I am so glad that everyone is enjoying this story! Thank you for all of the kind reviews. Once again, I am avoiding my Philosophy reading.

A lazy, almost cat-like grin spread across the boy's lips, before the honey coated words left them. "Alex, my lord. Alexander of Tirragen."

The silence in the room was thick. Almost as thick as the bad blood that ran through the three's family history. Ever the player, George attempted to move past the discomforting moment. "Young Alexander, let me thank you for assisting my grandson. Myles, thank the lad." An unflattering grunt was the only response.

"More so, I would like to thank you for assisting me. Willingness to help those in need is a wonderful quality to possess when one is training for a shield."

"I am quite aware of that, my lord. I try to do only what I can." The damned smile was still on his lips. George remembered that smile, it had always been plastered on the late Alexander's face.

There was an awkward pause in the conversation, once again.

The grin was still on the boy's face, and George was tired of it. Alex looked just like his namesake, possessed the same dark features that had lent the previous owner an air of mystery. All George could remember was the image of the Lioness the day she had been forced to kill her one-time friend.

Unable to stand the boy any longer, he briskly walked over to his door and undid the special locks. "You are dismissed," he managed to say with the utmost diplomacy. Alexander remained quiet, the coy smile still gracing his fine mouth, and practically glided out the door. By the gods, George thought. The lad even moves like he did. How did I not know about this?

"Am I allowed to speak now?" Eleni's voice cut through the fog that had taken control of George's mind. She was obviously miffed, but most of the anger had subsided. "Grandfather?"

"Yes?" He was aware of his surroundings, but not entirely lucid. This new Alexander had thrown his mind into an unknown state of chaos.

"Why do you look as if you've seen a ghost?" The question was meant as a jest, but Eleni did not know how close to the truth she had struck. "I'm fine, you know. Candy wouldn't have hurt me, she was just spooked." She walked to the center of the room and turned a full circle. "See? Not a scratch on me."

"Eleni-" George didn't know what to say, by the gods, he voiced had cracked! Should he worry the child by tell her of the threat the boy's family had been? That Candy hadn't just been spooked? "Eleni, why don't we get you settled in?" The easy road then. George didn't want to face the problem alone, and he was sure his wife would want to be present to give the proper telling of the tragedy.

The small girl's eyes lit up at the very thought of beginning her training. This is what I've been waiting for! I can't believe that Grandfather's not going to tell on me! Despite the inner girl squealing her heart out, Eleni's face showed all of the testosterone fueled bravado a ten year old boy would have. "Alright, then."

George let out a tired sigh. "Are you sure you want to do this as a boy? Lord Paidrag is a fairly decent man, he won't hold your gender against you." George prayed that Eleni would agree with reason, he didn't want to break his promise to her, but he didn't want her to get killed by this new demon cat that stalked the palace. The girl had all the stubbornness of her mother and grandmother. There was nothing to be done about it. "Have it your way, Myles. Just remember what I've told you."

Without waiting to see if Eleni had followed, George started for the office of Royal Training Master Lord Paidrag haMinch. Another five minutes of walking and arousing the palace gossip had them before a sturdy oak door. George solidly knocked on the door twice, and had an instantaneous reply to enter.

The man had sparse quarters, but they were definitely masculine. There was a large desk with one chair behind it and two in front. Apart from the various shelves containing gleaming weapons of all kinds, the only decoration in the room was a shield mounted on the wall behind the desk.

The man himself was older, certainly, but not decrepit. Where other men had lost there hair, Lord haMinch had retained his thick hair, if only a few shades lighter than the original blonde. He had all the vigor, and rigidness, of his youth, and his grey eyes and strong brow said he was willing to prove it to anyone who said otherwise.

"Welcome, my lord," he said while getting up to greet his guests. His eyes landed on Eleni, and she could have sworn he had stripped off every layer of her soul and judged her right there. "Is this the lad you wrote about," he asked while gesturing for them to sit. There was only a minimal twitch in his left cheek when he said, "It would be a pleasure to train the grandson of Lady Knight Alanna."

George knew this game better than the man. If you lied in the Court of the Rogue, you found yourself on the riverbanks the next morning, a knife between your ribs. However, if you lied well, you could amount to almost anything. George became King of the Rogues, he could lie and flatter.

"I thank you, on the behalf of my wife, and might I just say what an honor it would be to have Myles trained by someone such as yourself. If anyone, " he continued, "could instill a sense of true loyalty and chivalry in these lads, it would be you, my lord." A player's smile was on his lips, but there was silent laughter in his eyes. It was always amusing to ruffle the feathers of the stuffy conservatives.

Lord Paidrag twitched again, more noticeably this time, and thanked George for his kind words. "Does the lad have the gift?" Eleni didn't trust herself not to laugh at the man's discomfort and merely shook her head. "In that case, there is nothing more to discuss. One bell before dinner, I will see to it that you have a sponsor. Until then, gentlemen."

They were dismissed. George and Eleni walked back to George's rooms, each burdened by their own thoughts. Eleni, praying that no one would notice her gender, George, trying to understand how Tirragen had slipped through the cracks. Before either had an answer they were at the door. George silently pushed it open and waited for Eleni to pass through; this time he didn't have to shove her.

"I like him," she said when she had settled on a couch. "I can have plenty of fun with that one."

A tiny chuckle escaped George. "You sure you want to attract attention? From a man like that?" He still doubted Eleni's plan. It had seemed harmless, and he had hoped that she would tire of the notion before they reached Corus, but after meeting Alexander, he wasn't sure if it would be a good idea. All joking and fun aside, the boy could be after Trebond blood, and Eleni would be his closest source. And if he discovered the truth, well, the lad was more man than boy. He could damage the small lass.

For the second time that day, George's thoughts were interrupted by Eleni. She had wrapped her small arms around his torso and was hugging him. "Thank you, Grandfather. I know you're worrying, I am too. But I want to be like the Lioness, I don't want to put up with silly conservatives and waste time. I'll be careful, promise."

George could only sigh, and pray that being careful would suffice. "Why don't we get you settled into your new room? I'm sure your things have already been unpacked." And so with a heavy heart, he led his only granddaughter to a den full of wolves. Gods help him, it would be eight years before she earned her shield.

Yay! Another chapter, much sooner than I thought I could get it out, but you'd be amazed with what you can do when trying to avoid Aristotle. Give me another week before the next one. Bye.