Daine took the scroll from Jon, and began to read: "KEL BACKS AWAY"

Five weeks

Owen whined at having missed so much of the details of Kel's first year. He was so jealous that he hadn't been in Kel's year, so unlike her year mates he didn't know what happened in those five weeks.

after her arrival at the palace, Kel decided to write a letter to her family.

"It took you five weeks to write to your family, Kel?!" exclaimed Raoul.

Kel looked sheepishly at her parents "I was very preoccupied…"

It was hard to get started. That morning Peachblossom had stepped on her foot, bruising it even through her heavy riding boot.

Neal flinched having also been injured so by Peachblossom, and having seen first hand the damage which he did.

It seemed to hurt worse as the day wore on, distracting her in her classes and at supper. Only when she had propped the foot on a cushion placed on a stool did the throbbing ease enough to allow her to write.

"Neal, you should have looked at that for Kel! Lest there be any lasting damage." Baird tutored his son, with Alanna nodding approval.

"But Pa, you know how reluctant Kel was to be healed back then!"

Dear Papa and Mama,

Thank you for the package with the candied fruit and cakes. I shared with my sponsor, Nealan of Queenscove. He liked the cakes very much.

"Of course you did, Meathead"

I can't believe that five whole weeks have gone. I am working hard. The teachers are strict. Master Oakbridge, the master of ceremonies, is teaching Yamani etiquette from Papa's book. I have to show everyone the submissions so much that I get dizzy. My favorite class is mathematics. I think the teacher, Master Ivor, is pleased with my work.

"You always loved maths, Kel," reflected Raoul, who had often had Kel doing complex arithmetic and trigonometry during her squirehood.

Tell Tilaine there are no banquets until Midwinter Festival so I haven't served the king at table yet. Pages get to practice serving Lord Wyldon and his guests at supper three days in a row. The new pages are last on the schedule so my turn won't come until late this year. I won't get to serve at the high table at Midwinter. Only senior pages get to wait on important people like the king.

I have a horse. He is a strawberry roan gelding named Peachblossom. He is too big for me, but I like him. He will be sold or killed if I do not keep him. He is very clever, and plays all kinds of tricks if I do not keep an eye on him.

Although Neal was grumbling at this, everyone could tell it was all very lighthearted. The atmosphere was further lightened by the tone in which Daine was reading, clearly passionate about Peachblossom.

Also, might I have some green tea from our stores? It is very expensive here, and I truly need something to drink at night as I do my classwork.

I did not pack enough dresses. We are allowed to wear our own clothes to supper unless there is a feast or something. Might I have some of my other gowns and some more shifts? And could they be let down an inch? I have grown a little.

"I was so surprised when I got you letter," laughed Ilane. Kel had always preferred to wear breaches at home, and in the Isles as they were much more convenient for training.

Kel smiled at the last paragraph, knowing it would surprise her mother. She had always preferred breeches for wear at home, unless they had to don kimonos for an event at the emperor's court. These days, however, Kel wore dresses whenever possible. She was not about to let the pages forget that there was a girl in their midst.

Cleon chuckled, "How could we ever forget that you were a girl Kel!" This was especially poignant considering their previous relationship.

Kel however looked a little downcast. She often felt as though her fellow pages, squires and even Knights and men of the Own had forgotten that she was a girl. They treated her like one of the boys. This was part of the reason that she never acted on her crush with Neal; surely he just saw her as another mate!

Alanna smiled proudly at Kel; just another example of how they were different. Whilst Alanna wanted to act like a boy, Kel had wanted to remain womanly but do the same things as boys.

Gowns at supper were just one way to remind them.

What else could she tell her family? Kel stared at her letter, drumming her fingers. She decided to leave out that sometimes Prince Roald sat with her and Neal at supper. For one thing, it seemed like bragging. After all, the prince had made it a point to sit at meals with each of the pages at least once during the weeks since her arrival. That he sat with her and Neal the most could simply be due to his curiosity about the Yamanis. Kel suspected that Prince Roald wanted no one to guess that he was fretting about his coming marriage to Princess Chisakami.

Roald blushed, and his parents looked on sadly. They hadn't wanted to burden their son with such a diplomatic duty at such a young age. They had wished for him to carry out his first years training for Knighthood just like the other boys- and girls.

For Jon especially, who had been crowned only a couple of years after gaining his Knighthood, this was difficult for him to reflect on. He was sad that his son too felt the burden of his role as heir.

Instead she wrote:

Does Mama still have her sketchbook from the Islands? Her pictures are better than the ones in books in the palace libraries. Neal wants to know what things look like.

That was true enough. Neal was curious about the Yamanis and how they lived, and if the prince also looked at the sketches, so much the better.

Roald smiled in remembrance - Kel had always had a way to subtly ensure everyone was happy. She was so considerate, and it made him so happy to be her friend that she was considering him, even back then before they became good friends.

She would not mention the bad things that happened, not the boys' tricks or Peachblossom's bad habits. That seemed too much like whining to her.

Piers personally was glad Kel hadn't told them these things. Although they knew she was more than capable, receiving news of her hazing and other struggles would have made him worry even more for his youngest daughter.

Instead she shifted her foot to a better spot on the cushion and wrote on:

There are sparrows who come to me for bread and the seed I get from the stables. They arepractically tame,

Daine read this with a slightly guilty twinge; it was definitely he fault that the animals near the Palace that she so often frequented were tame. It was due to her exposure with them that they adapted and became more human-like. While this had its advantages, like easier communication between the People and the people, it also removed some of the independence of the animals. This had been one of the reasons she had left Dunlath, she remembered. She hadn't wanted the wolves to become so human that they couldn't survive on their own, and she certainly hoped her prolonged presence in places would change the People for good.

and eat at my windowsill. One of them is a female with a pale spot on her head.

Crown, Kel smiled fondly.

I named her Crown. She scolds the others and she is always the first at the food, so I think of her as their queen.

Daine contemplated Kel's insightfulness.

The sparrows get up before dawn, and it is nice to hear them chirp while I dress. There is an amazing lizard-bird skeleton that is actually alive in my class on plants and animals. He likes bread too. Lucky for me, Neal said we can ask the cooks for extra food so I am not forever trying to sneak rolls out of the mess hall!

What else could she say? They didn't have to know that only Neal and the prince would talk to her, or that yesterday she had been doused in a bath of muddy water when she stepped out of her room.

Piers and Ilane sighed. As did Wyldon. He was beginning to form a full image of Kel's first year at the Palace, and it wasn't a nice one.

Thanks to that she had been very late to breakfast, causing the boys to growl as she came in. For her lateness, Wyldon had given her a week of mucking out the stables from the first bell after supper until the second bell.

Wyldon was also beginning to realise that he had been a major catalyst in Kel's suffering.

She would just finish her letter with the cheerful bit about the sparrows.

Once she had finished, she turned to get her sealing wax and seal from her desk drawer. Her bruised foot slipped from its pillow to bang on the floor. She yelped.

Someone knocked on her door. "Kel, open up. It's me, Neal."

"Drat," she muttered, and went to let him in.

As he stepped into the room, he saw her lucky cats. "Why are those things waving?"

Yuki shook her head at young Neal's naivety. He was so familiar with the customs of the Yamani's now. Immediately after the end of the war, they had been married up north on the border. They had then taken a 'honeymoon' to the Yamani Isles, where Yuki was reunited with her parents and siblings and was able to introduce Neal to her family.

She smiled. "The legend is that a cat waving to the first emperor drew him out of the path of an enemy arrow. The Yamanis make hundreds of them. They're supposed to bring luck."

"Good thing you have so many, then," remarked Neal, picking one up and examining it.

Kel made a face at him. "Very funny." She hobbled over and put the cat back where it belonged.

"I thought you were limping in the mess,"

Kel glared at Neal: he was too observant about her life; especially that relating to any potential healing - not so much her love life!

he said. "Have a seat and let me take a look."

"The door stays open," she warned him.

Wyldon was glad that she had actually followed his rules, and it seemed most willingly. He would stand by that rule. Although his social views were progressing, he would maintain certain views on women, and it was his opinion that this particular rule was in fact in Kel's favour.

"Yes, yes, yes. Why are you holed up in here?" he demanded. "Come study with Roald and me."

Roald, Kel and Neal smiled remembering their old studying arrangements, which had expanded with their popularity.

"I will," she said, wincing as she lowered herself onto her bed. "I just had to finish a letter home. I wanted to thank them for the cakes and things."

Neal grabbed her footstool and sat by the bed. Gently he lifted her swollen foot onto his knees. "And you say Peachblossom wasn't trying to hurt you?"

Daine paused from reading to scold Neal, "Of course Peachblossom didn't intend to hurt Kel, Neal!"

Neal looked very guilty.

he said. Her foot was one large bruise.

"He wasn't," Kel retorted. "If he'd been trying, he'd have broken it. I really think he's starting to like - ow!"

Daine looked appreciatively at Kel, who unlike Neal, loved Peachblossom greatly even when he did harm her!

"There's no reason why you should have this kind of pain," muttered Neal, inspecting her toes. "It figures. You aren't at all ticklish."

"Very funny," she retorted, eying him nervously. "What are you going to do?"

"Fix it," he said. "Foot bruises take forever to heal without help."

"I don't know," Kel protested, carefully drawing her foot away. "The Yamanis say it's better to live with pain.

"Well know you sound just like the Stump, Kel!" Neal rolled his eyes.

Wyldon also rolled his eyes: "SHUT UP MEATHEAD!"

Everyone looked shocked at the usually composed Lord Wyldon.

"What," he shrugged innocently, "If Neal will insist on calling me by that nickname, then I shall insist on calling him by his nickname."

You have to let it roll away like water off a stone. That way it doesn't have any power over you."

"They sound like wonderful, cheerful people," commented Neal. "Any other useful warrior stoic arguments?"

"Enough of your sarcasm, Neal" scolded Yuki.

Kel shook her head. "What would Lord Wyldon say if he knew? He told us knights work through pain all the time. He does it himself, you can see it hurts him to use that arm." Wyldon had shed his sling a week after the start of classes, and used his right arm now in weapons practice and riding. "Sometimes there's no healer around, or others need a healer more than you."

"Well, you're neither a stone nor a Yamani nor the Stump, in case you haven't noticed,"

"Oh no, Meathead, Kel thought she was me, let's go with that.." Everyone laughed at Wyldon's outspokenness, and Neal just looked on, mouth agape at his training master.

Neal said tartly. "And it's foolish to stint on healing in a palace full of mages. Don't argue anymore." His voice was firm but his hands gentle as he drew her leg back onto his knees.

Kel thought of her Yamani teachers, who were taught as children to sit unmoving in icy rains for asmuch as an entire day.

"Now that is barbaric," Neal exclaimed.

She was being weak, letting Neal do this.

"You're not being weak, Keladry, Neal is right. It's silly to refuse healing when it's readily available" assured Baird.

She ought to refuse the help, but she couldn't. Her foot hurt too much.

Neal rested her foot on his hands and bowed his head. A soft light of such a deep green as to be nearly black shimmered between his palms and Kel's flesh. She felt it as coolness that sank under her skin, and sighed. The pounding in her foot began to soften until it had ceased. Her toes shrank back to their normal size as she watched.

"I can't believe you gave up learning to be a healer," Kel said when Neal released her foot. "I can't believe you're happier as a page. An old page, at that!"

Baird sighed, knowing what had made his son want to become a page, despite having such a promising career as a healer.

Neal made a face. "I can name three who were older when they started."

"Please don't," Kel said hurriedly. Once Neal started to give lists of things, even a three-person list, he would not be content until he also mentioned what books he'd learned their names from, who wrote them, and who disagreed with the writers of the original books.

"You're insufferable Squire Neal!"

It was far easier not to let him get started. She said, "And don't tell me you did all this to be one of the oldest first-year pages in the realm."

Neal sighed,

Present day Neal sighed too, knowing what was coming.

surveying his long-fingered hands. "On the Great Roll of Knights in the Hall of Crowns, twelve Queenscove knights are listed - only the Naxens have more.

Gary sat up proudly.

In The Scroll of Salute, King Jonathan the First wrote that four houses were the shield of Tortall: Legann, Naxen, ha Minch, and Queenscove. My brothers thought knighthood was the greatest service they could give."

Jon affirmed this "And it was. Your brother's service and the service of all Knights is not easily ignored."

"But it isn't the only service you can give," protested Kel. "You've got brains. You've got the magical Gift. Why are you bashing about here?"

"Keeping you out of trouble,"

"Neal, imagine if you hadn't been around to guide me all those years. Imagine how much I would have suffered from Peachblossom's hooves!" Kel remarked laughing, but also seriously. Could she imagine trying for her Knighthood without Neal's support?

Neal said cheerfully. "Try resting your weight on that." As Kel stood and walked under his gaze, he continued, "As to that ill-tempered nag of yours, I have an idea."

She was no scholar, but she knew when a subject was closed. "He's not a nag, and I won't take another horse."

"I know that," said Neal, exaggeratedly patient. "But perhaps we can have someone talk to him on your behalf. Come on."

"Yay, I presume this is where I feature," Daine said cheerfully.

He led her at a brisk walk through the classroom floor to a broad stair, up two stories, and down a hall. "The academics' rooms are on this floor and the one below," he explained. "Some of our teachers - the ones who aren't priests - live here. You won't get these two until later this year in magic class."

Neal strode to a door decorated with a bronze nameplate. Numair Salmalin was engraved in the metal. Below it, in letters more recently added, was the name Veralidaine Sarrasri.

Daine giggled remembering the scandal she had caused. She had been but 17 when she had moved in with Numair at court and he had been 30. Revealing their relationship to their friends had been shocking enough, but they all knew how much the loved each other. The conservatives meanwhile, were in uproar. Standard, really.

He rapped hard, then waited, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Why is he nervous, all of a sudden? wondered Kel.

Kel laughed out loud while Neal groaned.

"I didn't realise how much of an occupational hazard it was being your friend Kel. It never occurred to me that in reading your thoughts everyone in this room is going to hear all of my private conversations with you!"

Everyone else looked eager to see what had brought this reaction out in Neal.

The door opened a crack and a young woman peered out. Brown curls tumbled around a face lit by blue-gray eyes. Her mouth was soft, her chin roundly stubborn. "Neal, hello," she whispered with a smile. "Did you want Numair? He's sleeping. He was up all last night and half today on a working."

"Actually, Daine, I wanted to ask a favor of you," Neal replied, keeping his own voice to a whisper. He was even more nervous than he'd been a moment ago. "It's for my friend Kel, here. And her horse."

Daine skimmed ahead and read the next line in shock, but laughed it off.

He likes her, Kel realized with amusement. A lot.

There was a black flash as Neal was slammed out of his chair into the wall ten metres behind him.

Daine dropped the scroll to grab Numair's hands, and stop him from doing anything more irrational.

Alanna and Baird meanwhile had raced to Neal who lay crumpled on the floor. Yuki stayed seated with Kelly and Kel, but had lines of worry drawn across her forehead.

Neal stood up swaying as Alanna and Baird gave him the once over, purple and green magic blending quite beautifully over Neal's body.

"Have no fear, dear friends, I am alive" he declared dramatically, "and gosh Daine you need to learn to control your man's jealousy!"

Numair, who had come out of his jealous trance, approached Neal apologetically - "I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me, it was just instinct."

Neal assured Numair that no harm was done, and everyone returned to their seats, Neal placing his harm around the shaken Yuki.

Dramatics aside, Daine continued to read.

She'd had experience with crushes - none of her own, of course,

Dom looked at Kel curiously; he couldn't wait to hear about the crushes she had had before him - although he was a little concerned that he wouldn't like what he heard.

He wasn't quite as jealous as Numair was notorious for, but he certainly wasn't looking forward to hearing about her relationship with the red-headed oaf, Kennan.

but her older sisters Adalia and Oranie were very prone to them.

Anders shook his heads this foolish, young, feminine sisters.

Daine walked into the hall, closing the door gently behind her. "A horse?"

"He's contrary and mean," explained Neal, "and Kel here won't give him up. Keladry of Mindelan, this is Veralidaine Sarrasri. Daine, Kel."

Kel bowed.

"You're the one Bonedancer likes," Daine told her with a nod. "Lindhall says he's taken to you. And Neal doesn't like your horse."

Kel shrugged. She hardly knew what to say. She'd heard so many odd stories about this woman since her family had returned from the Yamani Islands.

Daine laughed at Kel's embarrassed face. She was more than used to people thinking her odd.

"We were thinking - I was thinking - you might take a look," explained Neal. "He's got a mouth like stone - can it be fixed? And he's mean clear through."

"Let me see him," Daine replied. "What's his name?" Her eyes focused on Kel's, as if she could see into the girl's heart.

Numair smiled fondly at his dear, staring at her eyes from the side as she continued to read.

"Peachblossom," Kel said.

It wasn't until Daine smiled that Kel could look away from those blue-gray eyes. "Peachblossom? Not one I know, but then, I have little to do with the nobles' horses," she explained. "Let's have a look at him."

Neal did the talking as they walked down to Peachblossom's stable. He asked Daine a great many questions about people Kel did not know. She followed them, feeling out of place.

When they entered the stable, all of the horses came to the front of their stalls to greet Daine. Shyly Kel pointed her gelding out. Daine went to Peachblossom and stood nose to nose with him, her hands cupped under the horse's chin. Peachblossom's ears were pricked forward with interest. He was more relaxed with Daine than Kel had ever seen him.

Neal made the mistake of trying to stroke him.

Neal groaned in anticipation.

Back went the gelding's ears; up went his head. Neal snatched away his hand. "Excuse me," he muttered.

"Some things never change, Neal" winked Daine, obviously referring to his crush on her.

Ignoring him, Daine ran her hands over the horse, inspecting every inch. Kel watched the examination. Peachblossom seemed to like Daine's touch.

Of course he did, thought Numair lovingly. His wife was so passionate about the People that there was no way they wouldn't want to be around her.

When she was finished, he rested his nose against her gown, which was now covered with horsehair.

"What do you want of him?" Daine asked Kel. "I can soften his mouth, but if you're forever dragging at the rein, it'll just get hard again. Stefan's done wonders with these scars, though Peachblossom says they still pain him some. I can mend those, but if you make him fight and you spur him as some do their mounts, he'll be scarred again. And I can't change his nature for you.

"I would never have asked that of you Daine!" Kel immediately reacted.

Daine knew this, and kept reading, not bothering to respond to Kel.

Peachblossom is who he is; no one has the right to take that away."

"Someone should take away his murderous hatred of me," murmured Neal.

Kel loudly declared "I like him just how he is, thank you very much Meathead!"

"I wouldn't ask it," Kel replied firmly. "We get on all right." Neal snorted. Kel ignored him, telling Daine, "If he didn't hurt from his scars, that might help, and softening his mouth would be a blessing. I'm not one for using the rein hard."

"That's what he says. He also says that if you promise never to use spurs, he'll mind his manners a bit more."

"She has to have spurs when we get to riding in armor," Neal pointed out. "The St-Lord Wyldon makes all the third- and fourth-years wear them."

"There are spurs that don't cut the horse," said Daine quietly. "Peachblossom will settle for those. You really want to keep him?"

Kel shrugged. "It's drawing carts or death if I don't."

Daine voice rung with pride and happiness at Kel's obvious compassion for the People.

"I'll buy him," Daine offered. "I think I have enough. I'd take him off your hands and find you a better mount."

Peachblossom turned his head away from Daine to look at Kel. She felt a pang at the thought of losing him.

"Ugh Kel, you're too attached for your own good!"

She admired the big gelding's independence, the way he didn't seem to care if people liked him or not. She wished she could be more like that. Peachblossom would be happier with someone who could talk to him, though. Daine would be good to him.

Peachblossom put two hooves back, then two more. Another step, and he could turn away from Daine to face Kel. His ears twitched forward. When Kel, unbelieving, held out her open hand

Neal winced,

- as Neal winced-Peachblossom lowered his head and softly lipped her palm.

"That's that," remarked Daine. "He says you need looking after."
"I never thought I'd end up agreeing with a horse," murmured Neal. Peachblossom's ears went flat. He blew a wad of spit onto Neal's shirt.

Everyone was of course laughing. The antics between Neal and Peachblossom brought great humour to the more sombre events in the books.

"He also says because he will let Kel ride him doesn't mean he has to be nice to everyone,"

Neal groaned at the reminder of all the pain he would suffer at Peachblossom's hand - or rather hooves!

Daine remarked, her eyes twinkling. "Come to me, Peachblossom. We've still your hurts to mend." To Kel she added, "I'll teach him spoken commands for when you need him to go faster. You won't need spurs with those."

Neal walked Daine back to her rooms. Kel returned to the page's wing alone, feeling very much in the way and thinking of the classwork on her desk. On the way she stopped at the mess hall kitchen. She helped herself to an apple and begged two rolls for her sparrows from a cook.

She was near her room when voices drew her attention. They came from the hall ahead. "Pages are supposed to be graceful, not clumsy." Kel knew Joren's mocking tones well. She froze.

Oops, thought Kel, some people were definitely not going to be happy at her revelations about hazing.

"Clumsy?" She also knew Merric's voice.

Merric looked at Kel desperately. He definitely didn't want 30 of Tortall's finest Knights, diplomats and mages to read this.

Something clattered and crashed; a boy yelped. Kel turned into the hall to see what was going on.

Three older pages stood over Merric, who had fallen. Apparently he'd been carrying a heavy pitcher and cups on a tray. Now milk had splashed everywhere and the dishes lay in pieces.

"Don't just grovel there," jeered Vinson, one of Joren's friends. "Stand and mop it up."

Wyldon groaned. He didn't want to hear about this. It would just remind him of his mistakes as training master.

"Fetch us another pitcher of milk, and fresh cups," added Joren. "How can we study if we are thirsty?"

Kel clenched her fists. It was the custom that Anders had described,

"This is definitely not what I meant though, this is much more extreme. This is bullying not hazing." said Anders in a concerned voice. Although he knew his little sister could handle herself, heck she was a better Knight than he was, he would always see her as the 3 year old girl shipped off to the Yamani Isles.

the one in which older pages made first-years do errands to earn their right to be considered true pages. Kel had done such errands herself for the prince. Most senior pages understood that first-years had little time for their work and gave them tasks that were small and quickly done. But she'd heard whispers that Joren liked the custom a bit too much, and liked to add a bit of pain to his errands.

Merric stood, dripping milk, his pale face crimson with shame. "I'll need cloths," he said.

Joren planted his hand on the smaller boy's back and shoved. Merric's feet slipped; he flew forward, landing on his face again.

Merric was flushing bright red.

Alanna seeing this piped up "Don't worry Sir Merric - I was bullied terribly in my first years as a page…"

All of the younger generation looked at the King's Champion in shock. No one could imagine anyone bullying her. She was fierce, strong and frankly quite intimidating.

Alanna explained, "I was always small for my age, not made easy by the fact that I was actually a girl! I got hazed really badly, and no matter what Raoul, Gary and Jon tried to do to help me, I had to sort it out myself - as I'm sure Kel is about to realise."

"Use what you're wearing for cloths," Joren said merrily. "They're doing well enough so far!"

"And shut up while you're at it," added Vinson.

The third member of their trio, Zahir, caught sight of Kel. He elbowed Joren and pointed to her.

Jon face froze in recognition of the fact that his own Squire had been bullying the poor first year. He knew that Zahir had been friends with both Joren and Vinson, but it was different to read about it from a first hand perspective.

"Get mopping," Joren ordered Merric. "Every drop, mind." He turned to Kel. "What's the matter with you, probationer?" he demanded coldly.

Dom clenched his fists. He would not be able to deal with Joren in these books.

Kel clenched her fists. "This is servants' work," she said. "It has nothing to do with being a page and fetching and carrying for people. It isn't what's meant by earning our way."

Ilane and Piers were proud that their daughter was standing up for her beliefs, but Anders was not so naive, and knew that Kel could not interefere.

Joren took a step forward. "This is none of your affair - unless you want what he's getting."

Merric looked at Kel, then away. Kel remained where she was, frozen with indecision. They were older, taller, and faster, with every muscle trained hard by Lord Wyldon. These student warriors would outrank her in the Yamani Islands. There she would owe them her obedience.

In Yaman, picking on a younger warrior would be considered a waste of the time owed to your overlord, she thought numbly.

If I interfere, I might give Lord Wyldon an excuse to get rid of me, she realized.

Wyldon was disappointed at the conundrum which Keladry faced; do the just thing and act, do the expected thing and back off. This was not what it mean to be a Knight. This was not chivalrous.

Joren's face went even harder. He came down the hall, fists raised.

For the first time in her life, Keladry of Mindelan ran from a fight with a bully. Reaching the safety of her room, she locked the door behind her. Even there, she thought she could still hear the laughter that had followed her escape.

"You did the right thing, Kel," Neal whispered. Merric, hearing this, nodded fiercely.

Somehow she managed a little classwork before the bell rang for bed. She got into her nightdress and crawled under the covers, shivering. Over and over she saw the scene in her mind, with poor Merric outnumbered and unable to fight back. He'd been right to be afraid, she told herself repeatedly. She'd been right to be afraid. Giving way to superior force was how their world worked. Someday she and Merric both would show Joren and his crew how it felt to be humiliated and afraid.

So, if she thought they would fear her, why didn't she feel better? She'd done the wise thing. Hadn't she?

"You did, Keladry. You know that." said the Stump, of all people.

You could tell on them, a voice whispered in her heart. You know they tripped Merric deliberately. No one is supposed to take the earning-your-way custom that far.

All Knights in the room flinched at the thought. Pages were not tattletales. They dealt with their problems or suffered in silence. There was a code, and it must be followed.

She flinched at the thought. Pages were not tattletales. They dealt with problems or suffered in silence. Everyone would despise her for breaking that unwritten law. Wyldon would despise her. Her brothers would shake their heads in shame. She would be sent home.

You saw a bad thing done and you didn't raise a hand or speak out, argued her better self. Could you swear a knight's oath, knowing that you once let bullies get away with it?

Jon had spent the past few minutes shaking his head, incredulous at the inherent sense of justice in Kel - she really was the Protector of the Small.

If I get in fights, won't Lord Wyldon use that as an excuse to be rid of me?

Perhaps not. She'd heard Anders's stories. Pages were expected to fight, win or lose, and take the punishments doled out. Alanna the Lioness was in fights as a page.

"Damn right I was," she sat up proudly.

She got punished for them all. She took her punishment and never gave up the names of those she'd fought with.

Jon, Raoul and Gary chuckled. They remembered the frequent times Kel would come to the mess hall covered in bruises, or dirt, or cuts and blood. She took a battering as a page.

That was how things were done.

Of course none of them had been on probation. Only Keladry of Mindelan was served that bowl of sour soup.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself! she scolded,

Wyldon was surprised. While he liked Kel well enough now, when she was a page he had presumed all she had spent her time doing was wallowing in self-pity.

trying to find a spot in her bed that wasn't hot from her thrashing around. We don't argue with custom; we obey it. Wiser people than us started such things, it's as simple as that.

But what if custom is wrong? demanded the part of her that believed in the code of chivalry. A knight must set things right.

Roald looked at Kel carefully. She had such a great set of right and wrong. And although, this year she had shown herself to be a fabulous Lady Knight Commander of the King's Own, he couldn't help but think that she would be equally suited to another role… And, he considered, maybe one day, when I'm King, and Dad's generation is done with official warrior business, maybe then, I can offer Kel the kind of position she could never deny.

I'm not a knight yet, she told herself, punching a pillow that seemed determined to smother her. I'm not even a real page. I'll worry about things like that when I am.

Shouldn't I worry about them all along? If I don't worry about them as a page or a squire, why should I care when I am a knight?

Wyldon shook his head at the probationary page's moral fibre.

At last she slept.

The first thing she noticed that was not part of her unhappy night was the prickle of tiny claws on her hand. She opened her eyes and looked down. A sparrow - the female with the spot on her head that Kel had named Crown - stood on her hand, looking at her. Crown turned her head this way and that, as if trying to decide what to do with this great lazy girl who lay abed when the sun was about to rise.

Most in the room would definitely not label Kel a 'great lazy girl'.

Kel looked at her windows, certain she had not opened the lower set of shutters the night before. She was right. Only the small upper shutters were open. Crown had flown in through those, seeing well enough in the pre-dawn glow to land safely on Kel.

It seemed the bird had exhausted her supply of patience. She jumped onto Kel's chin and pecked her gently on the nose.

Kel missed being woken up every morning by Crown and Nari. Her third generation of sparrows still visited her often in her quarters with the Own, but they preferred to sleep on the edge of the Royal Forest. Kel was glad of this, but missed them dearly.

"All right," Kel croaked. At the first movement of her chin, the bird hopped back to her chest. "Tell your friends I'm coming."

Crown flew up and out of the open shutters, for all the world as if she had understood.

Neal said the animals around here are strange, Kel thought, tossing her blankets aside. I guess he's right.

Everyone knew that all the animals in the Palace were different - and they all knew it was because of the wild girl reading this chapter.

Lurching to the windows, she opened the lower shutters. The sparrow flock, brown and tan females and black-collared males alike, sat on the sill in a line, watching her.

"I hope you had a better night than I did," Kel told them, getting her rolls and seed.

In the mess hall, Neal squinted at her as she toyed with her breakfast. "You look as bad as I feel," he croaked. "Where's the sunny smile? The 'Hello, Neal, isn't it a wonderful day to be alive in the royal palace?' pain-in-the-bum greeting I usually get?"

Kel shoved her elbows into Neal's side. Although inside she was smiling She missed spending everyday with her best friend; she missed their banter.

Kel considered shoving her porridge into his face and decided against it. "I don't know," she said at last. "Why don't you go look for it?"

Neal sat up. "Ouch. It bites."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded sharply, tired of hiding the way she felt. "That I'll say 'yes' and 'so mote' to anything, smile and go along no matter what? Never argue, never complain?"

"Jeeeeeeeze, Kel, what's gotten into you? Did somebody put hot peppers in your wash water." drawled Neal.

Neal looked more awake with every word. He ran his fingers through his hair. "What's gotten into you? Did somebody put hot peppers in your wash water?"

"Gosh some people never change…"

"Nothing." Kel slammed her bowl onto her tray and carried it to the servants.

Neal stopped her at the mess door. "Did anything happen last night after you left?"

"Damn you and your insightfulness, Neal" Kel complained.

"Nothing," she said, biting off the words. "Not one gods-blest thing." She left him to finish breakfast and went back to her room for her practice jacket.

She was halfway there when Cleon stopped her. He was a third-year page, a joker who still sported a tan from days spent in his father's fields, bringing in the harvest.

Dom jokingly said "Ah finally, alone time for our lovers!"

Kel did not laugh, and Cleon did not laugh, but Kel's year mates had a laugh.

"Page, I need my archer's glove," he told her with a grin. "Run to my room and fetch it." When Kel frowned at him, not wanting to be bothered just then, he flapped his hands. "Run along, now. Don't take all day. You don't want punishment duty for being late."

As far as she knew, Cleon wasn't one of Joren's friends. He was just being a pain; the broad grin on his face told her that much.

Kel's brother nodded; "see that's the kind of hazing that is acceptable!"

What if I refused? she wondered, even as her feet started down the hall, carrying the rest of her with them. What could he do to me?

But she didn't refuse. If I'm to be a coward when I think someone goes too far with the custom, I might as well be one all the time, she thought bitterly. She ran to do as she was bid.

She caught up to Cleon as the pages were filing into their first practice of the day, and thrust his archery glove into his face. "Very good," he said, taking it. "You know, we all thought you wouldn't last this long."

Kel stared at him, thinking, What an odd thing to say! "Last this long today, or last this long for five weeks?" she asked.

"In training. You know." He spread his arms, taking in their surroundings. "Everyone had bets on that you'd run home before a week was up." He shook his head, smiling. "You might want to run now, while you still have the strength. Lord Wyldon will never let you stay."

Kel scowled at Cleon; she'd forgotten what a prick he'd been in her first year!

"He might surprise you," Kel retorted, keeping her face Yamani-smooth.

Cleon looked at Kel oddly… "He never surprises anyone."

Cleon smiled oddly. "He never surprises anyone." He sauntered into the yard.

Maybe he doesn't know Lord Wyldon as well as he thinks he does,

Neal laughed, "And what, you know the Stump well, Kel?"

Kel thought grimly as she followed him through the gate. I have to believe that.

Daine finished up the chapter smiling, she'd enjoyed reading about herself, Neal's little crush and of course Peachblossom. She put the scroll down in her lap, looking around for someone to read the next chapter.

Raoul looked at the scroll and took it from Daine, placed it on the floor under his bench and announced that he was starving.

Everyone else in the Hall were also famished so it was agreed they'd head to the mess for dinner.

Kel was the last to file out of the Hall, just as she was about to shut the door, she heard a very familiar voice boom, "Don't you leave without talking to me, Lady Knight."

She paused, turned around, and slipped back into the Chamber without anyone noticing.

Hey guys! Wow 3.5k views on my story now! I'm so happy :)

I'm going to be travelling this weekend and for the next 2 weeks so updates may be sporadic, but check back often, cause you never know!

I'd like to take a quick moment to thank all of you that review, specifically those who review as Guests so I can't reply (I reply to all my other reviews hehe).

Thank you Peona (your review was so kind and comforting!), Morgan (for your persistence) and Ann (for your encouragement).

Emily