On the first official day of page training, a sunny Monday morning, Eleni woke up, not bruised, but happy. Though she had been banished to her room the afternoon before, by dinner Warren was refreshed and willing to deal with both pages again. That didn't mean that Eleni and Schuylar were ready to be together again.

He was afraid of the hellion that had attacked him earlier, and she was still easily annoyed by his questions. Needless to say, Warren was forced to act as a physical barrier between them. Despite the less than joyous seating arrangments, Warren managed to keep things happy and light, with a little help from his friends.

Seating across from the troublesome trio, were four pages, one of them, Devin of Disart, a fellow first year. The other three were Simon of Kennan, a second year page and Devin's sponsor, Varick of Storm Pass, a third year, and Herne of Tirrsmont, a fourth year. They had no problems, and soon their infectious laughter got the better of Eleni.

Because the company she had this night, Eleni had an enjoyable dinner, often comparing it to the poor company she had the night she was assaulted. Throughout the entire dinner, her eyes had kept wandering over to Alex and his "friends". Eleni still couldn't understand what had possessed them to act as they had.

On the way back to her room, Varick pulled her aside and asked if they could speak in private. Wary of any possible new enemies, Eleni nonetheless invited him back to her room. No sooner had she closed the door than Varick was speaking in a jumbled mess. She knew that once he got rid of the excess energy, he'd be able to communicate properly, and so she merely watched from her bed, wondering what was running through his mind.

"You should leave," he finally said.

When she was finally able to speak, all that she could say was a single croaked word, "What?"

"Myles, you should leave the palace." Eleni was actually relieved. He hadn't figured out that she was a girl, he just wanted her gone. "Pieri has marked you." When she didn't reacted, Varick elaborated, "For death, Myles."

"And you know this how?" She refused to believe it, any of it. Yes, Pierina of Stone Mountain and Fallen Wall was unbalanced, but she couldn't be capable of murder.

"Perci told us." Eleni's violet eyes narrowed, Varick quickly explained, "Don't be angry, Myles. Perci meant no harm."

"So assaulting me and then telling you all how I was trapped was just a fun game?" They all knew. What kind of a knight did she expect to be if she couldn't detect a lie? An obvious lie, by the way people were reacting.

"We've been on the lookout since last year, Myles." He hesistantly made his way to her bed and sank down, defeat clear on his features. "Pieri sponsored a girl last year. I thought it meant she was getting over her hatred of women, but I was wrong. I didn't notice what was happening to the poor girl, to poor Maire."

He was crying now. In front of a person who was practially a stranger, this boy had chosen to relive a nightmare, one that was obviously eating away at his soul.

"Marie left?"

Wiping away tears, Varick continued, "No, she didn't leave."

"But, you said-"

"She is no longer in the palace, Myles, because she was found a bloody mess after one week of training. Pieri did it. We all knew, but there was no evidence to present to Lord Paidrag."

"What happened to her? To Marie?" She needed to know. If Pier had marked her as her next target, Eleni need to know the exent of the possible damage. She needed to be prepared and to watch out for signs. Last night could not have been the only attempt.

"Her father took her home. She was out of it the entire time, from when Perci found her to when her father came for her. She never had a chance to request to stay. Peiri made sure of that." Varick wasn't crying anymore, but the remorse was still in his voice, in his eyes.

"You blame yourself, don't you?" Her mind raced to last night, when Perci had been so crossed by her lack of caution. "Perci feels responsible, too, right? Why? What could any of you of done?"

The initial resolution that he had had when came up to her that evening had returned. "Pieri had a difficult childhood. She was unwanted, you know. Her father, Lord Buchard of Stone Mountain was a difficult man to please, and a female heir was not enough to make him happy. Having any children at all at his age should have been a blessing. Having another child, regardless of her sex, after losing his only son should have made him praise the gods for the rest of his life, but he was a vile man."

The remorse was gone, in its place stood a hatred so strong that Eleni felt the need to shift away from Varick. She feared that in his rage he would forget the present, and lash out at her. But he was gone, the past had taken him.

"Her mother died giving birth to her, that was probably it. All the remnants of his once perfect life were scattered with her birth. Pier grew up in a household full of the screams of women, none of them capable of bearing a living child for that man. Nine women died in that cold castle, and nine coffins were paraded past Pieri.

"Her father couldn't stand to look at her, and when she learned to walk around and accidently run into him, he had had enough. She was often sent away to the neighboring fief, Stormy Pass."

"Your fief, you knew her before you came to the palace." At least now she knew where his endless fountain of information was coming from. They had been raised together, perhaps there had been a time when Pier had not hated everything in the world.

"Yes, I knew her. My parents, despite their dislike of Lord Buchard pitied the poor child and agreed to foster her and keep her out of his sight. But the Pieri I knew, the happy girl who danced with me to the sound of an empty room is gone."

There was an akward pause in his story. Eleni could not help wonder how much of Varick was gone as well. The tears were back in his eyes.

"They took Pieri away from me when we were only eight years old, married her to a man old enough to be her father. They made me think she had died, and when I saw her again, here of all places, I knew that she really had died. Her eyes were dead. Her soul stolen by the malice that bred her. By the time she came to the palace to train as a page, my Pieri had died and Pier had taken control."

"And Alex and the large boy?" Pier had her reasons, but what motivated her lackeys?

"Artan of Bjorn is a third year like Pieri and I, he sponsored Tirragen because Pieri told him to."

So the large one, Artan, has seniority, but Pier wanted Alex for her inner circle. "But why does she hate me? What could any of them have against me? I'm not a girl." Mithros, she has every right to hate me, if I'm honest about the whole thing.

"Well, Artan is simple. Loyal as a dog that one, if only to Pieri." A funny look, almost incredulous, appeared in Varick's green eyes. "You really don't know why Tirragen could hold a grudge against you?" Before Eleni could shake her head, the bell signalling lights out was rung. "That is a tale for another time, young one. Keep in mind everything I've said. Don't begrudge Pieri, but don't hold her close to your heart either. Caution should be your best friend here."

And he was gone. Eleni half expected Varick to rush into her room like Perci had, but this one seemed kinder. Still, he advocated caution, and she did not feel up to healing new bruises. The door locked she had headed off to bed with more information than she cared for.

But none of that mattered now, on the bright morning that prophesied a good first day of training. She would not be weighed down by the troubles of another. Though she felt sorry for all of the wrongs life had dealt Pier, Eleni refused to get close to her. A nest of vipers could only breed a viper, after all.

As Eleni was getting dressed, she made a resolution. Pier, regardless of the circumstances, had let her bitterness and hatred control her. Eleni would not let herself become that, she would try her damnedest to be as chivalrous as her Grandmother Lioness.

The first order of business for the day was to apologize to Schuylar, and to tolerate his questions when his inquisitive nature returned. She had sensed it budding again at dinner, and Eleni guessed it was only a matter of a few hours of human company before he was spouting questions and silly comments.

Mithros, help me. I want to do right by you. Please, help me get through this. Trickster, I wouldn't mind some help from you, either.

Satisfied with her attire, and convinced that it hid her nonexistent feminine figure, Eleni put on a happy smile, and prepared for a day of beatings and lectures. She could hardly stay still.

He was laughing, and he wasn't being subtle about it. "If it was my charge, I would have damned her by now."

She was livid. Asking Mithros for help she could understand, but the Trickster? "Of all the gods she can plead to, she chooses that idiot?" Her brother continued to chuckle unabashedly.

"She is part crow."

"And a full woman. She is my charge before she is his!"

She was really livid, and the mortals below could tell that at least one god was not happy, and that they were in for plenty of lightning in the days to come.

I didn't know if I would get through this one, but I thought that you guys should know why and how the little psycho came to be. Hope you enjoyed it! Yes, I am avoiding Philosophy homework, once again.