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After quickly hugging her grandfather and her rather bewildered sovereign, Eleni fled to office. George could barely believe that Jon had agreed to let his girl stay, much less let her stay as a boy. He waited a full ten seconds after the door closed to interrogate his king.

"What was that?" he demanded. Georged dropped down to his couch, tired already from the day's events. He really was getting too old for this sort of thing. "Alanna is going to kill you when she finds out what you did, you know that."

Jon had reclined back in George's chair, his eyes closed. His fingers were already massaging his temples. "Alanna might not like it, she will yell until she feels better about the situation, but I had to do it."

"Why, exactly?"

"The same reason you let her get away with it," he chuckled. "You and I both see a young Alan when we look at her. Besides, Alanna turned out all right."

"All right, sure," George grumbled. "She had no reputation to speak of, and hid out in the desert for over a year. The only thing that saved her in the end was reclaiming the Dominion Jewel." He ran a hand through his greying hair. "I don't want that for my little lass. I don't want her to suffer like Alanna."

"You still let her do it," Jon said. "She said that she understood what her lying entailed. We can only hope that she doesn't come to regret it."

The office was silent once more, both men fighting internal battles. Those were anything but quiet. The years ahead would bring trouble, there was no question about it. The real question was how they would handle the troubles themselves.

Deciding that nothing else could be done about his granddaughter, George switched over to business. "Come on, Jon," he said, rising from the couch. "We have that small uprising in Tusaine to discuss."

"No, you're right," he agreed. "We have business to deal with, regardless of what happens in our personal lives."

In another part of the castle, the mood was much lighter. Eleni had been sequestered by her friends before she could reach her room. They were one their way to the practice yards, even though it was already past noon.

"It's not that hot outside," Herne had countered. "I bet it's worse on the Islands."

"That is, unless he's embarrassed that his skills have rusted." Schuylar never could resist a chance to tease Myles. He never learned that it would only hurt him in the end. The teasing resulted in a challenge to duel. Schuylar should have learned.

For a particularly warm Saturday afternoon, the practice yards were unusually full. A few knights had lagged behind in the city, unwilling to leave Corus just yet. While none of the knights seemed to care about the pages, one squire was very fascinated. His warm, honey eyes were focused on the small redheaded page.

Eleni had begun to stretch out her arms, waiting for her opponent to do so too. Schuylar was reluctant to take up her challenge, knowing fully well that he would regret going up against Myles. His skills had improved, but Schuylar was still a novice with the sword when compared to his year-mates. After much goading from Simon, he finally relented. There was no use trying to run.

The duel had barely begun and Eleni had grasped the upper hand. Though Schuylar had a height advantage, she was quicker, much quicker. All Schuylar could do was hope to keep her at bay, his ranging reaching farther than Myles'. That strategy worked for all of two minutes, before Eleni slipped under his defenses, sword point tapping his breast.

Amid the applause from their friends, all Eleni could hear was her heartbeat pounding in her ears. There was an undeniable thrill that she had just felt. It was at that moment that Eleni realized how much she loved her life at the palace, her training. It might have been latent shock from having escaped exposure or the adrenaline rush from her duel, but something made her realize it.

Sheathing her blade, she held out her hand for Schuylar. "Good bout, Fool."

His only response was to flick her on the forehead and seek refuge behind Perci. His shield, intent on being kept out of the fight, stepped aside as soon as Schuylar took cover.

"You never learn, do you?" Perci sounded annoyed, but his face said otherwise. He'd come to truly like both pages, but he was not training to be a nursemaid. "Enough already!"

Eleni stopped trying to tackle Schuylar and went back to where they had been sparring. Schuylar had left his sword there. "No knight should abandon his weapon," she said, handing the blade hilt first. "What would our dear Lord Padraig say if he saw what you did?"

"He'd personally banish him from the city." The voice wasn't recognized by the younger pages, but Varick, Perci, and Herne smiled instantly.

"Ferenc of Nond, you sly fox!" Herne almost knocked over Devin in his eagerness to reach his friend's side. Devin, in turn, almost knocked over Eleni. The only thing that stopped Eleni from landing in a heap was a of strong arm around her waist.

"Hello," Ferenc laughed. He had managed to catch both pages, and was currently berating Herne. "What if you had injured one of them? Really, Herne, I thought I was leaving the little ones in good hands." He seemed to have forgotten about his two captives, engrossed as he was.

"Excuse me." Eleni had tried tapping his forearm, but she had to raise her voice to get his attention. It took him a moment to realize he was still holding the pages, and he quickly let them go. "Much better," Eleni mumbled to herself. "Myles of Pirate's Swoop," she introduced herself.

"Well, well, well. The Lioness' grandson, huh?" He seemed to be teasing, and Eleni wondered if it was a phase all boys went through, because she was getting tired of being teased. "Ferenc of Nond, at your service." The blonde gave a dramatic bow and winked at Eleni. Without rising, he asked, "And the other little one is who?"

"Devin of Disart, sir." Poor Devin barely got past that sentence with minimal stuttering. Shyness still got the best of him.

"Disart, eh? Isn't that in the far south, near the Desert?" Devin gave a wobbly nod. "My master's home is near those parts." His attempts at befriending Devin were a watse, the boy was too stunned to talk back. Shaking his head, he addressed the main group. "Who does this one belong to then?" Just as Warren stepped forward, a voiced yelled across the yard.

"Ferenc!" A tall and regal looking Bazhir was making his way towards the group. His dark skin was glistening in the afternoon sun, and it was obvious that he had been training hard. Despite his good looks, his face was marred by its crossed expression. He was definitely not happy.

"That would be my master," he whispered to the pages. "Sir Zahir, what might I do for you?" Ferenc's bow could have been meant for the king himself, but his master was still upset.

"Go back to your drills, squire." His order was brief, and he expected it to be obeyed immediately. The order given, he went back to his sparring partner.

"Sorry about that," Ferenc apologized. "He's a strict knight master, but he means well." Just before he left, he turned and whispered in Eleni's ear. "You're a great shot with a bow, lad. Fancy a contest sometime?" He didn't wait for an answer, he was already halfway across the yard.

Eleni felt a strange hammering in her chest, similar to the thrill she had felt during her duel. This Ferenc of Nond was prooving interesting, and she wondered how long he and his master would stay in Corus.

Yay for being understanding suckers. I foresee Alanna killing a couple of people, but Jon and George might get lucky. More of Eleni proving her skills with the sword. Anyone remember that blonde boy staring at Eleni during her detention? Ferenc! Kel's little nephew from Nond. Hope you guys enjoyed this one.