When Eleni returned to her room, she found the door locked from the inside. Needless to say, she was very curious. The servants didn't lock the doors when they cleaned the room. Someone unwanted was in there, and she was going to find out who it was. She hesitantly knocked on the door and backed up against the wall, ready to attack the person inside.

The person who opened the door was ready for the ambush and pulled her inside. Eleni was not happy with Lokejo.

"What was that," she demanded. "What have I said about hauling me around like that?" She finally got a good look at her friend, and she did not like what she saw. He was almost as pale as her and he looked feverish. "Are you all right, Lokejo?" Eleni's anger had turned to concern as she set him down on her bed.

"He's inescapable," he managed to mumble.

"Who is?" Eleni had never seen him this shaken before.

"I don't know his name, but he followed me for the better part of an hour. He magicked me. Said I was a danger. To everyone. That he would make sure I was caught." His words were coming out a rapid mess, and Eleni had to take a minute to dissect what she had heard.

"Who was this? A mage in the palace did this?" She was becoming anxious at his silence. "Lokejo?"

He was silent. With his eyes closed and his breathing slowed, he looked as if the Black God had taken him. Only his pained expressions told otherwise, but Eleni was panicking. Forcing her gift onto the man, she failed to find what was wrong with him. Whatever the mystery mage had done to her faithful friend, it was beyond her gift to overrule.

Calming herself, she decided that, as afraid of her Grandmother as she was, Alanna was the only powerful mage she knew in Corus. Giving Lokejo her most forlorn look, she kissed his forehead. "Trickster protect him."

Hastening from her room, she almost missed Schuylar standing by her door, poised to tackle whoever came out. Though Schuylar had proved himself a poor wrestler, Eleni's state of mind gave the boy an easy victory. This victory was followed by a prompt black eye.

"Go away, Schuylar." Eleni didn't apologize for the blow or look at the boy, as she sped down the hall.

Schuylar was very confused. The last time he had checked, the only person in the room was the strange dark-skinned man. And now Myles had come out and hit him. How did he miss the stranger leaving the room.

"Myles," he called out.

Barely out of earshot, Eleni managed to hear the boy. Exasperated by her uselessness and the boy's foolishness, she turned back. "What do you want, Schuylar!"

He had never thought he would see his new friend like this. A descendant of the Lioness all teary-eyed? The possibility was impossible to him. The Lioness and her family were people of legend, they didn't cry or lose their tempers with normal people.

"Are you all right, Myles?"

Eleni could honestly not stand the boy a moment longer. Letting out her frustrations by a physical medium sounded perfect to her, and Schuylar was an easy whipping boy. She had plenty of reasons to target him: he annoyed her to no end, he hadn't ceased to mention her grandmother, he asked stupid questions, he was foolish, he never took anything seriously, the world was a joke to him, and he was a fool!

She hadn't finished listing the reasons, before she had assaulted the taller boy. Momentum was the sole reason she was able to bring him down, and surprise was what gave her the upper hand. The advantage lasted only as long as it took Schuylar to disentangle himself from the vicious redhead.

Before long, the commotion caused by the two pages drew the attention of every page who was still in their room. Perci, Varick, Warren, and Simon all opened their doors at about the time that a particularly vehement shove rattled Alex's door, prompting the page to look outside.

While the four friends watched the skirmish shift from Alex's door, Eleni managed to hit Schuylar on the jaw. That raised some flags. Though they didn't want to get involved, the sudden appearance of blood made the decision for them. If they didn't intervene soon, either one of the first-years would end up severely injured.

With the minimalist of eye contact, Warren and Simon moved to grab Myles and Schuylar, respectively. Before Warren could reach the small page, Alex had already ripped her off Schuylar, her fist poised set for another punch. Even though, Alex was bigger than the page he was holding back, the hostility raging through her was enough to let her break free. As none of the older pages had thought it possible for Myles to get away, they were basically holding up Schuylar like a punching bag.

And that was when Perci made up his mind to decisively end the fight. The same yellow fire that had encircled Herne earlier that week was now the only thing caging in the enraged Eleni. Leaving the others to deal with Schuylar, Perci made his way to the makeshift corral. Indeed, the page inside was feral, and her eyes were demanding more of Schuylar's blood.

Perci was tired of the display and it showed. The fiery circle started to close in on Eleni, until she had no choice but to stand immobile. He knew how to command authority, it was something that they had all agreed on a long time ago. The new pages had yet to learn this, but Perci figured it was high time these two learn the lesson.

"Are you ready to act your age," he asked.

It was an echo of what he had asked Herne. Eleni only glared at him. In her opinion, Perci never acted his age. He acted years older, but only because he felt one of them had to. Order had to be maintained, and if they sometimes hated him for it, then he would be hated.

About to curse him into oblivion, Eleni forgot the flames holding her in. When she burned herself, the insult died on her lips. Perci was the answer to her problem!

"I need your help," she whispered.

Her demeanor had changed completely. Where a minute ago a caged lion cub had been ready to rip her friends apart, a chastised and desperate house cat crumbled. The tears that had been present when Schuylar had first bothered her had made a return appearance, and all those observing the little redhead saw them.

The flames instantly vanished.

"If you needed help," Perci started towards her with a handkerchief. "Attacking a fellow page was not the way to ask for it."

Needing to explain her ignoble behavior, Eleni rushed through the tale. "My friend, a servant who came with me to Corus, he's injured. A mage spelled him. I can't get him to wake. That one," a withering look was sent to Schuylar, only to be intercepted by Perci. "He wouldn't let me find help. He kept getting in the way. I just-"

"Lost it," Warren finished for him. Leaving Schuylar in Simon's hands, he moved to the hyperventilating page. "Regardless of the situation at hand, none of us have the luxury of losing out heads." Steering Eleni toward her door, he continued, "Why don't you show Perci what this rogue mage did to your friend."

It was a statement, not request. Neither Eleni or Perci argued, both still slightly charged from the earlier confrontations and not trusting their voices.

When the door was opened, the silent group heard Schuylar squeak. Squeak like a mouse that knew the cat was going to rip him to shreds. He tried to retreat out of the room, only to have that exit blocked by Alex.

"Something you want to share with the group," he asked. Alex found this new page to be a bit of an annoyance, and he just knew he was the root of Myles' outburst. "Well?"

"Uhm." For once, Schuylar was speechless. That was the first clue that he was guilty, and it didn't go unnoticed by Eleni.

"What did you do?" If the others had thought that the previous struggles had taken the fight out of the small page, they were in for a big surprise. She looked ready to pounce on Schuylar any moment.

"IthoguhthewasaspysenttokidnapMylessoIspelledhim."

Varick, silent throughout the whole spectacle, was the only would who understood Schuylar's jumbled mess. He was the first to put it together, and felt it was only fair to warn Schuylar. "Tirragen, move out of the way." Alex, still confused by the string of nonsense, didn't argue and the way was cleared. "You might want to run, Schuylar."

He was sprinting down the hall, by the time Eleni had deciphered his confession. Luckily for Schuylar, Alex had repositioned his body and stopped Eleni from going after him.

"Let me kill him," she growled. Try as she might she couldn't budge him.

"Is this how you're going to make your friend better?" That made her stop struggling. Despite all odds, Alex had become the voice of reason. Still wary of what she was capable of, Alex stayed where was. "Legann, can you undo the spell?" Never a fan of Alex's, Perci refused to answer.

Simon, seeing how desperate their young friend was to save her servant, stepped in. "I'm sure Perci can right whatever is wrong with the man."

"If he won't speak, and if he can't undo it, do not speak for him, Kennan." Alex pushed his way past the four pages and knelt beside the large Raka on Eleni's bed. "How long has he been like this?" No response. "Pirate's Swoop, if you want hel-"

"He was feverish when I got back from my punishment." She ignored the looks her friends were giving her. "I got back just after the eleventh bell."

Perci had left the room by then. If Myles was going to disregard his warnings and look to Tirragen for help, he would wash his hands of both. Simon, ever loyal to Perci, followed right behind. He knew that his old sponsor could be stubborn, but if he waited out the storm he would be fit to talk. Varick stayed to guard Eleni from foul play, and Warren to ensure that she didn't go after Schuylar.

And so it was that when the Lioness returned to Myles' room, she found the door opened. Whatever she had expected, the scene before her was not it. Alexander of Tirragen, leaning over her grandson's bed, his hands glowing with his gift. Pushing the door open all the way, she made herself known.

"Just what is going on here?"

I admit that this chapter took me hostage and wrote itself. I wanted to show a little more of the friendships that Eleni has in her life. There are people like Lokejo, who can inspire her to brave the fearsome Lioness, and friends like Schuylar, who she would easily toss in the river if she didn't care about them. Sorry about that, I'm not at my best when sick like this. Hopefully this little filler weekend will end and we can get on with the real fun. I swear we're almost at the fun!