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“Is this the Realms of the Dead?” Kel asked thickly.

“No. You’ve slept awhile, and you had a healing,” Ilane said. She sat on Kel’s other side with a mug. “You know healings tire you.”

Lord Wyldon helped Kel to sit up with firm, comfortable hands. Her mother held the cup to Kel’s lips: it was tea, warm but not hot. Kel gulped it down, and felt her head clear. Once all of it was gone, she sat up completely, rubbed her face, and checked her right side again. Lord Wyldon was still there.

“Jump?” she asked, before she remembered she was not allowed to have pets.

“Sleeping yet,” the training master replied. “He seems particularly devoted to you.”

Kel looked down, blushing.

“The watch captain asks me to assure you that whoever paid those men to kidnap Lalasa will be found.” Wyldon’s tone was odd, almost gentle. “I will make sure that is so - I want to learn what manner of creature would do so infamous a thing.”

Kel nodded. She would like to know that, too. She bunched her fists. If she was lucky, perhaps she would get a moment to talk to the person who had caused all this, alone. She looked at her mother. “Mama, it is you. When did you get here?”

Ilane smiled and brushed Kel’s hair back with her fingers. “You do remember your father and I came to the big examinations. When I heard you’d been found, I went to see what was going on.”

“Sorry, Mama,” Kel whispered, hanging her head. “I’m sorry you came for nothing.”

“Wash up,” said Wyldon, slapping Kel’s knee briskly. “It’s time for supper. You will feel more the thing once you have eaten.”

Kel did as she was told, happy to use the basin of hot water in her dressing room to get some of the fear-sweat off her hands, arms, and face. She could hear Lord Wyldon and Lady Ilane talking quietly as she changed into fresh clothes. After she combed her hair, she went into the other room. Lord Wyldon had Jump in his lap; Lady Ilane fed sparrows from her hands.

“All set?” asked Wyldon. He put the dog on the hearth rug. Jump yawned, twisted himself into a new position, and went back to sleep. Lord Wyldon opened the door. “Come along,” he ordered. Kel waved to her mother and followed him into the hall.

They walked in silence for a few moments before Wyldon asked, “Well? Aren’t you going to explain why you did not attend the big examinations today?”

Kel stopped and stared up at him. “Sir?” Why did he of all people ask her that?

Wyldon halted, too, and folded his arms over his chest. “The question is straightforward. Have you an explanation?”

“You always say explanations are excuses, my lord,” she reminded him. “You don’t want to hear them.”

He regarded her fixedly for a moment. Finally he asked, “What do you mean to do, then?”

“Repeat the four years, I suppose.”

“Do you expect me to believe you are looking forward to that?”

Kel shook her head. “No, my lord. But I was very late. That’s the penalty.” She bit the inside of her lip, thinking, I will not cry.

To her astonishment, Lord Wyldon clasped her shoulder warmly. “Gods, Mindelan,” he said, “I would you had been born a boy.” He let her go. “Come. You need to eat, and to reassure your friends, though I did have Ezeko brief everyone when we got the full story. No sense in allowing all kinds of wild rumors.”

When he walked on, Kel followed, thinking, But I like being a girl.

Inside the mess hall, Kel gathered a tray and utensils, then went to the servers. When she passed the squires, Garvey jeered, “I bet she hired those men to get out of the exams!”

“I knew she’d crumble at the last moment,” added Vinson. “Females always do.”

A good Yamani would have bowed and planned revenge for a more convenient time. I suppose I’m not a good Yamani anymore, Kel thought as she faced the squires. “Who could be afraid of the big exams?” she asked Vinson and Garvey. “After all, you two passed them.”

Cleon and Balduin of Disart guffawed; Yancen of Irenroha snorted.

“When do you leave?” Joren asked coolly. He sat not with Vinson and Garvey, as Kel might have expected, but with Zahir and Yancen.

“I won’t,” Kel replied.

“You expect us to believe you mean to do all four years again.” There was a mocking smile on Joren’s lips.

Kel shrugged. “Believe what you like.” She turned her back on them and went to get her supper. As she passed the squires’ tables on her way to her friends, Cleon touched her wrist. “I’m all right,” she told him, surprised by the touch.

“Of course you are,” he said. “You’re the best.” Prince Roald, seated across from Cleon, gave her a warm smile.

When Kel put her tray down at her usual table, she slid into the space left for her by Neal and Owen. As soon as she was settled, Neal hugged her fiercely. Owen did the same; he was crying.

Kel fumbled for her handkerchief and gave it to him, saying, “At least I get to spend another year with you, anyway, whelp.” That got a watery grin out of him. She turned to Neal and demanded, “So, did you pass?”

“Of course we passed, and it’s a miracle,” retorted Merric from his place across from them. “You could have said you had to save Lalasa!”

“I told you, they threatened to hurt her,” Neal said firmly. He pressed a cup of fruit juice into Kel’s hands. “Drink up. You look like you need the sweet. You had a healing, didn’t you?”

Kel nodded.

Lord Wyldon had come to the lectern for the evening prayer. They all scrambled to their feet.

“Mithros and Goddess, we pray you, grant your blessing,” Wyldon said, his clear, cold voice cutting through the whispers. The pages and squires bowed their heads. Kel wondered if she was the only one who had noticed that for the first time since her arrival here four years ago, Lord Wyldon had included the Goddess in the nightly prayer. “Strip the veils of hate from our eyes, and the grip of bitterness from our hearts. Teach us to be pure in our souls, dedicated only to service, duty, and honor.”

He lowered his hands. His audience murmured, “So mote it be.”

Kel stopped the boys from asking more questions by asking them about the examinations. As she listened to them, she kept thinking that something was very wrong. Shouldn’t the fourth-years have walked to the squires’ tables by now? And while the meal before them was good, it was still a typical supper. The night the fourth-years became squires, there were always special foods and entertainment for them all.

Halfway through the meal, a servant opened the door. In walked an old man wearing a long, fur-collared, maroon wool robe and a velvet cap with ear-flaps. Over the shoulders of his robe he wore a heavy gold chain of office, its pendant marked with the crossed gavel and sword of the Royal Magistrates. Kel had seen him before, at the big examinations of years past. He was Duke Turomot of Wellam, the Lord Magistrate and chief examiner of pages.

Everyone stood as the old man walked stiffly to Lord Wyldon’s dais. The training master came over and bowed to him. For a moment they talked in low voices. Then Lord Wyldon helped Duke Turomot up to the lectern.

The old man glared down at his audience. “Silence,” he ordered, though no one made a sound.

“Evidence has been given, confession made. Two men were paid by an as-yet-unknown third man to force Page Keladry of Mindelan either to be late for the fourth-year examinations or to be unable to attend altogether. Said coercion being out of the control of Page Keladry or of Lord Wyldon her training master, it is hereby ordained that in two days’ time Keladry of Mindelan shall present herself in the First Court of Law of the palace in Corus at the second bell of the morning. There and in the practice courts she will be given the appropriate fourth-year tests by the regular examiners.”

The boys cried out in astonishment, filling the room with sound. Kel’s Yamani training took hold. It kept her face calm, her back straight, and her knees locked when she might have collapsed onto her seat. She couldn’t believe her ears. Neal was pounding her on the back - so was Owen. Iden, Warric, and her first-year friends jumped up and down, cheering.

But I was ready to do it, she thought, gripping the table, wanting to touch something real. I didn’t like it; I didn’t want it. I would have screamed and wept and hit things once I was alone, in private, as is decent. But I would have done it. I would have been a page four more years.

Duke Turomot pounded the lectern. “Order!” he shouted. “Order!”

The pages slowly calmed down. Breathing heavily, the old man said, “There was no reason for this unseemly display. If any such occurs on testing day, I will have those responsible ejected from my presence.” He glared at them, making sure they’d heard, then added, “Heralds have been sent to announce the new day of testing. Furthermore, the one who perpetrated this defilement of the law and the examinations will be found and duly punished. With the guidance of Mithros, we will achieve a fair solution.”

They recognized the cue and replied, “So mote it be.”

Duke Turomot left the mess hall, clutching his robes tightly around his thin frame. Lord Wyldon took his place at the lectern. “Provided that Keladry of Mindelan passes her fourth-year examinations in two days, we will hold the celebration for the new squires on that evening. Page Keladry, report to me when you have finished your meal.”

She didn’t finish her supper, only gave up on it. She hardly knew what to think. They start out treating me different, putting me on probation, even though they say I’m supposed to be the same as the boys, she thought as she carried her tray to the servers. And now they make another exception for me, then tell me I’m to move to the squires’ tables with everybody else. Can’t they make up their minds?

Two days later at the supper hour, Lord Wyldon stood at the lectern and announced, “New squires, you are seated in the wrong place.”

Kel, Neal, Merric, Seaver, Esmond, and Quinden picked up their trays. Together they walked to the lowliest of the squires’ tables as the pages and squires applauded and cheered.

So far, so good, thought Kel as she took her seat. She was tired, but happy. She could still remember the look of pride in the eyes of her parents, her brothers Inness and Anders, and her sisters Adalia and Oranie, all of whom had come for the big examinations. She could remember the grins on the faces of Sir Myles, Lord Raoul, her friends among the squires, Daine, Salma, Gower, and Lalasa. And she meant to enjoy the night, and the fresh cherry pies, and the tumblers hired by Lord Wyldon as a treat for them all.

As she walked out of the mess hall, yawning, a hand reached out to stop her. It was Lord Wyldon. “Congratulations,” he said quietly. “You have earned your new status.”

Kel bowed. “Thank you, my lord.” It meant a great deal, coming from him.

“You should know, it may be a little while before you are chosen as a squire. It’s the congress,” he said, understanding the question in her eyes. “Most knights will take a little extra time to look the new squires over, since they will be here.”

“But you think it would take me a long time to find a knight-master anyway, being The Girl,” Kel suggested, surprising herself with her new boldness. Maybe it was that funny, baffled look in his eyes that gave her the courage.

Wyldon smiled crookedly. “I think I will no longer try to predict what will or will not happen to you, Squire Keladry. So far you have proved me wrong on every count. Even I can learn when to quit.” He bowed to her, and walked away.

Kel was still trying to decide what he’d meant when she returned to her rooms. She had a guest: Lalasa was pouring tea for Stefan Groomsman. Jump was on his back at the stableman’s feet, offering his belly to be scratched. The sparrows had retired for the night, all but Crown, Freckle, and Peg. They were picking on a crumb-covered plate that showed the man had been there for some time.

“I’m sorry,” Kel said, upset that he might have been waiting since the time she normally came in from supper. “Lalasa, you should have sent the birds for me…Is Peachblossom all right?” She couldn’t think of any other reason that might bring the people-shy hostler into the palace itself.

“No, no, Squire Keladry, Peachblossom’s fine.” Stefan got to his feet, shedding crumbs. Reaching inside his tunic, he dragged out a packet tied with string. “I was told to give this to you today.”

Kel accepted it with a frown and undid the string. When she opened the packet, she found a handful of folded papers. The top one was a bill of sale for the strawberry roan gelding Peachblossom, marked “paid in full,” witnessed by a palace notary, and made out to Keladry of Mindelan, squire. The other papers appeared to be paid bills for feed, care, and palace stabling, all for the strawberry roan gelding Peachblossom, owned by Keladry of Mindelan, squire. The sums listed covered four years. All were notarized, complete with red wax seals. If there was anything more official-looking, Kel didn’t know of it.

“I’m that relieved,” Stefan commented as the confused Kel looked through the papers a second time. “It broke my heart to think of parting you two, let alone I doubt he’d do near so well with anyone else. Congratulations, squire.”

He was headed for the door when Kel said, “Wait! I didn’t - who did this?” She leafed through the documents, looking for any names other than her own, Stefan’s, and the notary’s. “I don’t see who paid all this money! Stefan?”

The door closing was her only answer.

At the bottom of the receipts was a folded note. Her mysterious benefactor had written, “Gods all bless, Lady Squire.”

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Adalia of Mindelan sometimes called Adie, Kel’s older sister

Alanna of Pirate’s Swoop the King’s Champion, and Olau also called “the Lioness,” born Alanna of Trebond

Anders of Mindelan Kel’s oldest brother, a knight

Baird of Queenscove, Duke chief of Tortall’s healers, Neal’s father

Balcus Starsioorn springtime god

Baldwin of Disart senior page/squire

Bonedancer living archaeopteryx (dinosaur bird) skeleton

Chisakami, Princess daughter of the Yamani emperor, former betrothed of Prince Roald, deceased

Clean of Kennan senior page/squire

Conal of Mindelan Kel’s third-oldest brother, a knight