AN: I know that next to no one will read this, but it grabbed me today. I'm not sure why after so long, but I won't complain. I still love this story. Enjoy!

Chapter 7: One Step Closer

Dear Aunti Ambrosia,

Tomorrow are the Big Examinations. I'm very nervous for them, but whenever I voice this anxiety to Dennis, he just tells me that I've faced Ysandir, and that this is nothing in comparison. I suppose he's right, but he doesn't really understand.

I'm not really worried about the exams themselves. I'm worried that I won't be judged fairly because I'm a girl, a fact that the training master does not let me forget. Not that I want to forget. I just want to be treated equally.

I also worry that I won't get a good knight master, also because of my sex. I don't want to be trained by a buffoon, but I fear that anyone worth having as a knight master will not want me as a squire.

I wish I could talk to the Lioness about all of this. She would understand.

Anyways, I'll close now. By the time you read this, I'll either be a squire with nothing to do, or I'll be on my way home.

Good night, Aunti.

-Nadia

…..

"Told you," Dennis gasped as he sat down beside Nadia. He had just finished his examination, and earned a passing score."Piece of cake."

"Yes, well, you have the equipment that they're looking for," Nadia said, leaning her head towards the judges pavilion. "I'm a girl. If I make even the tiniest mistake, they'll never pass me."

"If they're unfair, Kally will be nagging my father until she's blue in the face," Roald said from the row behind Nadia.

"She still wants to be a page?" Nadia asked over her shoulder. Roald grinned.

"That's her plan. I don't think she's mentioned it to our parents yet."

"Well they'll just have to judge fairly. Isn't that why Duke Turormot is here?" Cleon said. He was sitting beside Roald

"At least Lord Wyldon isn't judging you," Dennis said.

"I am glad for that. He doesn't come right out and say it, but thinks that I will fail," Nadia said, looking towards his seat. His wife and daughters sat in a row at his side, each one the epitome of a proper lady.

"Well then you just go out there and prove the old fusspot wrong," Dyson said, plopping onto the bench on Nadia's other side.

"Nice to see you," Nadia said. "Been wreaking havoc for your knight master?"

"Just in from Tirith. We cleared out a nearby herd of hurroks," he said, watching as servant reset the testing field. "Charlin sends his greetings, by the way."

"I see you also got yourself a scar," Dennis said, pointing to Dy's arm. It was bandaged from wrist to elbow.

"Oh, that's not as bad as it looks," Dy said. "Nothing to be impressed about; just a mark of my stupidity."

"How so?" Nadia asked.

"I guess I should remember that the mean horsies have big teeth and sharp claws," he said with a shrug.

A moment later Duke Turomot stood up and called out with his booming voice: "Nadiana of Port Emralín, step forward and be examined."

Nadia gulped, then stood and walked forward.

The first portion of the test, called Verbal Questioning, was a series of twenty-five questions. They were designed to asses her knowledge of history, mathematics, science, and the arts. Once again, she found herself grateful for the years of study she put in before she became a page. She answered all of the questions successfully.

Next Nadia had to undergo the Physical Demonstration portion of the test, showing off her skill with three different weapons of her choice. She had chosen the bow, sword, and mace. She was a decent shot with a longbow. Of the five targets she aimed at, she hit them all, and three of the arrows landed in the very center of the bullseye.

Her sword-work was fine, but she was a little worried about the mace. Some of the wrapping around handle came loose and began to slide beneath her fingers. She tightened her grip to make up for it, but still nearly lost the top-heavy weapon.

For the questions portion of the examinations, a page was awarded ten points for each correct answer. Nadia had earned all 250 points. For the show of weapons, each of the three judges graded on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being the poorest. These scores were tallied up and revealed at the end of the exam. That meant that there was a total of 295 points, and to pass her score had to be higher than 280. Nadia had no idea how many she'd points she'd gotten. She wished now that she had been paying attention

She was reasonably sure that she'd gotten most of the points from Duke Gareth. This was the first time that he performed this duty since his heart attack, and he traveled all the way from Naxen to be here. The second judge was a man that Nadia did not recognize. He kept giving her skeptical looks down the end of his nose. Nadia was not sure what kind of score she'd get from him, or from Duke Turomot.

She stood in the center of the testing arena, feeling as though the entire world was staring at her. Duke Turomot stood and his voice began booming out once again.

"Page Nadiana of Port Emralín has completed the final page examinations. In the Verbal Questioning portion, she has earned a perfect score of 250. In the Physical Demonstration section, she earned 33 points, giving her a grand total of 283 out of 295. Nadiana has passed the Big Examinations."

Relief washed over Nadia at having passed the exams, but she was also grateful not to have be the focus of so many eyes for any longer. Her yearmates and the pages near them jumped up with cheers. Grinning, she ran back over to be captured by her friends as they all tried to hug her at once.

…..

At the end of the day, Nadia crawled into her bed. She was exhausted. She mentally cursed herself for letting Dennisin persuade her go celebrating with the other new squires. They had stayed out late into the night.

Remembering the moment when Duke Tuoromot read her score, Nadia smiled again. She was happy to be one step closer to becoming a knight. Now if she could just find a knight master.

Dismissing these thoughts, Nadia rolled onto her side and hugged her pillow. The mattress on her bed felt so soft, and the pillow was deep and gushy, just the way she liked it. Her eyes rapidly began to feel heavier.

Knuckles rapped on her door, echoing through the room.

This can't be happening, Nadia groaned inwardly. Then she had a merry thought. If it was Dennis, she could impale him with a candlestick. When she spoke she tried to sound cheerful and awake.

"Just a moment." She slowly sat up and lit the candle once more. Her slippers were still warm. Nadiana pulled her green dressing gown around her shoulders and opened the door.

The face she saw was not one of her young friends come to congratulate her, but a knight. Sir Gareth the Younger stood at her door.

"I'm sorry to disturb you so late, but I've only just returned from my recent journey to Carthak, so it was meetings all day long, and in the morning I am departing for Naxen."

Nadia had heard about the trip to Carthak. The emperor Orzone had done something to antagonize the Wildmage, and he had paid for it with his palace and his mortal life. Now he lived as a Stormwing. The palace had buzzed with that story, and rumors of a coming war.

"No, Sir, it is alright. But… what brings you here?" Nadia asked hesitantly.

"I know you've had a long day, so I'll be blunt," Sir Gary said. "I am looking to take a squire, and you are my first choice."

"Me, Sir?" Nadiana squeaked.

"My father recommended you above all the boys. He said that you are hard working and dependable." Nadiana blushed, glad for the cover of darkness.

"I am indebted to him," she said. She had always liked the elder Gareth.

"I'm not featherbrained, Nadia; I've noticed that much myself. Father also mentioned that he's caught you watching me wistfully. I'd have thought you'd rather be squired out to the Lioness or the Giantkiller, someone with more prestige than paperwork."

"Your work is no less important than that of Lady Alanna or Lord Raoul. Yes, they protect the king and the people, but you orchestrate the very bowels of the realm," Nadia said. She looked up, realizing that she had begun to babble. Sir Gary was grinning.

"People with your spirit are few and far between. Would you be my squire? I am not above begging."

Nadia smiled. "It would be my honor."

"I leave at the ninth bell on the morn. If you can be ready and at my rooms by dawn, I'd appreciate it."

"I will try to be punctual, Sir," Nadia said. She bid her new knightmaster a good night, then went back to bed. Nadia found that she was too excited to sleep.

…..

"Are we going to Naxen just to relax?" Nadia asked the next morning. As she had promised, she had been outside Sir Gary's rooms at dawn. Now Corus was behind them, and the open road sprawled before them, winding through the countryside.

"I'm going because my wife is about to issue our first child," Gary said. Nadia watched him smile thoughtfully. He had been married to Lady Cythera for nearly eleven years. Nadia had heard many rumors as to why it had taken that long for a baby to be made. Chief among them was that the babe was not Sir Gary's, as he was busy with his male lover, Sir Raoul of Goldenlake. It was a comical rumor, but very popular among the court gossips.

She remembered well the day that she informed Sir Gary of his father's heart attack. The look he had shared with his wife was one she hoped to share with someone, one far-off day. Pairing this memory with the dreamy clouds in Sir Gary's eyes now, Nadia knew that the baby was his. It made her a little jealous to know that the child would grow up with a loving father. Pushing those thoughts out of her head, Nadia made an inquiry.

"What will my responsibilities be at Naxen?"

"Are you worried that you will be bored?" Sir Gary asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I just don't like surprises. That was a hard lesson to learn," Nadia explained, touching the scars on her right hand.

"We'll find you challenges to keep your skills sharp and growing. Naxen's captain of the guard will assist in your physical training, and he'll also school you in the defense of a large castle, though the palace at Corus dwarfs Naxen." Sir Gary took an apple out of an inside pocket, shined it on his sleeve, and offered it to Nadia. "I'll also require an assistant to help with dispatches and other things. There will be plenty for both of us to do. No one can single-handedly 'orchestrate the bowels' of any kingdom."