For silver cat 777, the 300th reviewer for this story. I can't believe it, but numbers don't lie. Thank you everyone who read and reviewed!

May was nearing and Eleni's temperament had barely improved. Even with her extended flights to the forests beyond the palace, there was longing in her heart to go further on her black wings. Anyone could simply ride a horse and go through the forest, but she wanted to do more than that. There was a life that she could experience if she stayed in the forest, if she could just disappear into the woods and forget about Tortall and knighthood.

There was no way out of the damn situation, however. Eleni had made a choice, and she was too stubborn to change her mind after two years. She was also afraid, afraid of what her friends would say when they found out the truth.

Things were supposed to be easier this way, she growled in her mind. Being a boy was supposed to make the whole process easier. Damn it all. She couldn't help the pained cries that escaped her beak.

Having spent the last few hours hidden in a tree, she hadn't realized that the sun had already begun to set. Without being aware of it, Elenio had spent her entire weekend in the forest. She returned at meal times and left after every meal. Lokejo had excused her whenever someone called on her, but ut was becoming increasingly difficult to do so. A part of her, buried behind her anger, knew that she had to head back to the palace, but it was being smothered.

Eleni was not happy. She was being forced to reconsider all of her choices up to now, and she wasn't happy with what she found. There were plenty of 'ifs' in the whole matter and it was making her head hurt. Would anything have been the same if she had arrived as a girl? There would never be a way to tell.

Heaving a sigh and ruffling her feathers, she flew back towards the palace. Eleni had lessons tomorrow, and it wouldn't do to anfer her teachers any more than she already had. Her anger had seeped into her day-to-day activities, and had begun to alienate people.

It might not have mattered to her at that very moment, but Eleni was trying to keep everything from spiraling out of control.

It's just a phase, she chanted to herself. I'll get over it soon and focus on what's truly important.

Her tiny heart skipped a beat as she saw the out battlements. This palace, this country was what she wanted to protect. The people inside depended on knights like the Lioness to shield them from danger and acting like a spoiled child was not going to lead to a knighting ceremony.

The thought of the ceremony was enough to sober up the young girl. Young or not, certain thigns were expected of her, and she had been shirking her responsibilities. Eleni Crow would prove to everyone that she was just as exceptional as her grandmother. Nothing would stop her.

Slowly, things returned to normal. Her friends didn't ask questions, understanding that there was a lot asked of each of them, and that they each dealt with their problems in their own way. Alex was the most understanding of Myles' plight.

"It must be difficult," he told her one day. They had finished a rather arduous practice session and neither was too keen to get up. Schuylar had fallen asleep while sitting up, and it appeared that Myles was heading in the same direction.

"Was is?" she managed to mumble through a yawn. It had been refreshing to be with her friends again, to just be Myles of Pirate's Swoop and to ignore the new rebellious thoughts that had sprung up.

"Being the Lioness' grandson."

It was anything but a simple question. There were things that people had always hinted at, about Alanna and the late Alexander of Tirragen. Events had occurred that Eleni had never heard the details of, and it was moments like this that had anxiety bubbling in her chest. The tone Alex used wasn't accusatory, but it was bitter, and Eleni didn't know why.

"At times, I suppose." The chirping of birds above was the only noise disturbing them. Soemwhere beyond the pages' training yard, others were practicing their own skills in another yard. "It's only troublesome if I listen to the rumors."

There were always rumors. Nobles always had something to whisper to each other when they caught sight of her red hair and violet eyes. None of it was every pleasant or complimentary. Whispers and rumors would always follow her, and Eleni had learned to ignore them long ago. Besides, if there weren't whispers about her grandmother in Tortall, there was always gossip in the Copper Isles about her parents. It was unavoidable, but Eleni didn't have to acknowledge the people spreading the vile gossipmongers.

"I know how you feel," he murmured. "You were really upset these last few weeks and I just – well, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here." Despite knowing better than to befriend the tiny redhead, Alex found himself drawn to the boy. They were both bound to the legacy of their families, but as different as those legacies were, both of them were constantly scrutinized for errors.

Eleni didn't know whether she wanted to punch him or not. She had been trying to forget about her little crush, to remind herself of the shield that she wanted, and he was chipping away at her resolve. Of course, he was only trying to comfort a friend, a male friend she had to remind herself, but her emotions were getting the best of her.

"Thank you." It was all she dared to say, fearing that she would say or do something stupid. "Let's wake up Schuylar and get ready for supper."

Alex took one look at Schuylar's passed out form. "I believe that endeavor will require both of us, Myles."

The day before the examinations, Eleni was wandering the palace, searching for Kyle. Although he normally sought her out like a duckling looking or its mother, Eleni hadn't seen or heard of the boy since supper the night before. It was unsettling and Eleni had been plagued by a premonition the whole day. Soemthing was wrong, but she didn't know what.

None of her friends knew where he had gone to, but brushed it off as last minute nerves. Kyle had proved himself capable throughout the whole year; yet, it was only normal to feel nervous before the examinations. At the end of the day, Kyle had still not appeared. He had missed supper and Eleni left early, hoping to find him holed up in his room. If he wasn't there, she didn't know where to find him.

However, before she made it to his door, Eleni saw a note nailed to her door, with a dagger. Without even reading the note, she knew it was about Kyle. Ripping the dagger out of the door, Eleni didn't bother to notice her bleeding hand.

In her blind rage she had knicked all five fingers on her right hand. She also didn't notice her blood staining the parchment. All she could see were the words on the sheet.

I know what you are. Birdy, if you expect to see the runt alive and intact, you'll do as I say. The archery range in the Royal Forest. Tomorrow. Noon. If you do not appear, I will just gut the boy and leave him for the crows.

The noise from the returning pages jolted her back to the present. Whoever had taken Kyle knew about her crow blood. Maybe they didn't know all of the details about her lies, but knowing just one of them and kidnapping Kyle was enough.

Eleni would show up tomorrow and take back Kyle. He was her responsibility and she wasn't about to let some mysterious captor get away with murder.

The only problem would be to get away without Lokejo or the others insisting on going too. She wouldn't risk Kyle's life when she knew that she could defeat whoever had taken him.

Whoever did this will pay, she thought viciously. I won't let someone just take what is mine and destroy it.

And we finally get to some action. I promised that we would get somewhere and it'll be soon.