Disclaimer: What I said in Chapter One.
A/N: Thanking only new reviews this time:
Fan of Tortall ¡V Hey, thanks for reviewing!!!
Larzdinn ¡V All right, I¡¦ve come to the conclusion that YOU ROCK, GIRL!!!! You reviewed THREE TIMES!!!!!! K/N is the coolest; they are made in heaven, as you said¡K Thanks so much for trying to answer my questions, and I¡¦m glad you thought that part with A/J was sweet!!! Oh, just realized that those¡¦re the same initials for Alanna/Jon! No, I meant Ariel/Jeremy. Yes, I do love your smilies. And I¡¦m going to make Ariel graduate (or whatever they call it) when she¡¦s eighteen, I think. She¡¦ll just be a really fast learner, like you said, and in answer to your question about Ariel¡¦s training: I am so so so terribly sorry, but I have to skip the part when she trains, because you see, I¡¦ve got a dangerous little quest for her after she becomes Shang or whatever, and I¡¦d have too many chapters then!!! Except, I don¡¦t know what the quest is going to be yet, I only know I¡¦m making her go on a quest. Heh heh. Any ideas? Thanks so much for reviewing, I owe you. Oh, I just realized that Ariel/Jeremy/Jade are all still ten¡K there can¡¦t be that much romance¡K ah, well.
Aliya ¡V Hey, thanks so much, I owe you one. ;-)
Lioness ¡V YES!!! I¡¦m K/N too!!! I LOVE Kel and Neal!!! Don¡¦t they just belong together?
Sami ¡V You reviewed TWICE!!!! YAY!!! Go you!!!!! Thanko for the e-mails, I feel so special. I am not alone in this world anymore!! And here I was, thinking my humor was one-of-a-kind¡K
Another A/N: All right, who has me on Author Alert? (screams ecstatically) Of course, it might be someone who reviewed one of my other stories, but just in case it¡¦s Lioness of God, I want to ask. WHO WHO WHO??? I really owe whoever does!!!
I could imagine Kylaia and Jeremy¡¦s surprise to see me, but still, when I walked in and saw their faces, it was comical. They gasped, recovered, threw themselves at me and sobbed and told me how much they¡¦d missed me¡K
Not really.
Actually, it happened like this. As classes were still in session, I peeked in all the usual places to find Kylaia. She was teaching. As her students practiced and she watched them critically, I crept up by her ear and whispered, ¡§Now I can work on those drills.¡¨
She spun, saw me, and sighed with relief. ¡§Oh, I hoped you would stay,¡¨ she gushed.
I went to find Jeremy next. He was outside on the practice courts with another boy; his name was Derek, I think. As Derek went in for a blow, I signaled to Jeremy. Instead of blocking, he gaped at me and got thwacked in the process. Blushing furiously, he gestured a time-out.
¡§You decided to come back?¡¨ he breathed.
I grinned. ¡§Yes.¡¨
He hugged me timidly, but then had to go back to practice with Derek.
As I surveyed my surroundings, I thought, Maybe it¡¦s not so bad to stay after all.
* * *
After supper, Kylaia pulled me aside. ¡§Ariel¡K you have the Gift, don¡¦t you?¡¨
¡§Yes, I do.¡¨ I started to show her my blue/black glow, but she shook her head firmly.
¡§The Shang consider it cheating, Ariel.¡¨
I was stunned. ¡§You mean¡K I can¡¦t use it?¡¨
¡§Not in combat.¡¨
I bit my lip. I couldn¡¦t imagine life without my Gift, but I was Shang now¡K wasn¡¦t I? Sighing, I thought some more. ¡§I can use it for other things, right? Just not fighting.¡¨
Kylaia cocked her head. ¡§Well¡K¡¨ she hesitated. ¡§All right.¡¨
Relieved, I went back to my room. As I lay in bed that night, I thought of what was to come. I would have to study hard, very hard, because I¡¦d started late. And then I¡¦d have to take the ordeal, which wasn¡¦t so different from a knight; they had an ordeal too. And then, even if I passed, I¡¦d have to survive the first year. Then I was truly Shang, and I could pick a name. Giddily, I thought, how about the Shang Lioness? If Alanna was the knight Lioness, I¡¦d be the Shang Lioness. We¡¦d be equal.
All right, that was really short, but I didn¡¦t want to rush into it. Think of it as a transition. See, the next chapter is going to be when she¡¦s done training, so¡K (shrugs) Review as always.
