As always, for my loyal readers.

The battered group of pages returned to Corus two weeks before scheduled. With them came an armed escort, and Lord Imrah's chief healer. They were to explain the battle and resulting consequences to the king. Lord Padraig had requested their presence, he needed the support to face the king.

All of it was pretty pointless in Eleni's opinion. Whatever the king needed to know, these people wouldn't know it. They weren't there. For Padraig to actually need help to convince the king that it hadn't been his own carelessness that caused the death of Artan was a sure sign of his inability to carry out his job.

Somehow, even before the group made it to the city, tongues were already wagging about the battle. It didn't help the rumors that the page who had died was the one who had recently failed his examination. They called it a sign from the gods, that the boy hadn't been meant for knighthood. Divine justice, they said.

Eleni found it disgusting, and she wasn't the only one.

Pier's anger was smoldering below the surface of her stony countenance, awaiting the moment that they returned to the palace. What the people were saying was exactly what they had said about her brother. Raging at the past events that Artan's failures and death were bringing up, Pier silently seethed. The stupid oaf's death was costing her!

The palace was quiet when they arrived, mourning the lost boy. Still somewhat lost themselves, the pages dispersed, needing to be alone. Eleni was eager to be with Lokejo, to escape her grandmother's watchful eye.

Almost as if he had known how much she would need him, Lokejo was waiting for Eleni in her room. Eleni had to let out a small chuckle at the plate next to her bed. He'd come prepared with a snack. Gods bless him, she didn't deserve a friend that loving.

After a lengthy and detailed account of her week away, Lokejo could only shake his head.

"What," he said. "Am I going to do with you, chick?" He was hugging her close to him, reaffirming that he hadn't lost the little girl he saw as his daughter. "One day, you're going to go out and do something truly reckless."

"And jumping into a river full of immortals wasn't?"

It was easier to laugh now that she was back with someone she could be completely honest with. Though she and Schuylar had made up on the return trip, in Eleni's heart there was a constant weight. One day, the friends she had would know the truth, and some of them wouldn't appreciate it. Eleni's face must have shown her emotions, because Lokejo gave her a firm nudge with his shoulder.

"Thinking about it again?" he asked. It killed him to see Eleni questioning herself so often. "I thought we had a talk about that."

Eleni nudged him back, although hers didn't have a third of the force his had. "We did, but I keep thinking about it. I can't help it," she admitted.

"Then why don't you just come out and say that you're a girl." He put up a hand to silence her. "There's nothing wrong with being a woman, you know that very well. Your ma and grandmother proved that to separate kingdoms. I'm more than sure they proved it to you too, chick."

She sighed, mulling over her options. True, Tortall allowed women to train for their shields, but there were too many distractions for a female in training. Eleni had seen with her own eyes how depraved some of the older knights were when it came to female warriors. Even the Lord Padraig showed his contempt for female pages and relatives of female knights. The path was full of annoying obstacles that could be easily avoided. Disguised as a boy, the hatred was curbed just a little.

A second sigh escaped her. The choices before her weren't easy, since she had made her initial choice. To expose herself now would cause even more problems. Eleni had complicated things from the very beginning by not thinking things through. Now she regretted her actions. There was no easy way out of her situation.

"It's all right, chick." Lokejo didn't want her to dwell on the subject, only to know that there were options available. "If these boys are true friends, then I know that they won't forsake you. I can tell, they love their friend Myles."

"But will they love Eleni the same way, Lokejo?" Shaking off the doubts, Eleni looked out her window. The skies over Corus were nothing like the storm-clouded skies of Port Legann. "Think I can go off for a few hours?"

"Of course," he replied. "Go clear your head."

Lokejo had barely left the room before Eleni was ripping her clothes from her thin frame. She needed to be in air, to get away from the horrors that had occurred. The pain of her transformation didn't register on her already beleaguered mind. All that matter was getting up in the air.

Free of the oppression of palace responsibilities, of being Eleni, she rejoiced in the feel of her feathered body. The palace was a distant mountain of stone below her, nothing of consequence.

Scarcely three bells later, Eleni was still floating on the warm air above Corus. The sun had begun to set, and soon it would be dark. It had been liberating, but she knew that she had to return before someone noticed she was missing.

Not that anyone is going to come looking for me anytime soon, she thought bitterly.

A few of the pages had become afraid of Myles. At the end of the riverside battle, what most could remember was a savage Myles stabbing at the single immortal left. With the moonlight illuminating the silver blood, he had looked like a demon possessed. They had chosen to keep their distance for the most part.

As she neared the page's wing, Eleni saw a very familiar form in the courtyard. Leaning against the old tree that housed the rambunctious murder, Alexander of Tirragen had fallen asleep outside, oblivious to the world outside of his dreams. She debated on whether to wake him, wonder if anyone would truly appreciate being woken from a nap by a crow.

It'll be better than being eaten alive by mosquitoes. I can't believe he would just fall asleep like that.

Softly landing on a branch, Eleni was ever mindful of the flock's return. They really wouldn't appreciate her in their tree. When cawing at the sleeping boy didn't work, Eleni hopped down beside him. She had half a mind to peck at him for all the horrible things he had done to her, but she held back.

A knight does not seek vengeance, she thought wryly. But I'm not a knight, not yet anyway.

Alex came back to the world when he felt a sharp pain coming from his hand. Sleepy eyes saw a black blur attacking his hand, and quickly shook the thing off. The blur was not happy and attack his arm.

"Ow," he yelped. "What in the name of Mithros are you doing?" The only answer he received was an indignant cry. "A crow," he deadpanned. "Nothing but a silly crow."

He said it a few times, reassuring himself that it was nothing more. Alex had been having nightmares since the night at the river, dreams where he drowned. They were chilling, and he never managed to sleep more than an hour or two before he awoke in a cold sweat. A caw brought his attention back to the crow. It looked intelligent, but then again, all of the animals in the palace seemed smarter than the average breed.

"Listen, Master Crow, I didn't appreciate that." He waved the thing off, only to have it land on his shoulder to screech in his ear. "What was that for? How did I offend you?"

Eleni gave him a smart peck on the side of his head, before flying up to a branch. She liked this flustered Alex, he was more fun this way.

"Well? I'm waiting for a response, Master Crow." Alex thought he was going mad. Talking to a crow, really. Even if the bird had some semblance of intelligence, it couldn't be capable of understanding him. "Fine then, Master Crow. I'll take my leave now." He didn't get far before Eleni landed on his shoulder. "What now?" he asked, slightly chuckling at the crow's antics. "Did you want to come home with me?"

The crow shot off his shoulder so quickly that it took Alex a few moments to find it again. If he hadn't been sure that animals didn't think like people, he would have sworn that it was glaring at him.

"What did I say?"

He tried to coax her back down, but Eleni refused. He had insinuated that she return to his room with him! Yes, he had invited a mere bird to his room, but the point stood. Eleni was still mad, regardless. Go home with Alex, indeed. She gave him a haughty screech and flew off. Let him wonder why even birds took insult at his words, what did she care.

The boy insults even birds. How ridiculous! But he was kind, all things considered. Not everyone would be that kind to a crow.

Shaking her head clear of warm-hearted thoughts, Eleni's mind went back to flying once more. Another circuit around the palace would be enough time for Alex to leave the courtyard. After all, she couldn't return to her room with him on the lookout.

I am SO sorry for how late this update is. I had a dentist appointment that ended with me knocking back a few painkillers every six hours. I spent the last two days in a medicine induced coma, I was in that much pain. Sorry again.