A/N: Sorry it's been so long, you guys! School, and life, and…yeah. But Here we are with a new chapter, not the chapter I initially meant to post, but that one will be next, maybe… Any who, thanks to all the people who have added me/this story to their favorites/ alerts; y'all are awesome, and please review!

Thayet of Conte, Queen of Tortall, was beyond shocked when Lioness walked right past her without a word. Alanna had never done that, and she looked furious. It did not take long to catch up with the younger woman – especially since Alanna had quite literally run into Raoul and Buri.

"Alanna, what's wrong," Thayet asked her friend, the response, when she got it was not what she expected. Everyone knew that the Lioness had a temper; Thayet had expected her to yell, given how mad she was. Alanna's voice was smoldering with rage.

"You're husband," the Lioness spat.

"What did Jon do now," Raoul asked, trying to figure out himself, he'd never seen her this mad at anyone – let alone Jon.

"Another girl finally – finally - wants to earn her shield, and he orders me to have nothing to do with her. I'm not even allowed to see her." The Lioness's three friends stared at her – surely Jon wouldn't do that, after all he knew how much something like this would mean to the Lioness. "I'm leaving; don't expect to see me around here for a while, Thayet." They watched the Lioness stride off.

Thayet went to find her husband, when she asked him about it, he did not deny it.

It was several months before Thayet heard anything more about Keladry of Mindelan, and when she did it came from Roald. One Sunday, her son had come to spend time with her, and was being quieter than normal.

"Roald," she asked finally. "What's wrong?"

He blinked at her, and opened his mouth before closing it again. "She started a war on hazing."

"Who did," Thayet asked, confused.

"Kel," Roald shook his head. "She's been getting thrashed for months; we all knew she was fighting with a group of third-years. But she never said anything, never asked for help. Neal finally confronted her, and she gave us all a lesson in chivalry. She said she never asked for help because she didn't think she'd get it."

"From what I'm heard of the tradition I'm not surprised," Thayet told her son dryly. They talked for a while more, but Thayet was thinking about the type of person who would repeatedly risk getting pounded for something that was wrong and never ask for help. She heard nothing more about the girl until one day at the end of the year Roald come in eyes shining, to report that Lord Wyldon had let Keladry remain in page training.

The next report the queen received of the girl was how she'd taken command of a group of pages, and saved them all from hill bandits. Jon had related the story to her, adding. "Mind you, she tried to make it sound as though it was a group effort, not her fellow pages following her command."

When Thayet finally met Keladry of Mindelan, her first thought was that the girl was tall; her second was that her son had not exaggerated the girl's skills with the glaive, though at first Keladry seemed nervous around her. Thayet studied the girl. She'd heard many things; Raoul had even said that he'd never had a better squire. It wasn't until Joren of Stone Mountain's trial, that Thayet got a true portrait of the girl's character, though.

When she stood and questioned Turmont about the law, it was clear to Thayet that she cared what happened to her maid and she was right about the law. Thayet was surprised when she approached her and Jon. Roald had hinted that Kel did not like the king. When they were in the clerk's office, Jon smiled and asked her what she wanted to speak about.

"What just happened? It was wrong, sire." Keladry's voice was firm, stating fact. "If Joren had kidnapped me instead if my maid, the legal penalties would have been much worse."

Does she want the boy to suffer? Thayet wondered, not paying attention to the reply Jon made.

"But by law it's right that I get paid for the inconvenience of my maid being frightened to death? Not even that she gets the money, but I do? That's not right, that's like saying common folk are slaves. Their rights are measured in coin, not justice."

She's right, Thayet thought glancing at her husband; she saw that he knew it as well. The squire's suggestion almost made Thayet laugh; Change the law. Simple and direct. When she left Roaul chuckled.

"I think you shocked her, Jon," the big man told his friend.

"I think so as well," he responded with a sigh.

"She doesn't like you," Roaul said cheerfully. "She respects you, and will serve the crown, but I think she still smarts from the fact that you put her on probation."

"Wyldon put her on probation," Jon protested.

"But you allowed it," Thayet told him. "She'll be a good knight, won't she?"

"She'll be a great knight," Roaul told her.

There were so few nobles who treated commoners as people. Thayet would never stop thanking Keladry for what the girl did next though.

A/N: So, yeah, that's it. In case you couldn't figure out the last line, re-read Squire, chapters 8 and 9. And that should answer the questions. Ummm…. Well everything you recognized belongs to Tamora Pierce, not me, so yeah.