Cyber-cookies for my "Super Six": R0KI, xMxRosex, HPLUVR71495, spazzysassyangel, Tishica, and xDarklightx! Thank you so much!

The last Sunday of May was a very bleak day in comparison to the weeks before it. Where there had been endless sunshine, there was now drizzling rain and cloudy skies. Thunder could almost be heard in the distance. Lightning periodically flashed across the sky, illuminating the the city with an ethereal light.

Eleni sat in her bed, long after she had woken up, watching the day unfold outside her window. A part of her craved the excitement of the day, but a larger part of her subconscience was more afraid of the exams than anything else in the world. She knew it was silly to fear something she had no knowledge of, it was simply impractical, but the fear remained.

The examinations, the Little Exams, were initiated by King Roald after Alanna of Trebond had managed to pass herself off as a boy for eight years of knight training. They came to be even more important after Lord Wyldon failed to properly single out two men who the Chamber of the Ordeal identified as less than fit for knighthood.

One, Joren of Stone Mountain, had been killed by the Chamber, and the other, Vinson of Genlith, had been forced to confessed to rape. Both had already proved themselves wretches of the worst degree, but had been allowed to enter the Chamber regardless. These exams were meant to ensure that the pages were adequate candidates for knighthood, to weed out the weak and vile. The squires who went in to the Chamber had to be of the highest caliber. The exams were necessary.

"Ready to face the day, yet?" Eleni hadn't even noticed Lokejo enter her room. "Come on," he said. Lokejo closed the shutters and tried to banish the melancholy feeling from the room. He placed Eleni's second-best tunic and breeches on her clothes press and turned to look at her. She was still in bed. "I'm sure your gran didn't mope about in bed all day."

"Grandmother never had to own up to the fact that she was lying to the whole court." Her voice was soft, softer than Lokejo had ever heard it. Her lies were coming to back to haunt her. While he had always known that she would have to admit her deceit one day, today was not that day. Kneeling at her bedside, he took her face in his hands. "Lass, you are lying. I'm not going to say that you're not, because you are. But today is not about you lying, or what you and your gran have in common. Today is about proving that you, sweet chick, are as good as any of those boys."

"But what if-"

"No!" Lokejo wanted to shake her thoroughly, to make his cheerful Eleni return. "None of it matters. Myles is going out there today, and he's going to prove that the Lioness has a grandchild she can be proud of. Now get dressed." He left no room for argument, pulling her out of bed. Before closing her door, he gave final instructions. "Make sure you're ready by breakfast, I won't have you looking sloppy of fainting in front of the committee."

It took her a few minutes, but Eleni finally summoned the will to get out of bed. As she went through every part of her morning routine, it was as if pieces of her confidence were restored to her. By the time she was brushing her hair, Eleni felt that she could look every member of the committee in the eye. She could only hope that she'd stay this confident throughout the day.

Her composure was chipped away at before her morning meal.

On her way to the dining hall, Eleni passed by Pierina, Alex, and Artan. She heard Pier repeating facts and tips to Artan, trying to prepare him for the day ahead. Alex was present in body only, his mind somewhere else. When Pier asked him something, Alex would nod or give an answer, but he was obviously somewhere else today.

As Eleni walked by and put her breakfast on a tray, she felt his eyes shadow her movements. Apparently, whatever was keeping his mind occupied couldn't control his golden eyes. Alex pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against and sat down next to Eleni. He didn't say a word, and that made Eleni nervous.

"What do you want?" she asked around a bite of pasty. She didn't like the way he was looking at her, it made her feel funny.

"Nothing." The funny feeling in her stomach intensified and Eleni tried to calm her nerves. Throwing up was not a good way to start her day.

"Then go away," she hissed. When she saw that he wasn't going to leave, Eleni tried to resume her meal. Her insides continued to squirm, though. "Alex, would you ple-"

"Alex!" Pier had noticed that one of her pets had strayed from her side. Seeing Alex next to Eleni didn't improve her mood, and she stormed up to Eleni. "Stay away from what is mine, boy." Alex took her appearance as his cue to leave, slipping away while she spoke to Eleni. "Try not to get sent back to your islands, half-breed. I'm sure grandma would be devasta-" Her words died on her lips.

"Last minute advice for Myles?" Perci, Simon, and Devin had come to the rescue. "How kind of you to offer assistance, milady!" He emphasized her gender, grinning when he saw her face turn an ugly puce color. "Run along now," he dismissed. Without a care in the world, he turned his back on Pierina of Stone Mountain.

She had no choice but to leave, because the four pages had engaged in a new conversation. Though fuming, Pierina knew she had been beaten and retreated. Eleni was grateful for the well-timed arrival, and her confidence made slow recovery.

The rest of her friends arrived shortly before Lord Padraig. After a less than inspiring speech, breakfast began in earnest. The meal was mostly quiet, and nobody said much. They were all too busy thinking of their examinations. When Lord Padraig stood from his seat, it was as if a signal had gone off in the hall. The moment they had dreaded was upon them.

With Schuylar and Devin at her side, Eleni made her way to one of the indoor practice yards. There they would be evaluated by year, starting with the year's newest pages. That meant that she and her two friends were up first. Contrary to the days when Lord Wyldon of Cavall had been the royal training master, the exams were more than an oral examination.

The pages were still questioned by a panel of older knights, but now they had to physically prove themselves capable. Their abilities would then be tried by Lord Padraig and put on display for the committee to judge. Just as the years before, though, the examinations were open to the inhabitants of the palace and everyone was welcomed to watch. There weren't that many people present this morning, probably because the fourth-year pages wouldn't be examined until much later. This was, after all, a chance for active knights to see the candidates they could choose squires from.

The idea of people watching her bothered Eleni. She had a notion that Padraig was going to go out of his way to make his least favorite pages look their worst. She just happened to be on that rather long list of individuals.

With his poor luck, Schuylar was the first one called forward. He too was on Padraig's short list, and was probably a tad bit more hated. His skills were almost deplorable, but he had improved throughout the year, that much was certain. Ever the scholar, Schuylar passed the oral examination with flying colors, amazing the knights present with his vast wealth of knowledge.

What followed was not impressive. Knowing that Schuylar was almost useless with a sword, Lord Padraig chose that weapon to be the practical portion of his examination. While he managed to hold out for all of ten minutes, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Schuylar was an amateur with the blade. Eleni fervently prayed that his overwhelmingly incredible grasp of scholarly arts would carry him through.

The gods proved kind that morning; Schuylar was judged fit to continue his training as a page.

With Devin, the situation was reversed. He had yet to get over his bashful nature around strangers and barely spoke above a mumbled whisper. Eleni was certain that the knowledge to answer the questions were in his head, it was his stupid tongue that stopped him from speaking properly!

Devin earned the chance to redeem himself with Lord Padraig. The boy hadn't done anything to warrant the training master's malice. The man had always been proud of Devin's natural proficiency with the sword, and gave him a moment to shine. When his fingers wrapped around the hilt of his sword, Devin found the confidence that he had lacked during his questioning. This was his arena and he disappointed few.

While Devin tried to make amends for his shy nature, the rest of their friends arrived. Warren, seeing how worn out Schuylar was, knew that he had already been examined.

"How'd it go?" he whispered, his eyes never leaving Devin.

"I passed." Schuylar's reply was quiet, almost as if he didn't believe the results himself. "Looks like my penchant for books was more useful than you thought it was." Now that his turn had passed, Schuylar was feeling happier than he had in a long time.

Applause sounded out throughout the room; Devin had managed to disarm Lord Padraig. Now it was time for Myles of Pirate's Swoop to prove himself. Eleni knew that more than one of the witnesses recognized her for who she was supposed to be. They all wanted to see what the Lioness' grandson could do, if he was as worthy as her. Briefly wondering if her uncle Alan had felt as nervous, she stepped before the panel.

Gods help her.

The men five looking her over were all much older than the young knights she had seen visiting the palace grounds, probably close to her grandmother's age or older. All of them, except one, that is. Sir Zahir ibn Alhaz, Ferenc's knight master, was one of the men who would judge her worth as a future knight.

"What does it mean to be a knight of Tortall?" An ancient looking man had already begun questioning Eleni. The reply came without a thought.

"To be a knight means that you may not ignore a cry for help. It means that rich and poor, young and old, male and female may look to you for rescue, and you cannot deny them. You are bound to uphold the law. You may not look away from wrongdoing. You may not help anyone to break the law of the land, and you must prevent the breaking of the law at all times, in all cases." Eleni paused, forcing out the last part of the Code of Chivalry. "You are bound to your honor and your word."

Eleni felt sick again. She had spoken of honor and truth, all while lying to the men before her. Doubts came to the forefront of her mind, raging against the chains Lokejo had bound them with. Lokejo. A quick glance at the spectators showed Eleni that her dear friend was watching, silently supporting her. Someone thought she was worthy of a shield, even with her lies.

"Well spoken," said the man sitting at the far left of the table. Eleni vaguely remembered him as a frequent dinner guest of Lord Padraig's. Eleni cringed, knowing that the man was a strict conservative. "Now, on with the rest of the examination." The sneer on his old face spoke volumes, this was not going to be easy for her.

After rounds of obscure questions, some of which Eleni doubt even Schuylar would have been able to answer, the panel was satisfied with her. Now she only had to prove herself capable with a weapon. Eleni prayed that Padraig would choose the sword for her too, but knew that he wouldn't, that would make things too easy.

However, Lord Padraig approached her with his sword in hand, ready for a duel. He still doubted her abilities Hope flared within her, and her hands went to the hilt of her own blade. A wheezing voice interrupted her.

"I believe we have seen enough of the sword with this group of pages." The ancient man who had asked her about the meaning of knighthood disregarded Padraig's glare. Apparently, this old knight did as he pleased. "I would like to see how the boy handles a bow." Eleni fought to hide the blinding smile on her lips. When Padraig remained standing with his sword, the knight dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "Whenever you are ready, lad."

Eleni briskly walked over to the sidelines where Lokejo handed her a bow. "Good luck, lad." He knew she didn't need it, but if it gave her a bit more confidence, it was worth it.

Facing the target that was ten yards away, Eleni tried to clear her mind. Nothing matter besides proving that she was a good shot with the bow. A dozen center shots were all that separated her from her second year of page training. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a dark haired page smiling encouragingly: Alex of Tirragen.

Her first arrow hit dead center. Not giving in to the joy that was bubbling beneath the surface, she quickly let loose the other eleven recquired arrows. All of them hit the center ring. And just like that, Myles of Pirate's Swoop was deemed capable. An oral exam and twelve arrows, that was all it took.

"Well done," it was the second time the old knight had complimented her work, and Eleni was forced to wonder just who he could be. "Myles of Pirate's Swoop will continue his training." A light round of applause followed his announcement and Eleni swore she heard a few whistles come where her friends stood.

Lord Padraig grudgingly announced that there would be a bell-long break in the examinations. As the panel of knights walked out of the practice yard, Eleni saw the old knight wink at her. She found herself smiling in return. Soon, however her attention was stolen by an arm around her shoulders, Schuylar's arm.

"I told you there was nothing to worry about," he said, the perfect picture of self-assurance. Eleni swiftly elbowed him in the ribs. His arm was retracted just as quickly.

"Just because you saved your skin this year, doesn't give you leave to touch me." Though she tried to act haughty, her smile said that she was just as relieved as he was. "Come on, Schuylar, the others are waiting for us."

Yay, a long chappie!

Aww. Some of you told me you missed Alex, and I have to admit that I did too. I love how you were concerned about Schuylar! I never thought he would become that popular, but what do I know? Because this chapter became longer of its own accord, I'll stop it right here and the rest of the exams will be in the next chapter.

A/N: Eleni's answer is a direct quote from itHotG.