I am Ariel. Ariel of Landen, to be exact. Ever since I was little, I knew I wanted to be a knight. When my family heard about Alanna the Lioness, I was even more excited. For that is what my name means.

Lioness of God.

My mother was dismayed when I told her my future plans, as I suspected she would be. I was the only girl out of five boys, and the one way I could help Landen was to marry. ¡§We are a small fief, Ariel,¡¨ my mother pleaded. ¡§Please, be sensible. Train to be a lady, not a knight. They¡¦ll never let you become a knight anyway, what with the scandal Lady Alanna is causing.¡¨

¡§Mama, it¡¦s Sir Alanna,¡¨ I had whined, four years old at the time.

Now I am ten. That¡¦s when boys normally start training. So this morning, I approached my mother once more.

¡§Mama¡K¡¨

¡§Hmm? Oh, Ariel, I¡¦ve been thinking, you need to be getting ready for a convent school, you¡¦re ¡V ¡¨

¡§That¡¦s what I wanted to tell you!¡¨ I¡¦d cried. ¡§I want to go to the palace. I want to train to be a knight. I want to rescue people and help them and do heroic deeds. I want to be a heroine like The Lioness. And I¡¦m leaving today.¡¨

¡§We can¡¦t always have what we want in life, Ariel,¡¨ she informed me gently.

¡§I know, Mama. But I want to be a knight¡K like Ian.¡¨

Her eyes clouded. Ian was my oldest brother. He¡¦d died fighting in the Tusaine War. So I really had six brothers¡K but not anymore. Suddenly Mama turned snappish and edgy.

¡§No. I won¡¦t have you die fighting like Ian. No. No. You will leave for the convent tomorrow, and you most certainly will not leave for the palace today. You are to stay here, understand?¡¨

I stood my ground. I realized that with Mama in this mood, she wouldn¡¦t let me leave willingly. But I also realized that it was my right ¡V my duty, to leave for the palace, on the way to knighthood.

¡§Mama, I am going,¡¨ I dictated slowly. ¡§I am going to become a knight. It is only just. After all, I am a lioness of God, too.¡¨

My mother¡¦s eyes blazed. ¡§What are you talking about?¡¨ she snapped. ¡§The Lioness is The Lioness, and you are Ariel of Landen.¡¨

¡§My name means ¡¥lioness of God.¡¦¡¨

¡§Your name is your great-grandmother¡¦s name. Stop talking nonsense!¡¨ she hissed angrily.

¡§I found great-great-grandma¡¦s diary in an old storeroom full of family possessions. It turns out that she admired lionesses for their strength and courage, and because they were female lions. She named great-grandma after one.¡¨

Mama abruptly spun away. Then slowly, after a moment, she turned back to me. Reaching out a hand, she fingered my coal-black hair. It was a wondrous thing, my hair, curling in tumbling masses of ebony, shining far brighter than those with light-colored locks. Mama toyed with her own tresses. Hers was the same as mine, except she always wore it in an elegant bun, and it was a magnificent gold. Papa also said it was a little ray of sunlight, and mine was a tiny piece of night. Together, we were quite a pair. Papa¡¦s hair was black, like mine, but it was ordinary, not glorious like ours.

¡§What will you do with your hair, darling? It¡¦ll only get in the way.¡¨ There was deep sadness in her voice. ¡§I couldn¡¦t bear it if you ¡V had to ¡V ¡¨

¡§I¡¦ve got to cut it, Mama.¡¨

My mother bit her lip, and turned to walk away. Now it was time for my father.

I found him in his quarters. ¡§Papa, I want to be a knight,¡¨ I told him firmly.

He stared at me. ¡§You must be mad! Girls become ladies, not knights!¡¨

¡§But Sir Alanna ¡V ¡¨

¡§Lady Alanna used her Gift to help her through her training! She is no warrior!¡¨

¡§Papa, no she didn¡¦t, and besides, I have the Gift too.¡¨ Black tinged with deep blue fire shimmered around my fingers, sparking dangerously.

¡§You are going to the convent, and that is final. I am not letting you go to the palace.¡¨

¡§I¡¦m going today, Papa, and you can¡¦t stop me!¡¨ I cried defiantly. I ran towards the door, but my father caught me by the arm, and held me tight. I looked into his eyes.

There was a deep anguish in there, a kind of terrible sadness that no one should ever have to experience. It was a flicker, and then it was gone. I stood, paralyzed by the amount of suffering something could hold. The blue, blue vastness turned stony, and burned deep into me. ¡§Ariel, listen to me. Knighthood is no way for a female to live. They¡¦re ¡V they¡¦re weaker, in more ways than one. Leave the fighting up to the men, Ariel, go to the convent.¡¨

The almost-mocking tone left me indifferent to his words. Females were weaker than males, eh? Well, we¡¦d see about that.

* * *

So here I am, alone in the woods. I¡¦ve nothing but a spare sword from my father¡¦s armory, a bow and arrows, a bundle of clothes, food, and money, blankets, and my mount, Twilight. I wasn¡¦t sure if you needed a sword or not, but it was safer this way. I soon realized it was ridiculous to bring a mount and a small supply of food. Twilight was forever nudging me for treats, and now I am dangerously low.

I set up camp for tonight, and started a small fire with my Gift. My instructor, Jocelyn, had taught me a number of useful spells, although I wasn¡¦t exactly properly trained. As I warmed myself, I heard a rustling in the leaves. I immediately whipped out my bow and stringed it with an arrow. ¡§Who¡¦s there?¡¨ I called shakily. My hands were trembling violently. It was my first night without my parents nearby, of course I was scared!

A girl that looked to be about my age crept into the light of my fire. ¡§I¡¦m sorry,¡¨ she called. ¡§But, um, could you put that thing down? You¡¦re scaring me. I don¡¦t think you¡¦re gripping it right, and I don¡¦t want you to hurt anyone¡K¡¨

I glared, but didn¡¦t put the bow down. ¡§Who are you? Why are you here?¡¨

¡§My name¡¦s Jade. I¡¦m here ¡¥cause¡K you see, I¡¦m ¡V I¡¦m running away from home.¡¨

I lowered the bow. ¡§I¡¦m running away too¡K not exactly away, but¡K I want to be a knight. I¡¦m Ariel.¡¨

Jade whistled. ¡§Like Alanna the Lioness, huh?¡¨ Now finally able to see her clearly, I saw that she had black hair like me, but her eyes were¡K not really one color at all. They were constantly changing, blue, to green, to purple, to brown, to hazel, etc. It was unsettling. She would just stare, and imagine those eyes shifting as she stood there, burning holes into you. I backed away impulsively. But, somehow, she looked familiar¡K

She sighed, closing her eyes. ¡§I am not supernatural, I am not a goddess, I am not a ¡V a witch, I am not a Dark sorceress, I am Jade of ¡V of Crystal Ridge!¡¨

¡§I didn¡¦t say you were.¡¨

¡§I know what you were thinking. Don¡¦t think you¡¦re the first one to think that I¡¦m something not of this world. Sometimes I just hate my eyes, the way they¡¦re always ¡V always changing,¡¨ Jade confided. She gazed wistfully into my beautiful bluish sea-green eyes. ¡§I wish I had your eyes. They¡¦re so lovely. And your hair¡K¡¨

¡§I have to cut it,¡¨ I told her. ¡§Knights can¡¦t have long hair. Enemies could easily seize it and where would I be then?¡¨ I sat down by my fire.

¡§Ariel¡K what makes you so sure that they¡¦ll let you train? Just because The Lioness ¡V ¡¨

¡§They¡¦ll let me,¡¨ I interrupted stubbornly. ¡§I¡¦ll show them.¡¨

Jade took a seat too. ¡§Can I camp with you tonight?¡¨ she asked, blushing. ¡§I¡¦m not exactly equipped for the wilderness¡K¡¨ All she had brought was some food and a bow and arrow, like me.

¡§Of course. Knights are always courteous and generous.¡¨ I flashed a smile. ¡§I might as well start practicing now.¡¨

Jade opened her mouth, then hesitated and closed it. It didn¡¦t seem to matter that she hadn¡¦t spoken.

¡§Jade of Crystal Ridge¡K where is that?¡¨

¡§Oh, it¡¦s, um, near the Great Road East. Where are you from again¡K?¡¨

¡§Landen.¡¨

¡§Huh,¡¨ Jade mused. Then she blushed again. ¡§Umm¡K where are we now? I haven¡¦t, well, I ¡V¡¨

¡§We¡¦re near the River Olorun, we can stop there tomorrow.¡¨

¡§Okay.¡¨ There was a long period of silence, in which Jade poked at the fire, and I wondered where I¡¦d seen her before¡K

¡§Do you have the Gift?¡¨ Jade blurted out. ¡§No, right? Be ¡V because I¡K¡¨

In answer to her question, I summoned the fire deep within me and it emerged from my fingertips, a swirling aura of black with a shimmer of blue.

She bit her lip, like Jocelyn had often done, when I mishandled a spell. Jocelyn¡K Jocelyn!

¡§Do you have the Gift?¡¨

¡§What do you think?¡¨ she snapped.

¡§Well, no ¡V ¡¨

¡§So just lay off!¡¨ she shouted angrily.

¡§Look, I¡¦m sorry, I didn¡¦t mean to ¡V ¡¨

¡§Jocelyn was like that. She was always trying to show off, with her silver fire, always teasing, mocking me, ¡¥oh poor Jade, no Gift like me, the greatest of them all¡¦ ¡V¡¨

¡§So you are related to Jocelyn!¡¨ I cried excitedly. ¡§You¡¦re her sister, aren¡¦t you?¡¨

¡§No,¡¨ Jade snarled. ¡§I¡¦m the Pitiful One. Giftless, powerless, Jade.¡¨ Then her eyes widened in fear, changing from a flashing red-brown to the purest sea green I had ever seen. ¡§You ¡V you know Jocelyn? As in, Jocelyn Carson?¡¨

¡§She was my teacher for my Gift.¡¨

Jade¡¦s face twisted with rage. ¡§That stuck-up, pompous, condescending, excuse of a sister?¡¨

¡§You are her sister!¡¨

She clapped her hands over her mouth. ¡§No, I mean, yes, but it¡¦s not ¡V not what you think, I mean, she¡¦s Carson, but Crystal Ridge, and she ¡V she¡K¡¨

¡§I wonder why she didn¡¦t ever mention you¡K?¡¨ I mused.

¡§Forget it. Let¡¦s sleep,¡¨ Jade snapped. ¡§I don¡¦t know about you, but I¡¦m exhausted, and as knights are always chivalrous, why don¡¦t you offer the lady a blanket?¡¨

So¡K whaddya think? Should I write more? Or drop it? Please please please review???