The air was cold. An autumn chill filled the girl's lungs tightly with every breath. I hate the cold, she thought. She knew it wasn't true. She loved playing in the snow in winter, skating and snowshoeing. But her father wanted her to be a lady, and ladies didn't do that sort of thing.

"Queen Thayet does," she muttered to herself. "Lady Alanna and Lady Keladry do. Why shouldn't I?"

Reaching down and scooping up a handful of leaves in her hands, Celiene tossed her head back and threw the leaves in the air, pretending they were snow.

"Celiene!" A voice rang out through the windy air. Celiene was surprised that she could hear her mother's voice through the wind and distance. "Celiene, come here please!"

Her mother's voice sounded calm, barely raised over it's usual soft tone. Celiene knew what that call meant. Her father wanted to speak with her.

Though Celiene was very fit and tall for her age, she still had to run as fast as she could to meet her mother at her room in time.

"Quickly, Celi, arms up." Celiene, used to the routine, already had her hands in the air, ready for her mother to pull of her tunic and shirt and for her maid, Ella, to slip her shift and dress on. "Your father is in his study," Liana said, quickly brushing the burrs and leaves out of her daughter's hair. "He wants to speak about your future. I'm fetching tea, I'll be there in a moment."

She stepped back and viewed her handiwork. Other than the pink of the young girl's cheeks from running, she looked perfect. Ella licked her thumb and rubbed it against Celiene's nose, wiping off one last smudge of dirt.

The two women smiled, and Ella took ahold of her young mistress' hand to take her to her father's study.

"Have you been practicing?" Ella asked kindly, squeezing Celiene's hand.

Celiene grinned. "Every morning, you know that! That's what I was doing, but I got distracted."

Ella raised an eyebrow. "By what?"

Celiene blushed and looked down. "I was playing with the leaves." She muttered under her breath.

Ella smiled weakly. "I understand, child. You are young, and you are doing very well with your practicing." She looked up. Celiene, young as she was, saw the look in her maid's eye. Ella was a skilled Shang warrior, whose mother had been Celiene's grandmothers and great-grandmother's maid, as well as many generations of women before her. Ella had gone to become a Shang warrior when she was a teenager, but when her mother had died, she had insisted on taking on the duty that was rightfully hers and tending to two generations worth of Denaia ladies. Liana had told Ella that she was free to leave whenever she wished, but the warrior had held her ground, accepting only an average salary for her work, refusing to leave until her duty was complete. But no matter how she refused to leave, Liana and Celiene could both clearly see that the woman missed her wandering days.

Now, with her duty continuing until her own daughter reached a proper age to take over for her (a very long time away, as Ella was not even married yet), Ella was teaching Celiene the ways of the Shang.

"How long did your schooling take?" Celiene asked, trying to change the subject, but still wanting to hear about the Shang.

Ella looked thoughtful. "Fifteen years. But I didn't spend all of my education with the same master, which slowed me down, and I didn't start until I was ten." She sighed. "If you were going anywhere other than a convent, we could have you educated by the time you were eighteen." She tucked a piece of hair behind Celiene's ear. "Not a word. Go talk to your father."

Any dreams of being a Shang warrior were pushed out of Celiene's head to make way for harsh reality. "Good morning, love." Baron Roger of Denaia said, smiling at his daughter.

Celiene smiled brightly. "Good morning, daddy!" As much as she hated her fathers old fashioned ideas about women, he was a nice man who loved her.

"Celiene, you are growing up. Soon, you will be going away to the convent!"

Celiene frowned. Her father always treated her like a child. She knew what she wanted, and it certainly wasn't a life in the convent.

"You are leaving after the spring thaw comes. You will be a beautiful lady. You have a good dowry, and you will have a fine marriage."

With that, the door to the study opened. There stood Ella, holding a tray of tea, and Liana, her arms crossed over her chest.

"No she won't."

Roger frowned at his wife. "Now Liana, don't speak that way. You don't want to get those ideas into her head! She will do fine. Any man would be glad to marry her."

"She's not going to the City of the Gods, Roger. She's not going to the convent." She walked across the room to her husband and placed a scroll in his hands. "She is going to Corus, to become a knight."

"Now darling," Roger snapped, ignoring the parchment in his hand, "do not try to live vicariously through your daughter!"

Liana shook her head calmly. "This has nothing to do with my dreams, Roger. This is what Celiene wants. What she was meant to do."

Roger looked down at his young daughter. "Don't fall into your mother's trap, Celi. You can go to the convent."

"She doesn't want to, Roger!"

"Why doesn't someone ask her?" Ella cried. The room went silent. All eyes fell on Celiene.

"I want to." She said, taking her mother's hand. "I've been practicing, daddy. Ella has been teaching me how to fight, and mama has shown me how to use my magic. I know what I want to do. It's not like I'm getting into something I know nothing about."

Roger shook his head. "No daughter of mine is going to live with a bunch of boys and spend her life attacking people!"

"Would you rather she spend her life being attacked?" Liana snapped. "You remember what happened at the king's coronation. You may have just been a child, but I know you remember. Would you rather have your daughter be one of the knights fighting, or one of the ladies dying?"

Roger sighed. "Liana," he said calmly, "she is a girl. She wouldn't be able to do it. Besides, how do we know she would be admitted?"

Celiene felt white hot fury flow through her veins. She wouldn't be able to do it? How did he know? He was a knight, or at least he used to be. And he knew Celiene. Didn't he know she was strong?

"Just let me try, daddy. I can make you proud. I can be a hero."

Roger shook his head. "I'm very sorry, Celiene, but I must say no."

Liana smiled. "You're too late, Roger. Her bags are packed, her fees have been paid. The letter admitting her is in your hand."

Roger looked at the scroll, and saw that it was not sealed. He quickly threw it into the fire, as if it had burned him.

"Daddy!" Celiene cried.

Liana put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "It's alright, Celi. It doesn't matter. Roger," she said to her husband, "she and Ella leave first thing in the morning. We'll forgive you sometime. Maybe when our daughter is a champion."

As I am sure you all noticed, this story is the first one I have written with an original main character. Usually I avoid this type of story, because I find that there is often very little connection with the 'real' Tortall, but I hope that this one will be alright. This story will integrate characters from the other books, locations, events, etc.

In case you haven't noticed, it takes place 24 or 25 years after Alanna won her shield – and a few years after the conclusion of Lady Knight. I have to reread Lady Knight to figure out how many years it encompasses, but it would only change my time frame by two or three years, I think.

Please review, and I hope you enjoy it!