fight unarmed. She assumed a wrestling stance and crouched down low with one foot slightly forward and her knees greater than shoulder width apart in order to keep her center of gravity low. When her father yelled begin! Nishiko lunged forward aiming a punch at Byrum's gut. He blocked her punch with his forearm, but she was already spinning into a sidekick that caught him squarely in the chest. Byrum reacted as if a butterfly had landed on his chest instead of a blow, caught her foot, and twisted so that Nishiko spun away wildly. She landed on the ground with control and sprung back up, ducking quickly to avoid the punch Byrum was aiming at her face. Nishiko saw an opening and dropped to the ground sweeping Byrum's legs out from under him. For a man of his size, he got up unnaturally quickly forcing Nishiko to seal the deal. Grabbing his forearm tightly with both hands, she wrenched forcefully unbalancing and redirecting Byrum's weight to catapult him over her hip. He smashed to ground with a thud and did not immediately rise.

"Tha' does it!" Byrum exclaimed as he took Nishiko's helping hand and rose to his feet. "I yield! 'Tis a sad yet glorious day when pupil bests master and I been expecting it fer a while."

"I could not have done it without you Byrum, thank you," Nishiko replied respectfully, bowing low to show that though she had beaten him he was still her superior.

"Yer welcome, lass. Been a pleasure to watch ye grow, but if ye will excuse me," he bowed to Nishiko and her parents, "I think we know she'd beat me with a staff, too, if I let her."

Byrum exited the practice field and was about to open the doors to return to the keep when he turned back and bellowed, "When ye're a proper swordswoman, Lady Nishiko, come back and try yer luck again! Ol' Byrum Sadler never lost a sword duel, I promise ye that!"

With a bark of laughter, Byrum entered the castle and began to search for a sympathetic maid to draw him a hot bath. The Duke exited the gallery and joined his daughter on the practice field while the Duchess returned to her rooms to let her husband and daughter talk privately. Yukimi already knew that Nishiko was destined to try for her shield - Keladry had told her about Irnai's prophecy years ago. Netiher of them had told Neal in order to spare him premature anxiety. Besides, she thought, Yamanis were far better at yielding to destiny than Tortallans.

"Walk with me, Nishiko," Nealan requested solemnly.

Nishiko grabbed a towel to mop her sweaty face and hurried off after her father as he had already begun to walk away with long strides, hands clasped intently behind his back. They strolled out of the citadel gates together and towards the cove that gave the fief its name.

"You did very well in the practice yard today. You have certainly proven your strength and skills - there is no doubt in my mind that you are far better today than I was when I began my training as a Page. Perhaps even better than I was after my early Page years."

"Thank you, father," Nishiko accepted the praise quietly.

"The problem is that my hesitation to let you try for your shield was never due to an underestimation of your physical strength. The Yamanis prepared you as thoroughly as they did Keladry, and as you well know she has excelled in the fighting arts ever since. I am not worried that you would fail to win your shield; instead, I worry about what comes after." Neal paused heavily and asked abruptly, "Why do you really want to become a knight, Nishiko?"

Nishiko responded automatically, "Queenscove is one of the four corners of the Tortallan shield. We have a duty to continue guarding the realm, both as individuals and as a house. Every Queenscove generation has produced at least one Knight to protect the realm. Since I am the only one so far," her father winced at that, "I have a duty to serve well and honor you."

Neal recalled, "I thought precisely the same as you do when I decided to become a Page. I gave up my passion for scholarly pursuits and delayed my training as a healer to become a Queenscove Knight. At the time, I though it was the only way I could truly help. But there are so many other ways that you could serve the realm besides Knighthood - a Queen's Rider, a Royal University student, a Lady Ambassador, and a Palace Healer to name only a few. Are you sure being a Lady Knight is what you truly want and not just the only option you have considered?"

Nishiko thought a moment, then revealed, "At times, I have considered other paths, but none of those futures excite me as much as Knighthood. I know it's difficult, painful, and often thankless - I have no delusions of grandeur. But in the end it's worth it…right?"

"Depends on who you ask." Neal speculated, "Keladry certainly thinks it was worth her efforts. Knighthood brought her everything she ever wanted - she met the love of her life, cousin Dom, was given New Hope as a fief, and became Commander of the King's Own. Knighthood gained her authority, respect, and the power to raise the downtrodden. Perhaps if my brothers, your Uncles Graeme and Willard, were still alive today their answers would be different."

Nishiko stopped and hugged her father around the waist trying to ease the pain she had heard in his voice with her love. Neal held onto Nishiko tightly, trying and failing to stop a tear from rolling down his cheek as he bowed his head over hers and kissed the top of her hair.

"Listen to me, Shiko. You are my first and only child. I care for you more than I care for myself - I cannot lose you. You are the only person who will carry on the Queenscove name when I pass and I want your life to be a good one filled with the love and happiness that you deserve. I cannot endure the thought of isolationists and woman-haters harassing my little girl. You cannot expect me to stand aside as you are bruised, injured, or killed fighting for pointless political gains." He shuddered at the thought and continued, "I have seen and done many terrible things in my lifetime and I am haunted by them in my nightmares. You are strong, but you are also sensitive like me and a Knight's actions leave marks on the soul that are not easily healed."

"Father, I love you and I love Queenscove." Nishiko replied taking her father's hand as they continued to walk slowly away from the citadel. "I understand that I have a duty to continue the family line, but I also know that I have a duty to myself to be happy with the choices I make. When I am old and tired, I do not want to be filled with regret. I wish with all my heart that I could spare you pain by choosing a different path, but I cannot betray myself - not even for you."

"I thought it would come to that," Neal smiled ruefully. "So, may I offer a compromise?"

Nishiko glared at her father suspiciously, "What do you propose, papa?"

Though Neal set great store by the art of compromise, his daughter felt that compromises usually resulted in an outcome that made both involved parties miserable - she wasn't wrong.

"I spoke with Kel about this eventuality when you were born. While she cradled you in her arms for the first time, our prophetic Lady Knight asked me what I would do if you decided to pursue Knighthood. I told her, naively, that I would never try to prevent a child of mine from following her passion."

Nishiko was about to interject triumphantly, but Neal held up a finger and she remained respectfully silent. "I did ask her what she wished she had done differently, what could have made her years at the palace easier. Besides running more, which you already do, Kel said that she wished she had started when she was a little older…after she had become a woman."

Nishiko flushed with embarrassment and disgust at the thought of having monthlies and blurted out, "Why should that make any difference? It's just a little blood, right?"

"It is not just a little blood," Neal protested, "It is your body and mind changing. It is an important part of life and it takes some getting used to - a process Kel thinks might have been easier for her if she had been with her mother instead of surrounded by immature boys. Many of the girls who have tried for their Knighthood since Keladry's success have quit around the age of twelve or thirteen for personal reasons and that is my theory as to why."

Neal's daughter harrumphed in disbelief, but said nothing more to contradict him as she sensed the exact nature of the compromise approaching.

The Duke of Queenscove put both hands on his daughter's shoulders and got down on his knees in order to look straight into her blue-green eyes as he requested, "Nishiko, will you wait until you are a woman - two or three years from now - to make the decision to try for your shield? If you wait just a little longer, your mother and I swear to support your choice."

After a moment's hesitation, Nishiko held out her right hand to her father and as they grasped forearms she swore, "I, Nishiko of Queenscove, do solemnly vow to wait until I am a woman in order to choose my life's course in exchange for the full support of my family. So mote it be."

"So mote," Neal intoned as he rose from the ground.

"Hey papa," Nishiko asked wryly, "is there any way to become a woman really quick?"

Nealan shook his head in amusement, chuckling at his daughter's tenacity. "I think you'll find that time passes quickly enough without any help from mortals like you or me."

He took Nishiko's small hand in his own large one as they continued walking toward Queen's Cove together.