(Continued from Ch 67, The Snowflake)

The Chronicles of Rapina

Chapter 68, The Understudy

On Saturday, the second of April, the tournaments resumed for the Bristol Academy for boys. Charles, James and the other athletes competed against boys from the Chantry of Chadwick. Bellany knew that Charles had spent a great deal of time practicing during the winter and hoped that he would be able to carry the Academy to victory in the crossbow events.

As it turned out, the Bristol Academy won the day in all of the events that Bellany normally attended. Charles did exceptionally well, showing up both Erol Fobs and the talented opposing team from the Chantry of Chadwick. His ability to make nearly instantaneous targeting decisions earned him a number of nicknames, including Bulls-eye Norwit and Lightning Bolt. In the rapier event, James actually had to work to defeat the swordsmen of Chadwick, but he was used to working because Bellany had become an increasingly challenging sparring partner. Thus he defeated his opponents decisively. In the joust, Sir Steefl and Lord Carnarvon had little trouble gaining victory over their opponents.

The ball after the tournament was at Rothe Manor, but it brought little change. With the exception of Larissa Jordell and Bernadine Belgado and a few others, the young women shunned Bellany where possible and spoke to her civilly in deference to James Jordell when shunning was not possible. During group dances the ladies had long since accepted that they would have to participate with Bellany because she had such extraordinary endurance that she often danced every dance of the ball. Waiting until Bellany was not on the floor was simply not practical. She was far too popular with the young men to ever lack a dance partner. Bellany's work during the snowstorms, Bianca's gaffe at the Snowflake Ball and the reaction of Headmistress Vargrend had earned Bellany a small measure of respect, but so far it was relatively silent respect.

-------

During the rest of April following the tournament with the Chantry of Chadwick, Bellany continued to work on schoolwork and new spells. Much to Baladus' pleasure she learned to successfully cast Cancel Magic. She wasted a certain amount of time fiddling with her tiny flames and floating balls of light, but she spent most of her time improving her proficiency with both the Tone Skin spell and limited applications of the Malleable Flesh spell. She experimented most with the Tone Skin spell because it governed changes in the skin, including the embedded hair follicles. With practice she found that she could make her hair grow out red or eliminate it completely.

Bellany bought some hair removal wax from one of Larissa Jordell's cosmetic suppliers so that she would have a plausible excuse for her hairlessness. She was certainly not going to tell Mary that she was hairless because she dabbled in sorcery. The truth was that Bellany's magic made body hair optional, and she found it practical to attend the Medusa Club without pubes. It was much easier to clean up that way. The men seemed to enjoy it too. She decided that she had better not tempt fate by doing more fiddling with the Malleable Visage spell while she was in school. The most radical thing she did was to repeatedly but temporarily apply Malleable Flesh to change the shape of her heel and the muscles of her foot. Where normal school work was concerned, Bellany decided to take no chances. She completed her papers for the semester early and turned them in just in case disaster struck and she was caught breaking the rules in spite of her extensive precautions.

She did not have any particular reason to worry that she would get caught, but the Medusa Club and her now frequent late night horsemanship refresher rides astride Starstruck did pose some risk. She doubted that Headmistress Vargrend would rise at two in the morning, come to the academy and manage to spot arrows flying out of a patch of darkness and into the targets out in the boys' archery range. Nevertheless, she knew that her nighttime activities did involve risk in spite of the precautions that she took. On the bright side, Starstruck was becoming accustomed to having the Life Vision spell cast on him. At first it had been very hard for him to accept, but her Telempathy spell had been helpful in getting him calmed down and interested in trying out his changed vision. She imagined the illusion-based Vision In Darkness spell might have been easier on him, but in spite of having scribed it in her book, she doubted she would have time to learn it until summer. Thus she had decided to get him accustomed to the vision-enhancement spell that she already knew.

James Jordell continued to visit her bath several times a week after swordsmanship practice. He was proving to be a valuable source of insight concerning pleasuring men and an apt pupil in lovemaking with women. Surprisingly, he had been able to get her swordsmanship schedule adjusted almost immediately to free up an additional hour of bath time. Bellany suspected that James' parents had left word that any attempt on James' part to bed a young woman should be quietly facilitated. She was always careful to draw only lightly on James' energy because she knew that he had an eye for subtlety.

Bellany continued to spar with James and increasingly she began to spar with other athletes who visited Jordell Manor to watch her train and to refresh their skills with the rapier. News of her prowess spread and for each boy she bested, another came to show up a defeated friend. With the exception of Jamie she deftly trounced all of the boys who challenged her. Nevertheless they kept coming. This was not surprising, given that James took a select few young men behind the secret grillwork to view Bellany's bath. She was quite a sensation among James' closer friends. The boys' inquires about Bianca's rumor that James invited young men to do more than watch Bellany's bath likely explained part of the reason so many young men came over to try their skill.

After Bellany sparred with Vern St. Varlans one evening, James dispensed with the viewing of her bath and simply brought St. Varlans into the Princess Suite bathroom via the secret passage.

"Welcome to my bath, Jamie and Vern." Bellany beckoned them in with her toes.

"It is great to be here. I have been hearing that you and James have been inviting a few men over for some fun. I could not miss that, even if it did mean I had to get trounced trying to compete with you using a rapier. I asked James if I could get in on the fun."

Vern eagerly disrobed and sat down right next to Bellany in the bath.

Bellany smiled. "Actually you are our first. That whole thing that I was entertaining certain friends of James' was one of Bianca's false rumors until now. I guess Jamie thought it would be fun if you helped us make it come true."

Vern blushed. "I hope it is okay with you also."

"I would not be smiling if it were not okay. We both think you are handsome, and I think it is only fair that I enjoy the benefits of being naughty if I have to suffer the other girls shunning me whether I am naughty or not. I need to soap the sweat off my body; would you like to help?"

St. Varlans grinned like a pirate. "That is something I have wanted to do since the first time I watched you bathe from behind the not so secret grille..."

Vern took the soap and caressed the lather into every inch of Bellany's body. Some areas got more attention than others. Vern seemed to appreciate her rump and thighs most of all. After doing her entire body, he came back to her backside for a second soaping. He took evident pleasure in massaging the soap into her high, lush cheeks. He patted them appreciatively.

"I still cannot get over how you lingered to pleasure yourself that first time when I was coming up to the brink behind the grille. If you had not stayed out of the water, I would never have come. It was fantastic how you did not rinse off until I got off."

"I had a hunch you were close. I do not enjoy leaving a man hanging."

"Yes, I noticed you were equally considerate when Lawrence was on the brink that time when you were with Bernadine and Larissa."

While Verne concentrated on her rump, Jamie caressed his way up Bellany’s inner thighs. "You naughty thing!" he squealed. "Obviously you are very wet between the thighs from our playing with your body. Do you think you could take both of us inside your hot, wet cunt at the same time?" Jamie asked wickedly.

"It might be a stretch, but I would enjoy giving it a try," Bellany said gamely.

Indeed it was a bit of a stretch, but not any more difficult than accommodating her stallion. Once both men were inside her, it was wonderful. The energy of two cocks tingling up her spine as they rubbed against one another within her raptly clutching tunnel was magnificent. She guessed if she were not lubricating so copiously the entire experiment would have been a flop, but she counted it as a nice success, especially when the two of them climaxed one after another and pumped her full of their delicious power.

-------

At the end of April the athletes of the Academy of Yieraun came to compete in a tournament against the young men of the Bristol Academy. Bulls-eye Charles made his audiences forget that he had actually lost a tournament during the first semester of the year. He seemed to have found the root of his instinct for swift, accurate shooting. With the exception of the occasional bad shot, his regular shooting resembled the high points of tournaments from the previous semester. Errol Fobs was still a fine partner, but Charles was the undisputed champion, especially when longer ranges and moving targets came into play. Obviously Charles took his proficiency with the crossbow far more seriously than he took his proficiency in academic work. His prowess at tournaments eclipsed the barely adequate marks that he squeaked by on.

Partly because of Charles' shooting, Bellany realized that a competent archer could pick anyone off. She therefore put more time into working on the Transient Shield spell and also scribed a few of its more advanced cousins into her spellbook. These included Aura of Deflection, a spell that worked exclusively on missiles shot from at least ten feet away, Shield of Absorption, a spell that was essentially a persistent version of Transient Shield, and Wizard Skin, a specialized version of the Tone Skin spell from the illusion and shape-shifting book that temporarily enhanced the strength of the caster's skin.

Thus far, Lord Jordell had succeeded in maintaining his unblemished record of wins in the rapier event, and today proved no exception. He would face Kyle Preston, the contender from the Liaern Academy, at the championships even if he lost his bout with Preston at the approaching tournament with Liaern. Bellany vowed to do her best to keep Jamie on his toes. He was a fine swordsman, and although Bellany now managed to trounce him on occasion, most of the time she beat him only with difficulty or lost to him by a point or two. He still managed to trounce her on his better days. Nevertheless, Bellany felt that she had made a great deal of progress as she no longer needed to release life force from her reserves in order to keep up with him.

Towards the end of the day of competition Bellany approached the stands to see if there was a seat available to her to watch the jousting. She was greeted by the usual haughty scowl from Bianca and disdain from the ladies in the stands. Bellany briefly shook her head and then attempted to wend her way through the throngs of people to see if she could find a good spot to watch from near the rail.

On the way through the crowd, she caught sight of Cooyman. The burly armorer had managed to secure a spot by the rail. Bellany worked her way up to him and spoke quietly into his ear. "There is a ball tonight. With so many dancing feet to dodge, I expect the snakes will not be out until a little later than usual."

"Aye, th' snakes are mighty important. We will be headin' indoors fer sure when it's time fer th' snakes ta rise," Cooyman whispered.

Bellany slipped a couple of silver eagles into Cooyman's hand. "I hope you will get yourselves a treat to pass the time until the season is upon you."

"Aye, thank ye, milady. I'll see to it," Cooyman whispered.

There was a fanfare of trumpets and then the herald announced the first joust: "Our first joust shall be Sir Abraham Steefl of the Bristol Academy tilting against Brandon Edmonds of the Academy of Yieraun."

The flag was soon dropped and the mounted chargers came thundering down the lists towards one another. Steefl was steady as a rock, his lance aimed with precision. Edmonds' lance struck Steefl's breastplate, but Steefl twisted slightly and his opponent's tip lost purchase and glanced off. Steefl, on the other hand, nailed his opponent. Edmonds was forced backwards and then spun right out of his saddle by the force of Steefl's charge. He caught the stirrup for a moment, but the speed of his horse and the weight of his armor left him behind in the mud after just an instant.

"Our second joust shall be Lord Carnarvon of the Bristol Academy tilting against Sheldon Wright of the Academy of Yieraun," The herald announced.

Again the chargers catapulted towards one another, mud flying from their feathered hooves. Loyd Carnarvon held his lance a bit high, but steady and then just before he came into range he dropped the blunted point. His opponent actually raised his lance tip, but he was unable to bring it up quickly and accurately enough. It glanced off Carnarvon's breastplate as Carnarvon's lance slammed his opponent backwards. The man flew head over heels off his horse, landing hard on the muddy turf. The crowd applauded and after a brief wait the next contest was announced.

"Our third joust shall be Sir Abraham Steefl tilting against Sheldon Wright of the Academy of Yieraun," The herald announced.

Both knights aimed well this time and there was a sound almost like the crack of thunder as both lances found purchase but snapped as the knights managed to hold fast in their seats. Steefl's lance broke near the middle whereas Wright's broke farther out, closer to the tip. Both knights took tremendous blows and were twisted towards one another. Wright was lifted and his torso and shoulders were pushed backwards by the impact of Steefl's lance. This brought Wright's broken lance abruptly upwards.

Bellany inhaled sharply as the splintered shaft of Wright's lance slammed into the center of the eye slit of Steefl's helm. Steefl's head snapped backwards at the same time as it twisted towards his opponent. The force of the blow lifted and twisted Abraham's whole body right off his horse as if he were a metal top spun by a giant. The crowd was hushed for a moment, before murmuring about Steefl's fate rose like a wave.

Bellany climbed over the rail and ran to Steefl. She feared that she had heard something snap while the crowd held its breath.

"Oh gods, Abraham, please tell me that snapping sound was just a strap!" Bellany gasped.

The school leech arrived a few seconds later along with the young man acting as Steefl's squire and two stretcher-bearers.

"I am Bellany Norwit, the daughter of Sir Steefl's Liege. How is he? Is there anything I can do?" Bellany begged the leech.

"Milady, he has splinters in both eyes and I am going to hold his head steady because his neck has been seriously injured. If his neck is broken he will have a whole lot more to worry about than blindness. I will know more in a few minutes, but right now I can tell you that the only thing likely to save his eyes is a miraculous healing from a priest blessed with the power of the gods. Why don't you run along and see if you can find anyone with healing magic in this town? I will do what I can to make Sir Steefl comfortable and get these splinters out of his eyes, and I will assess the seriousness of the neck injury," the leech replied.

Bellany placed her left palm on the side of Abraham's neck and grimaced. She did not like what her ghost palm sensed. It felt as though there was a gap in the life force flowing through Abraham's spinal cord within his neck. If she sensed it correctly, Abraham's spinal cord was still connected in one small area, but it had nearly been severed.

"I am going to try to find a magical healer for you, Abraham. I will return," Bellany said in case Steefl was conscious.

Bellany scanned the crowd, not with her eyes, but with her lust sense. She located the stilted lust of reverend Leland and started wending her way through the throngs of people towards him.

"Bellany, did you see Abe? How bad is he hurt?" Charles asked as he intercepted her.

"He is going to be blind, Charles, unless we can find him some magical healing. His neck may also be broken, but the leech needs to examine him more closely to see just how bad it is. I thought I heard a snap, but it might just have been a strap. I think I saw reverend Leland over there. Do you know if he can do the healing miracles of the Vindicator?"

"I have never asked, but I sure will now!" Charles exclaimed as he took the lead.

Soon they caught up with Leland.

"Reverend Leland, Abraham Steefl was badly injured during his last joust. He has taken splinters in the eyes and there is a good chance he may have a broken neck. Can you perform the healing miracles of the Vindicator?" Charles asked.

"I wish I could help, but the Vindicator has not blessed me to do such work. The closest healer I know of who could work the miracles for Abraham would be at the Academy of Righteous Wrath, the Priest and Paladin Training Center that Abraham has applied to enter. It is in Southern Norwit. It takes the better part of a day's ride on a decent horse to get there from here and it would take that long again to return with help."

"Reverend, I fear that Abraham's neck is broken, do you know if any of the priests of the other gods that hold services here have healing powers?" Bellany asked.

"I have not spoken to them about such things, but perhaps the headmaster would know," Leland suggested.

"Gods, if Bellany is right about his neck, Abraham could die soon, are you sure you cannot think of anything to do for him, Reverend?" Charles pleaded.

"I will pray for Abraham, and if need be I will ride to the Academy of Righteous Wrath to fetch him a healer with the power of miracles, although I am sure some of you boys could out-ride a simple preacher."

-------

Two hours later Bellany and Charles stood over Abraham Steefl's bed in a room at the school infirmary. He had bandages over his eyes, and his neck was bandaged and propped in a wooden cradle. His breathing was shallow.

"Leech Lambert, how is Sir Steefl doing?" Charles asked.

"He is a tough one or he would have been dead before he hit the turf," Leech Lambert replied. "He took splinters through both eyes and his neck is broken. I removed a few shattered bits of bone in his neck when I explored to see the extent of his spinal injury and I removed the splinters from his eyes. It was delicate surgery given his condition, but the splinters could still cause infection in the eyes even though I removed them and applied an herbal tincture, but if they were left in, severe infection would have been a sure thing.

"Likewise the shards of bone might have done more damage to his spinal cord. I can tell you this: the cord is partly severed. I could not tell just how bad it was without disturbing it, but the wound is grave. Sir Steefl was conscious before I operated. I decided not to put him out. I used a local anesthetic since it is possible that he has a concussion. He could not move anything below his neck and he does not seem to be able to speak save in a whisper when he exhales. These things coupled with the gradual deterioration of his condition underscore the seriousness of his spinal injury. If he makes it through the night then I would say he has a fighting chance, but even if he lives he may remain paralyzed for the rest of his life," Leech Lambert asserted.

Charles nodded grimly. "I talked to Reverend Leland. He said that he does not have the ability to do the healing miracles, but there is someone at the Academy of Righteous Wrath that can do them. Lady Norwit and Lord Carnarvon talked to all of the other priests of the various gods, but no one has a healer closer than Rosehaven. Rosehaven is no closer than the Academy of Righteous Wrath. What if we can get Abraham a magical healer in a couple of days?"

"If Sir Steefl lives the nerve will heal enough in a few days that the severed ends may not rejoin even if magic is applied. In order to have any chance of being effective, magic will need to be applied as soon as possible."

"Vindicator's tit! The closest miracle worker is a good day's ride from here. Given enough horses I could make the trip out there in half the normal time, but it will be dark soon and there is no guarantee that the healer can ride like I can on the return trip. That means the best I may be able to do is return with help sometime tomorrow. Tomorrow in the late morning would be the absolute best. That is provided we have good moon and starlight tonight so that I can ride all night without getting lost," Charles said.

"That may be soon enough if Sir Steefl lives until you return," Leech Lambert assured.

Bellany knew she would not be allowed to go, but she also knew Charles was just impulsive enough to take off alone. "Charles, if you are going, please take a friend, and take the time to get directions, a map, and a couple of lanterns."

"You know I am going, Belle. I will see if Loyd will come. He rides a lot practicing for the joust, my guess is he would not slow me down," Charles conjectured.

"Good thinking. I am sure he will want to help. Abraham is his teammate, after all."

"Match?" Abraham breathed so quietly that he would not have been heard had he not spoken just as Charles finished.

"Vindicator's balls you are tough, Abraham. You are actually awake. What did you say?"

"Match," Bellany repeated. "I think he wants to know how the joust went."

"It was tight, Abe, but Carnarvon came through. It took him a couple of stalemate runs down the lists before he knocked Edmonds out of the saddle, but the third time was the charm."

A faint smile crossed Sir Steefl's lips.

-------

In spite of Abraham’s injury, the May Day Ball was held as scheduled at Belgado Manor. Even though it was the final day of April, the May king and queen would be crowned near enough to midnight that it might as well be May first. All of the noble ladies dressed lavishly in spring colors. It was the time for the young ladies to showcase their promise of fertility. James had done his best to show off Bellany's promise in a green silk dress that fit her like a glove and showed off her every curve. The jewelry James provided was fashioned of platinum, emeralds and diamonds. She felt as if she was wearing the treasury of a small country, but she could not argue that James' ensemble was breathtaking.

To Bellany's surprise, Bianca Bristol actually talked with her and James at the refreshment table between dances early that evening at the ball.

"Gods, James, I realize you have _technically_ stayed within Headmistress Vargrend's limits for dress design, but everywhere Lady Norwit goes I see young men's necks twisting. I do hope none of them wind up with injuries such as Sir Steefl. You have my deepest sympathies and those of the other ladies in regard to Sir Steefl, Lady Norwit. He has more talent for the joust than anyone the Bristol Academy has seen in many years. He is a credit to the Academy and we are all very sorry that he was injured. How is he doing?"

Bellany blinked back a tear at the mention of Sir Steefl. "Thank you Lady Bristol, Abraham is in critical condition. Leech Lambert said that if he makes it through the night he may live, but his neck has been broken and his spine partly severed. He was also blinded by splinters from the broken shaft of Wright's lance. His only hope is in a miraculous healing. Charles and Loyd are missing the ball tonight to fetch him a healer from the Academy of Righteous Wrath. I would still be at his bedside, but Leech Lambert chased me out and told me that it would be best if I would try to take my mind off Sir Steefl's condition for a few hours."

-------

Later that evening Bellany noticed that James was about to take Bianca out on the dance floor. She immediately sought out Vernon St. Varlans, and no sooner did she find him than he asked her to dance.

"Let's see if we can dance behind Lady Bristol, I am curious what James will say to her," Bellany whispered in Vern's ear.

He nodded and the two of them got in position and listened as they danced.

"Bianca, you've come up with a wicked May queen strategy. I have heard the claim that whereas lady Norwit exudes the appearance of fertility, she is actually barren or she would have born baby bacon after the orcs had their way with her. Thus you assert she cannot possibly be the May queen."

Bianca shrugged daintily. "Of course not, Norwit is unfit, but I have it on good authority that you have released a counter rumor among the boys, but none of them will tell me its content."

"Oh it's all about spring, Bianca. Spring is not about fruit as you assert. Fruit is more the subject of the harvest festival. Spring is all about pollination and the flower that makes the bees buzz in the trees. You can always count on men thinking with their wood."

"James, such talk is hardly appropriate. The majority of people are sensible, and a sensible person is not going to vote for that scarlet harlot."

"Nice try, Bianca darling, but the green dress that I created coupled with Lady Norwit's figure takes the breath away. If you really expect the young men are going to change their minds based on a philosophical assertion, you have much to learn about men. If it is any consolation, you can save face by asserting that you did not win because the visiting athletes tipped the vote with their political leanings towards Avengene. You are a lovely young woman, but I believe your promise of fertility is simply too abstract to compel the votes of young men swayed by the spring season."

"I cannot agree. Shortly, we will see who the better judge of character is."

"Indeed we will, milady. Thank you for the dance. It was a pleasure."

-------

The County of Li'Yieraun was allied with Avengene, thus the visiting athletes from Yieraun, part of that county, were so eager to dance with Lady Norwit that she hardly managed to step off the dance floor the whole evening. In a way she was glad. It helped keep her from excessive worry over Abraham's condition. Since the competition was for May Queen, Bellany allowed herself the indulgence of pulling on the lust of each man that she danced with subtly yet powerfully like the undertow in an ocean of salty warmth.

Bianca Bristol and Glenda Gransward continued to be civil, at least to Bellany’s face. Perhaps this was because they knew Headmistress Vargrend was cross with Bianca after her outburst at the Snowflake Ball, but more likely it was because Abraham really was an Academy sports hero and this was no time to disrespect him or his liege. Yet Bellany was still a little sore at Lady Bristol for her many slights, and she had been looking forward to trying her Fumble spell on a deserving victim. With all the attention directed at her, however, Bellany found it difficult to lurk near the refreshment tables for long enough to catch Bianca before she attempted to get a drink.

Near the end of the evening Bellany found an opportunity. She kept an eye on Bianca, and when the noblewoman headed for the refreshment table after a brisk dance, Bellany told the man that she had been dancing with that she needed to powder her nose and rushed out the door. Once out of the room, she immediately turned, checked to see that no one was nearby and then clandestinely cast the Fumble spell just outside the ballroom. As she completed the spell she took a step back into the doorway in order to unleash the magic on Bianca as she reached out for a glass of champagne on a tray of glasses being brought to the table by a servant.

Bellany noticed her dance partner was still looking at the doorway grinning in the afterglow of dancing with her and she took the opportunity to wave and smile at him as if that was the reason she stuck her head back into the room. Her smile was actually due to the cascade of champagne and glass that resulted from Bianca's bungled attempt to snatch a glass of champagne from the tray.

When Bellany returned to the ballroom she could not help but walk with a certain regal poise to contrast herself with Bianca's apparent klutziness. In addition she made a point of tingling the lust of every young man she passed. There was something almost sinful about the way their heads snapped around to lay their eyes on her. She smiled warmly as she passed through the crowd. After a brief visit to the refreshment table for water, she selected a young athlete from the visiting academy from among the four who asked her to dance and returned to the dance floor.

A few minutes later, votes were gathered for the election of the May king and queen. Several dances after the servants collected the ballots, the winners were announced.

Headmaster Bristol stood before the ballroom crowd. "Lord James Jordell and Lady Bellany Norwit, come forth for your coronation!"

James' squeal could be heard even above the applause of the crowd before he dashed to Bellany's side, offered her his arm, and took her on a stroll to their coronation.

"Honestly, I never win these things! In the past the men refused to vote for me because they doubted my masculinity." Jamie whispered enthusiastically in Bellany's ear as they approached Headmaster Bristol.

"The men of Yieraun would not vote for George Gransward because Gransward is seen as a stronghold of Mortaebius."

"It makes sense that they would vote for you over Bianca for that reason. I am surprised they voted for me rather than some other man. Plus the number of attendees from our academies far outnumbers that of the visitors."

"You have been inviting the boys over for rapier practice. That might have helped. You certainly have lust associated with your name."

"True, but wait a minute, I know what happened. Quite a few young men complimented me on your dress. Evidently word got out that I designed it. They came up with a lovely way to thank me for showing them just how breathtaking you really are. I should never have given Bianca's assertions a second thought. Men really do vote with their wood."

Bellany smirked, "Then chalk one up for lust."

"Oh yes, it makes perfect sense. You danced with practically every man at the ball, and darling, your touch seduces a man like the magic charm of a lust spirit."

Bellany grimaced briefly before turning the grimace into a smile as she realized that she was worrying about her cover when she ought to be maintaining it. "I am sure the Vindicator worshipers among the men of Yieraun would not appreciate being seduced by a lusty spirit trying to corrupt them, but what they do not know about me will not hurt them," Bellany whispered.

Jamie smiled grandly. "Splendid, but your true corrupting influence should be savored. We mustn't share it with just anyone."

Bellany smiled as she spoke, "I have no problem with excluding those who haven't the palate to appreciate it, but I can no more resist a handsome man than you can."

"Touché," Jamie retorted.

-------

After the ball, Bellany returned to her room at Vargrend's.

"Hello, Mary, have you any news on Abraham?"

"No, I was just going to go down to check on him, but I was afraid that the leech might not let me in."

"You have a point. Since Abraham is my father's knight we will probably have better luck if we go together."

Mary and Bellany attempted to make their way through the building to the infirmary, but they could not go through the enclosed catwalk that skirted the administrative building because the door to it was locked due to the lateness of the hour.

"We can go back outside and head to the infirmary from there. The doors to the classroom building are open since girls are still returning from the ball. The chaperones may not even notice us if they are standing at the gates trying to keep boys out."

"Bellany, there is no need to be dishonest. I am sure they might allow us to check in on Abraham."

"Perhaps you are right."

Bellany walked up to Mrs. Perkins who was standing next to the gate into the courtyard.

"Mrs. Perkins, would it be all right if Mary and I checked in on Sir Steefl before bed?"

"I am sure the leech is doing everything that can be done, young ladies."

"Yes, I am sure he is, but he gave me an unvarnished appraisal of Sir Steefl's chances. This could be our last chance to see Abraham alive. Leech Lambert is uncertain if he will make it until morning," Bellany asserted.

Mrs. Perkins grimaced. "You go ahead then, but don't be long, ladies."

"Thank you, Mrs. Perkins. We will check back with you on our return so that you know we have returned safely."

When they arrived they had to knock for some time, but at last Leech Lambert came to the door.

"Sorry to disturb you, Leech Lambert. Do you remember me?" Bellany asked.

"Yes, Lady Norwit, come in. You both look marvelous in your ballroom finery. Who is this lovely young lady with you?"

"This is Miss Mary Duffy, my roommate. We came to inquire after Sir Steefl," Bellany said. "How is he doing?"

"Of course, milady Norwit; I am afraid Sir Steefl's condition is still quite critical. Earlier this evening he was obviously conscious. I am afraid he is no longer fully conscious. He is slipping. I hope he can hold on until help arrives, but it is difficult to judge just how rapidly his condition is deteriorating. Come in and see him. I do not know if he can understand you anymore, but perhaps he will still take comfort from your presence. I must caution you, however, do not do anything that might disturb Sir Steefl's head or neck."

"We will take care not to," Bellany affirmed. "Thank you, Leech Lambert."

Leech Lambert led Mary and Bellany to Abraham's bedside.

Bellany bent to whisper in Abraham's ear.

"Charles and Loyd are riding through the night to bring you help as soon as possible, Abraham. If you can hold firm into the early afternoon tomorrow, a healer from the Academy of Righteous Wrath will be here to perform the healing miracles upon you."

"Hang in there, Abraham," Mary whispered in his other ear. "Everyone is pulling for you. You are in our prayers."

After Bellany and Mary had been with Abraham a few minutes, Mrs. Perkins came into the room.

"How is he, ladies?"

"Leech Lambert says his condition is still critical. He is a strong man. We are hoping he can make it through to tomorrow afternoon when a healer will be arriving with Charles and Loyd," Bellany said gravely.

"I am sure he is giving it everything he has. Sir Steefl is the finest knight I have seen compete in my years here at Vargrend's. Come along now and let Sir Steefl rest. The other ladies are in from the ball and you should be getting back to your room."

"All right, Mrs. Perkins. Thank you for letting us come and check on him."

"You are welcome, ladies."

When they arrived back at their room, Mary insisted on helping Bellany out of her ball gown.

"Thank you Mary, now let me help you out of your dress."

The moment Bellany got Mary out of her dress Mary grabbed her and kissed her.

"Ooooh, hold that thought," Bellany said catching her breath after the long, lingering kiss. "We had better hang up the finery or we will face a sea of wrinkles in the morning."

They made quick work of the chore and were soon snuggling in bed together.

"I am the envy of every boy in the Bristol Academy," Mary asserted.

"You are?"

"Yes, I am sleeping with the May queen."

Bellany smiled in the darkened bed. "I am amazed we won in spite of my lack of popularity with the women of Vargrend's. Jamie was too. In the past he has never gotten the men's vote because they question his masculinity."

"The boys _loved_ that dress he created for you and everyone knows that Lord Jordell designed it. If you ask me, the boys essentially voted for you twice."

Bellany smiled. "I think you may be exaggerating, but if you are right then I seem to have helped Jamie's social standing nearly as much as he has helped mine."

"You two make a lovely couple. Do you sleep with him?"

Bellany rolled her eyes. "Haven't you heard the rumor? I sleep with all my friends. I am the May queen. Lust is in my nature," Bellany gave Mary's rump a squeeze as she drew on her roommate's lust.

"Oh gods, you are positively infectious!" Mary swooned.

Bellany caressed Mary's inner thighs. "Did I not warn you what would happen if you started something?"

"You did, but I couldn't resist. I still can't resist." Mary moaned very softly as Bellany's fingers found her treasure.

-------

Once she had put Mary into a deep, contented sleep under the weight of many orgasms, Bellany got dressed, cast her traveling spells and left her room. She crept down through the library to the offices rather than heading down to the crypts. She went from the offices to the enclosed catwalk that skirted the administrative building, and then she took the catwalk to the cafeteria building and from there she entered the leech's office. The leech was sleeping on a cot as Bellany sneaked past. She opened the door to Abraham's sickroom and peeked in. Her Life Vision spell gave her a much better indication of Abraham's condition than she could have got with the naked eye. Abraham's life force was concentrated in the region of his neck and upper torso. The scary thing was that it was much dimmer than it should have been. It was hard to say if he would make it until Charles returned.

Bellany decided that she would leave the Medusa Club early and check on Abraham again before dawn. She did not want to attempt to heal him if she did not need to. There would be far too many questions if he made a miraculous recovery from grievous and well-documented wounds. Besides, his wounds were complex and she did not want to risk restoring him wrongly. Perhaps a more experienced healer would do better … or perhaps not. She feared that a priest of the Vindicator might simply apply healing energy and count on his faith to put the wound right. It was a shame that Leech Phallon, the physician of the Jordells, was not around. She was much more inclined to trust a healer who was conversant with both medicine and magic.

As she headed for Cooyman's cabin she was careful to look out for Herrington's men, but she saw only one regular patrol on the road near the town of Vargrend. She hoped that Herrington had got used to the idea that the men at Cooyman's parties had no women to entertain them, even if it was not actually true.

When she arrived, Dempsey let her in the bedroom window. Cooyman came in with Stratton as Dempsey shut the window.

"How is Sir Steefl doin'?" Cooyman whispered.

Bellany shook her head sadly. "Not good. Splinters punctured his eyes and his neck was nearly broken in two. Lord Norwit and Lord Carnarvon are riding out to get a priest of the Vindicator that can heal. I just hope they will make it back in time to save Sir Steefl."

"Nay, I don't like that one bit! Sir Steefl is th' best jouster I have seen. It would be a shame ta loose th' ace."

Bellany nodded. "He is a bit of a zealot, but he is a decent and honorable man in spite of his war-torn past. He is also very loyal to Lord Norwit and he has a heart of gold. It would be a shame if he died."

Bellany held back a flood of tears. She knew she should be cold like Thane, but Abraham was one of the few people to really stick up for her when Bianca's snub was at its worst. He was always so earnest. It was the way the priests of the Vindicator used such people to hide their true agenda behind a mask of honor that made Bellany's temper flare and thankfully headed her tears off before they got out of control.

"I cannot think about Sir Steefl or I am going to be a wreck tonight. I will just have to find some distraction to keep my mind off him and hope that he can hang on until help arrives."

"Aye, well I think we can help ye with the distraction," Cooyman said as Stratton secured the mask on her face. "I'll take care o' that presently," Cooyman said as he left for the main room of the cabin.

"Gentlemen, I hope ye've been enjoyin' th' Dark Taint ale from th' Inebridee Brewery of Montfort. It has been a fine treat that made th' waitin' easier, but I am happy ta say that th' hour of th' medusa has arrived. Like just about everybody in th' town of Vargrend th' medusa is frettin' about th' unfortunate injury at the tournament joust taday. After countless years o' turnin' knights ta stone, she has found a much better use for men an' appreciates knights a whole lot more'n she used to. Therefore, I ask ye all ta be extra vigorous lovers tonight. Mind ye not ta harm our snake charmer, but I want ye all ta show 'er a good time an' get 'er mind off unfortunate events. I know 'tis hard ta believe such sentiment in a medusa, but she feels sorely about th' fall an' grievous injury o' are great 'ero o' th' joust, Sir Steefl. She needs are help ta take 'er mind off Steefl's unfortunate injury an' ta put it 'tween 'er legs where it ought ta be. Can I count on ye, men?"

Bellany's brief giggle from the bedroom after she heard Cooyman's speech from the main room was utterly drowned out by a chorus of loud affirmations from the men.

The Medusa's dance lasted scarcely five minutes before various club members had confiscated all of her veils. Soon she was scooped up by a burly smith's assistant and treated to the start of several hours' worth of brisk thrusting by a score of randy men.

What the night’s meeting of the Medusa Club lacked in length, it more than made up in vigor. Bellany fed more heavily than usual to make up for the lack of time and perhaps because the presence of Abraham's injury and the threat of his death made her lust for the security of full reserves. The men swore their snake charmer was better than ever and were enthusiastic about having her again next Saturday.

Bellany left the Medusa Club early so that she could check on Abraham before she returned to her room at Vargrend's. She found herself running back to school, and when she realized that she was running she probably should have slowed down, but slowing down just did not feel right. Instead she picked up the pace and poured it on. When she arrived at Leech Lambert's office he was still sleeping on the cot where she had seen him last, but he was lying in a slightly different position. She knew that even if he awakened he could not see through her cloud of magical darkness, but she was not about to tempt fate by making noise. She checked him with her lust sense to make sure he was asleep before sneaking across the room.

She opened the door to Abraham's sickroom. It smelled of menthol and eucalyptus. Bellany guessed that most of the injuries treated in the infirmary were far less grave. She took one look at Abraham with her life vision and blanched. She closed the door quietly behind her and ran to Abraham's bedside where she touched his chest with the proceeds of a hastily cast Bestow Vitality cantrip. When she first looked at him from the door she saw the life force in his chest collapse in on itself. She was pretty sure that Abraham's heart had just stopped. She knew that once a heart stopped it did not usually start back up, but she hoped that she could fool it into thinking that it had not stopped at all, but rather that it had simply skipped a beat or two. The cantrip took less time to cast than any of her other healing magics and since it was so simple she somehow managed to cast it while running across the room.

After hitting him with vitality she pinched his nose closed with the fingers of her left hand while she put her lips against his and blew air into his mouth to inflate his lungs. She held for a moment then removed her mouth and pushed the air from his lungs with her right hand on his chest. As she expelled his breath for him her left palm rested on Abraham's forehead. She blew another breath into Abraham's lungs. She put as much air into him as she could muster and then took her lips off his. She felt his jugular and he had a weak pulse. The spike of vitality had restarted his heart. Blood was flowing back to his brain. That was encouraging, but hardly a solution that was likely to last more than a few minutes.

Bellany cast her Tele-empathic Projection spell on Abraham. She was not the best with it, but she knew that in order to gauge the degree of healing as she had when she was healing herself while with the pirates, she would have to feel what Abraham felt. The only trouble was that she was not sure if his soul was still in his body. With her left hand on his forehead, she used her tele-empathic projection to attempt to locate his mind and use his senses.

Suddenly she beheld a vision within her mind. She was standing up in the land of the dead. She had just stepped out of Abraham and she was now standing over him. He looked around and then up at her. She could tell by the look on his face that he knew he was no longer in the Barony of Bristol.

"Do I... Brianna Barter?" Abraham gasped. "You are the last person I thought I would be meeting when I died. Are you dead? Where are the heavenly hosts of the Vindicator?"

Bellany was a bit amazed that she had found Abraham in the land of the dead and that he saw her in her true form.

She spoke to him, "Mortaebius is the judge of the dead. If priests of the Vindicator have told you otherwise, they were mistaken. You have not been dead for more than a few seconds. I am not dead. Actually I am trying to revive you."

"It is no use, Brianna. My friends are trying to fetch me a healing priest, but my neck is broken. I tried to hold out, Vindicator knows I did, but here I am in the land of the dead."

Suddenly Abraham's spirit began to fade.

"You are fading, that is good. Your heart is restarted. Concentrate on your body in the land of the living, Abraham. I will help you get back."

"Am I going to owe you my soul for this?" Abraham asked dubiously.

"I would prefer your soul stay where nature intended. Can the Vindicator boast the same? All I ask is that you try to look beyond the surface of what appears to be good and evil. Life and death are more complex than some imagine. Go back to the land of the living. I will mend you enough to get you out of danger, but not so much that your friends will be robbed of their heroic moment. You must pretend that you received no healing before your friends arrive or they shall lose all trust in you and start a witch hunt for me."

Suddenly Bellany's perspective changed. Apparently Abraham's spirit had shifted back to his body pulling her point of view back to the land of the living with it. Bellany got the impression that Abraham was not feeling much more than dull, searing pain from his eyes and further dull shooting pain from above his spinal injury. His consciousness was tenuous at best and he could feel nothing below his neck injury. She blew another breath into his lungs and then stood up straight. Bellany found it extremely difficult to cast even the simplest form of Bestow Life force while maintaining a vestige of her Tele-empathic Projection spell. She nearly lost both spells, but she knew that her friend was hanging on by the barest thread and somehow she managed not to lose the Tele-empathic Projection spell while casting the simplified version of Bestow Life force that worked only when her reserves were full. Thanks to the energy bestowed upon her by the Medusa Club she prevailed. As she finished casting Bestow Life Force, she slid her right hand under Abraham's neck and the life force began flowing. She made sure that her index finger contacted bare flesh above the bandage on Abraham's neck and that her pinky contacted bare flesh below it, but she doubted that the bandage would impede the flow of life force significantly.

Her Tele-empathic Projection spell paid off. She was able to direct the energy within Abraham's body by feel as if it were an extension of her own body. She concentrated the life force into the part of Abraham's spinal cord that was still connected. She hoped it would start knitting closest to the connected part and that would help position the cord as it continued to heal. She knew that some energy was simply flowing out from her hand beneath the wound or dissipating uselessly into the bandages around Abraham's neck, but it could not be helped. The leakage of energy would provide life force necessary to energize the area of Abraham's neck both above and below the wound, thus it was not a complete waste. She deliberately slowed the flow of energy and prolonged the spell to increase the precision. After a minute she felt bits of tingling as if the spinal cord was trying to knit, but something did not feel right.

Bellany pursed her lips and changed her healing strategy. She expended as great a burst of life force into the salient areas above and below the wound in Abraham's spinal cord as she could muster with the elementary spell. Her improved understanding of the Bestow Life Force spells helped her put more life force into Abraham's neck than she had been able to manage for Hluck's chest wound when she had first originated the spell. She then pulled her hand out from under Abraham's neck and let go of the healing magic. Instead she maintained tele-empathic projection and cast her Floating Dagger telekinesis spell as quickly as she could without losing the projection spell.

She knew that she was working against time since the life force was already starting to join the spinal cord. When she was finished casting she put her ghost hand under Abraham's neck. With it she got an image of Abraham's spinal cord since it was now illuminated with life force. She made sure to use her fingertips to hold the palm back from his neck just slightly so that her ghost hand would not draw the life force into itself. The spinal cord had been twisted and torn. She needed to reconnect it with precision or Abraham would not be able to move after the healing. The intervening bandaged flesh made telekinesis within him difficult. She was surprised she could get even the little bit of torque that she needed, but she guessed that being a part of his mind through the Tele-empathic Projection spell allowed her a way in. It did not hurt that she could essentially see his spinal cord with her ghost hand either. Her hand was very close to the spinal cord that needed to be moved and that probably helped as well.

As rapidly as she could she attempted to get the two ends of Abraham's spinal cord to line up properly. The fact that the cord was not completely severed made things a little easier. She got the feel of the cord, as if it were the bolt of a sensitive lock that she needed to fiddle with in order to slide it home. The feelings from the Tele-empathic Projection spell helped even if the shooting, tingling pain she felt from Abraham was extremely annoying. She moved his spine in several ways, by moving her hand beneath his neck and by acting directly on the cord with her telekinetic power. She got some encouraging tingles as life force jumped the gap, but something was still not quite right.

She grabbed his head with her right hand and twisted it a bit while using her left hand to monitor the shape of the gap between the life force infused ends of his spinal cord. There was a faint crunching sound as she twisted Abraham's neck a bit to pop the bones back into place. This brought the two ends of Abraham's spinal cord together. With a feat of telekinetic dexterity she somehow managed to twist both ends of his spinal cord in opposite directions while holding them together. At a certain point she felt horrific pain and tingling through her tele-empathic link as Abraham's lower body began to twitch. The life force in his neck was flowing through the proper channels. The gap was closing from the already connected side towards the area where the gap had been the largest.

Bellany held the cord steady, shifting it minutely when necessary as it healed, making sure that the connections that she sensed through her tele-empathic link felt correct and somehow familiar to Abraham's body. Thanks to her precise application of the burst of life force, the cord was healing from the good side outwards. This helped her keep the alignment correct, but without the image of flowing life force from her ghost hand, the sensations from her Tele-empathic Projection spell and the ability to move the cord telekinetically, she knew she would surely have botched the healing. She noted that proper connections produced the greatest amount of tingling as nerves from Abraham's lower body responded. She doggedly bore the tingling and pain she received from Abraham and held his neck steady for a few minutes until she was sure that the life force had healed the gap in Abraham's spinal cord.

While Abraham's spine was finishing its healing and the poor man was still tingling and twitching, Bellany dropped the Tele-empathic Projection spell, cast Bestow Life Force II and applied another precise burst of life force to Steefl's neck. She then straightened the bedding to make sure that it was as it had been when she entered. It was obvious from the tent in the blanket above Abraham's groin that the infusion of life force from her reserves was having the usual residual effect upon the rest of his body. Bellany kissed Abraham on the forehead and then slipped out the door before he had stopped his tingling and twitching. She regretted that she could not stay behind to see if she had got the healing right.

-------

The next morning before Church, Bellany went over to Leech Lambert's office with Mary to check on Abraham.

"Leech Lambert, do you remember me?" Bellany asked.

"Yes of course, Lady Norwit, please come in. Good morning, Mary."

"Good morning Leech Lambert."

"We came to inquire after Sir Steefl," Bellany prompted.

"Last night I was sure we were going to lose him. I checked him in the middle of the night and his condition had seriously deteriorated, but there was nothing more that I could do for him. I returned to bed and this morning when I got up I checked on him. Lo and behold, his pulse had strengthened and steadied and he was sleeping. He is not out of the woods yet, but I now believe that it is possible that he will hang on until Lord Carnarvon and Lord Norwit return with magical help."

"That is wonderful news," Bellany said cheerfully. "If I know my brother and Loyd, they rode through the night as swiftly as they could. I just hope they did not get lost. May we go in and see Sir Steefl for a moment? We have to go to church in a minute, but we did not want him to think that we had forgotten him. Actually we have been very worried."

"Certainly, go right in, ladies. I must caution you not to do anything that might disturb Sir Steefl's head or neck. We mustn't tempt fate."

"Of course, Leech Lambert, we understand. We mustn't disturb Sir Steefl's injuries."

Leech Lambert led them to Abraham's bedside.

Bellany touched Abraham's knee and whispered into his ear from about a foot away just to be safe.

"Don't try to move, Abraham, Leech Lambert says your neck is in very delicate condition. I suspect even talking is probably not a good idea so you just rest peacefully. Charles and Loyd rode out last night to get you a healer. As long as they did not get badly lost, they could be here soon, but more likely they will not make it back until sometime this afternoon."

Mary spoke up after Bellany finished her statement.

"We are very glad that you made it through the night, Sir Steefl. We were so worried about you. Everyone at the ball last night was asking after you. Bellany thought she heard your neck snap. It was horrible knowing you might not make it, but we are so happy that you have held on. If you can hold on for a few hours longer until the healer gets here, you will be out of the woods."

Bellany took another turn after Mary had finished.

"Mary and I will come back sometime after church to check on you. Relax and conserve your strength. We know you can make it, Abraham," Bellany said fervently.

"We will be back to see you later," Mary added.

Just after Leland's church service about unswerving dedication and sacrifice to the cause of the Vindicator, Bellany claimed she had homework and escaped from the chapel. Charles was not there and she had no desire to linger where Reverend Leland was. She did not know why, but for some reason she felt angry with him. Leland spent a great deal of time with Abraham Steefl and yet Leland had been unable to come to Steefl's aid. Was she somehow blaming Leland for not being able to heal Abraham? That was silly. Spell casting was not common even for priests. Reverend Leland could not help that he was not a caster.

Bellany had saved some biscuits from breakfast for Nimbus and went to the thicket to feed him. She set a biscuit down on his favorite tree limb. In only a few minutes Nimbus flew in, landed on the limb and began to eat. As he ate, Bellany cast the Tele-empathic Projection spell on him. This was not the first time she had tried it on Nimbus, but after having cast the spell on Abraham the night before, she had an idea on how she might do a better job with it. Last night she had used only a fragment of the spell's power. She had only been interested in monitoring Abraham's sense of touch and in getting whatever sensations she could from his neck wound. Since the situation had been so urgent, she had forgotten about herself and that had enhanced the effect of the spell with regard to feeling what Abraham felt.

She counted the vision of the land of the dead as a gift from Mortaebius. It was a gift that had allowed her to forget her physical body completely. It had been accompanied by an important if somewhat incomplete use of the Telempathic Projection spell and had provided her with insight into the workings of the spell. By losing herself and concentrating on just one sense, she had achieved more depth than she had attained when she had practiced the spell on Nimbus and Headmaster Bristol before Abraham had been injured.

This morning, after casting the spell on Nimbus, she lay down on the ground, closed her eyes and concentrated on the spell. The thing she had noticed while concentrating only on Abraham's sense of touch was that it was much easier to concentrate on a single sense than it was to receive multiple senses and thoughts and to send thoughts as well. She had also noticed what a horrible strain trying to keep Tele-empathic Projection active at the same time as doing anything else had been. She thought that in order to get the full effect of the spell one must need the freedom from distraction called for in the casting notes in a big way.

This time she closed her eyes and concentrated only on what Nimbus was feeling. In order to do that, she could not spare any concentration for her own body. Thus she had lain down. She could also not pay any attention to Nimbus' bird-ish thoughts or feelings even though she found them rather fascinating. She continued to maintain the spell for several minutes. After a while she began getting flashes of sensation - the sense of being a raven. She had got this far before, but she was not going to settle for flashes, she kept concentrating and forgot everything else.

Soon she was feeling as if she were a bird more often than she was feeling human. Once the sensations stabilized she opened her mind to the vision of Nimbus. Images formed in flashes that came more and more frequently. They gradually lengthened and gained continuity until they were no longer mere flashes. Finally it was as if she were dreaming she was Nimbus. The sensations of her human body fell away completely, or perhaps she fell asleep. In any case, if she were asleep she was surely dreaming vividly that she was a raven. She now saw through Nimbus' eyes.

She decided to spare a little concentration to open up to the rest of his senses but found that, once she had gained Nimbus' perspective, adding the rest of his senses was as much a product of relaxation as it was of concentration. The magic was sound, but she was not used to its effects and that was impeding her progress. It helped that she was very fond of Nimbus. She simply needed to embrace the reality of being one with him. She relaxed further and let her love for her pet help her allow herself to be encompassed by his somewhat foreign perspective. Soon she began to hear with his ears and finally to smell with his nose. Once she was fully occupied by Nimbus's senses and only his senses, she allowed his thoughts to reach her and hers to reach him. Finally the spell was working as it was intended; it was as if she were a part of Nimbus' mind.

Together they flew and she saw the land below her spread out magnificently as they gained altitude. At first she saw only the girls' building, then the whole school, and then the road and the river as well as the school. Next she saw the forest, the lake, the estates, the farms and then the town of Vargrend. She directed her thoughts towards the north and Nimbus was kind enough to comply with her wishes and fly in that direction. She began looking for horses on the roads and trails. Nimbus helped her by following her lead. He began to actively search for horses.

They spotted some horses on the road north of the emerald estates and flew further north so that they could see them. Bellany did not recognize any of the riders. They continued north above the road and spotted a wagon, then a rider and then another group of riders that Bellany did not recognize. Just a little later they spotted another group of riders. There were four of them and they were riding hard. Each of them led a saddled horse behind the horse he was riding and the rider second from the front had red hair.

As Nimbus flew closer Bellany saw that the rider in the lead was Lord Carnarvon, followed by a very ragged-looking Charles Norwit, followed by two others that Bellany did not know. One of them was a middle-aged man and one looked to be scarcely older than Charles. Even though his one-way ride had been considerably shorter than the two-way trip undertaken by Charles and Loyd, the middle-aged man looked at least as ragged as Charles. Bellany began to get nervous about the boys spotting Nimbus and recognizing him as the raven from the Academy. No sooner had her worries surfaced than Nimbus began to gain altitude until the horses were too far below them for Nimbus to be recognized.

With a feeling of satisfaction, Bellany turned her attention back in the direction of the school until Nimbus had returned and landed on the limb next to the crumbs of his biscuit. She sent affectionate thoughts, thanking her wonderful avian friend for showing her such a magnificent flight and discovering Charles and his friends were on the way. The thoughts she received in return were not in words, but they warmed her heart. It was obvious that Nimbus was as fond of her as she was of him.

Bellany opened her eyes and let the Tele-empathic Projection spell fade. She stood up and fished a second biscuit from her pocket. Nimbus landed on her left forearm and rubbed his head against the palm of her ghost hand. She fed the biscuit to him as she walked towards the leech's office.

"I was wondering where you were," Mary said as Bellany approached the door to the cafeteria building where the leech's office was located.

"I was just visiting with Nimbus. I expected that he would turn wild again after his sojourn as a pet bird in Headmaster Bristol's attic, but he is much too smart to have forgotten me. Aren't you, Nimbus?"

"Gwaark, gwaaaark, pruk, pruk," Nimbus replied before rubbing his head on Bellany's left palm.

"He is so affectionate," Mary marveled. "Aren't you afraid he has lice?"

"I expect that if he had any they froze to death, but I will keep an eye out for them."

Bellany stopped by the cafeteria door. "I have to go now, but I will see you later, Nimbus. Thank you for coming to visit."

"Mrungle grungle," Nimbus said rubbing his head against her palm once again before suddenly taking flight.

"Gods, it is almost like he knows what you are saying," Mary shook her head.

"I think most wild animals are a little empathic and he can sense changes in my body posture and the tightness of my muscles when he is perched on my arm. Headmaster Bristol said that ravens are very smart birds that can mimic human speech if a person repeats words to them a lot. Maybe I can teach him to say something."

Mary rolled her eyes. "Reverend Leland would have a field day with you having a pet raven."

"You and I have enough secrets to keep Reverend Leland gleefully happy generating oodles of guilt for months. Somehow I just cannot convince myself to bring him such joy," Bellany shrugged.

Mary smiled wryly. "Let's go see Abraham. I hope nothing has gone wrong with getting him a healer."

"I think not. Even if Charles and Loyd got lost in the middle of the night, I trust they righted their course and found the Academy of Righteous Wrath. I am sure they will arrive soon, probably a little worse for wear."

-------

Just a few minutes later, Charles and Loyd rushed into the room with a middle-aged man in tow. "Leech Lambert, this is Reverend Althas from the Academy of Righteous Wrath. He teaches healing to priests and paladins and was a field medic before he heard the calling to become a priest of the Vindicator. He has been a healer for most of his life."

"Welcome, gentlemen," Leech Lambert greeted them warmly. "I am happy to say Sir Steefl is still with us. You can stay here and see him, but make sure that no one disturbs his neck. You could kill him without meaning to. Last night it looked like we were going to lose him, but apparently he hit bottom and rallied sometime early this morning. His pulse is much stronger than it was when I checked him late last night. By the looks of you men, you rode hard and long to get here."

"We sure did, but Loyd and I were not about to let Abe die without a fight. Thankfully Reverend Althas is a fine horseman. Is there anything you would like to do before you start, Reverend?" Charles asked anxiously.

"Before I begin I need to discuss Sir Steefl's condition with Leech Lambert," Reverend Althas said.

"We can do that in my office if you would like, Reverend," Leech Lambert agreed.

"Yes, that would be fine. We will return shortly and then I will call upon the healing power of the Vindicator on Sir Steefl's behalf."

Charles watched the two healers leave and then looked back at Steefl.

"Abe it is great to see you are still alive, but don't try to talk. There will be time for talking after the healing. It would be a real tragedy if you were to wag that bull neck of yours the wrong way and die only a few minutes before you were to be healed. Rest easy, my friend," Charles said.

While Reverend Althas spoke with the leech, Reverend Leland arrived with a young paladin dressed in light chain mail. His surcoat was emblazoned with the symbol of the Vindicator. Bellany recognized him as the fourth person in Charles' party that she had seen from the air.

"Milords, I took care of the horses. They are resting now. Once I had seen to the mounts, Reverend Leland was kind enough to show me the way hither," the knight said wearily.

"Thank you, Sir Valahan. This is my sister, Lady Norwit and her roommate, Miss Mary Duffy. This bandaged knight here is Sir Steefl. He can sort of breathe out words, but it is hard to do anything with a broken neck, and disturbing the wound could kill him as surely as the headsman's axe," Charles warned.

After about twenty minutes the leech and the reverend returned from their consultation.

"Leech Lambert has given me a good idea of what we are up against. I have treated spinal injuries before. They are as tricky as any wound a man can get in battle. Improper alignment of the spine can prevent a partially severed spinal cord from joining properly, thus the connections between mind and body would not function, as they should. Truly great healers like Reverend Evangeline could heal even the most grievous wounds, but I am but a humble priest of the Vindicator. I will do my best and if it is good enough Abraham will live, but he may never regain full health and mobility. With this kind of wound, I caution you not to expect too much."

"Let us pray for Sir Steefl," Reverend Leland said piously:

"Oh Lord of Justice, we beseech you. Hear our plea! We ask that Sir Steefl, a man long dedicated to your service, be fully restored by your healing power. May your healing power fully mend his wounds, so that his mighty arms may serve your glory in mighty battles to come!"

"Thank you, Reverend Leland. Reverend Althas checked the positioning of Sir Steefl's neck from several angles.

"Leech Lambert, let me complement you on your positioning of Sir Steefl's neck. It is impossible to know when a neck is perfectly aligned, but your positioning is as good as a wounded man could hope for. Now I shall call upon healing for Sir Steefl's neck!"

Bellany sighed with relief as she watched the priest raise his hands. _I am so glad that I saw to Abraham early this morning. Althas lacks any magic that could help insure the alignment of Abraham's spinal chord. No wonder he warned us not to expect too much! If Abraham really had made it through the night on his own, he might be looking forward to life as a paralyzed invalid."

Reverend Althas made drawing gestures before putting his hands together in prayer.

"Oh Great One, I beseech you, fill me with your mighty spirit! Oh Mighty Vindicator, so that I might right the wrongs of the flesh, fill me with your potent spirit!"

The priest repeated his hand motions and his invocations. Bellany could feel his life force increasing as he drew on the power of his god. Then he placed his hands on either side of the bandage around Sir Steefl's neck.

"Be healed!" he shouted.

Abraham's body stiffened for a moment and then went limp.

"Now I shall invoke the healing power of the Vindicator once again for Sir Steefl's eyes."

Reverend Althas repeated the process of invoking the power of the Vindicator, but this time he pressed his fingers into the bandages over Sir Steefl's eyes before shouting, "Be healed!"

"There, now we must let Sir Steefl rest for a quarter hour or so and then Leech Lambert may remove the bandages. Reverend Leland, will you lead us in prayer while the power of our lord works to restore his fallen knight?"

While Reverend Leland spouted seemingly endless battle-themed prayers to the Vindicator, Bellany occupied her mind with prayers to Mortaebius. Finally Reverend Leland finished and Leech Lambert drew the drapes to subdue the lighting and then carefully removed the bandages.

Bellany took Abraham's hand in both of hers as his bandages were removed. She could feel the excess life force within him. The flavor of it was not one she cared for. To her it was sickly sweet and tainted with power that was counter to anything natural. Bellany reached out and stroked Abraham's forehead with her ghost hand. Unbidden her mind recited a prayer, "Mortaebius' will be done; Let no powers sway you but that one." It was the prayer one used to purge undead spirits of outside compulsions laid upon them by priests of rival deities. It was an odd usage, given that Abraham was very much alive and had a mind of his own. Nevertheless, she imagined that it called upon the power of her patron to cancel compulsions, influences and energies of other divine powers. It made sense. She could feel a torrent of the Vindicator's power race into her ghost hand to be engulfed by the void. Abraham stopped shaking as the excess energy disappeared. He looked at Bellany and squeezed her hand.

"Ooo, that was quite a jolt," Bellany said, covering the disappearance of the excess energy in case Abraham was sensitive to it.

"Sir Steefl, can you see?" Reverend Althas asked reverently.

"I can!" Sir Steefl affirmed. "And I can move!" He demonstrated by sitting up.

"That is glorious!" Reverend Althas beamed. "Can you grasp?"

"He can," Bellany said. "He squeezed my hand."

"Praise the Vindicator! His healing power has granted you a full recovery from a spinal wound, not to mention the wounds to your eyes. Sir Steefl, you are truly blessed. I have healed many with spinal wounds such as yours and few regain full mobility. Some heal wrongly and are no better off than before the healing. The power of the Vindicator flows well in you. I am looking forward to instructing you at the Academy of Righteous Wrath in the coming year!"

Abraham hesitated for a second. "Thank you, Reverend. Also let me thank you so much for coming all this way to heal my wounds. I regret they were wounds of sport rather than wounds sustained in battle."

"Never mind about that, Sir Steefl; the Vindicator knows that practice is important to skills at arms, and the tournaments help to hone your knightly skills. I was glad to come to your aid, and the fact that the healing worked so well speaks volumes for you as a future Paladin. I shall make sure to send a report to my superiors."

"Uh, thank you Reverend," Steefl said awkwardly. "Loyd, Charles, I cannot thank you men enough. A man could not ask for better friends."

-------

The Thursday following the ill-fated tournament Bellany took her customary seat in the back of the room for the Trivium, but she was not there for long.

"Lady Norwit, please come to the front of the room and stand next to the podium," Headmistress Vargrend said as she came into the room.

"Yes, Headmistress Vargrend." Bellany complied.

"Today I would like to share a letter with you that was jointly written by the Baron and Baroness of Bristol concerning courtesy among peers. Lady Bristol, it is fitting that you read this important letter before the class."

Bianca blanched. Reading the letter in front of class was obviously the last thing she wanted to do; yet she knew that she had to. Reluctantly she made her way to the podium and cleared her throat.

"Courtesy is the social virtue that distinguishes a noblewoman from ladies of lesser station. When relations between noble houses are strained, courtesy is especially important. Arrogance and boorishness on the part of a noblewoman can have truly catastrophic consequences. Social slights, petty attacks and rash, insensitive rhetoric on the part of a lady can lead to war. The deaths of thousands of innocent people then fall squarely upon her foolish shoulders and their blood will never come clean from her worthless hands.

"Virtuous noblewomen must overcome all temptation to act in an unmannerly way. They must realize that their shining example is the beacon of propriety throughout our culture. When a noblewoman allows her emotions to run away with her sense of propriety, nothing good can come of her actions. She must always be aware that she does not merely represent herself. She represents her noble house. She must never make fun of the misfortunes of others; especially those hurts sustained by members of a house whose military action helps protect the border and thus the lands of her family from invasion. She must offer her heartfelt emotional support to anyone victimized by invaders. Even during times of war between houses, a noble lady must not let her courtesy slip, for ladies are diplomats and healers, not soldiers. It is their virtuous example that can lead to reconciliation between warring factions.

"During times of stress, it is exceedingly important that ladies join together to help one another maintain the virtue of courtesy. We must remember that even the most heinous conflict must come to an end, and in the end it will be our manners that help carry us through reconciliation. Therefore we enjoin all ladies to set a worthy example in service of our king and of the gods themselves."

"The letter was signed by Baron Gerard and Baroness Yvonne Bristol," Bianca said, doing her best not to look uncomfortable.

"Thank you, Lady Bristol," Headmistress Vargrend said. "Let me underscore the importance of the concept of the representation of a noble house. Even if one lady might feel like scratching another's eyes out or running her through with a sword, a lady must always remember that she and her rival are not alone. Each lady represents a noble house and all of the people affiliated with her house. Actions and manners directed at a noble lady are also directed at her house. Therefore manners are of the utmost importance in the dealings of a lady because they can affect the lands and people that serve and support her noble house."

It was obvious that Headmistress Vargrend had made good on her promise to contact Baron Bristol. All now knew the Baron's wishes, and Bianca had been chastised more surely than she would have been by a swift paddling. To go against what her grandparents had said would be contradicting her elders and her betters. Bellany had no doubt Bianca might find some way to pervert the spirit of the law, but she would be genuinely surprised if Bianca went against its letter. She wished she could tell Charles about the reading of the letter, but unfortunately he had left after classes the day before with the rest of the athletes from the Bristol Academy for a tournament with the Hartmoor Preparatory Academy in Hartmoor.

The impact of the letter was considerable. Bellany received apologies from seven or eight young women as she left the Trivium. The next afternoon, Larissa Jordell came over to her table at lunch.

"Lady Norwit, the ladies who sit with me and I would like to invite you to our table. Miss Gleton, it appears that you were the only young lady with the sense to treat Lady Norwit as Baron and Baroness Bristol wanted. In honor of your good sense and good manners we would like to invite you to sit with us as well."

Cleopatra looked stunned.

"I am so happy you invited us, Lady Jordell. I know you would have earlier had it not been against Lady Bristol's wishes, but patience is a virtue and I did not mind waiting."

Bellany turned towards Cleo. "Cleopatra, it appears that you are a paragon of virtue in addition to being a great friend. Shall we go?" Bellany smiled and got up.

"Of course, Lady Norwit."

Once at the new table, Larissa Jordell motioned towards its head.

"Lady Norwit, I am the granddaughter of a count, but you are the granddaughter of a Marquis. It is correct that you sit at the head of our table. I will sit on your right."

"Thank you, Lady Jordell. You are most gracious."

There was a chorus of welcomes and introductions from the young ladies at the table. Had her memory been less powerful, she never could have kept track of them all, but in spite of her look she was Brianna Barter, a common girl with an uncommonly acute wit. She committed the names to memory as the introductions were made.

"Now that we can finally talk with you, Lady Norwit, I am sure some of the girls have questions that no one at our table can answer but you," Lady Jordell suggested.

"You may call me Bellany, Lady Jordell. That goes for anyone who counts herself as my friend. After all that I have been through in my life, I see no sense in clinging to formalities. As for questions, I cannot imagine what I would know that Lady Jordell, Vargrend's top scholar, would not be able to answer."

Larissa smirked. "Please call me Larissa, Bellany. I am glad I won the top scholar award, but I doubt I am really more intelligent than you are. Headmistress Vargrend simply refused to give you the award because you had been naughty. At the time she presented the award I thought her emphasis on an unblemished disciplinary record was odd, but then I realized what must have happened. Ladies, I have had occasion to speak with Bellany during the solstice break. She is very intelligent and has a truly frightening memory. She speaks elven, orcish, ancient common and common and she is quite an athlete. The other day I overheard a young swordsman visiting Jordell Manor from the Bristol Academy complaining that he had been taken entirely by surprise by Bellany's skill with the rapier. When I asked my brother about it, he said that none of the boys could beat her but him, and that, even when he opposed her, victory was by no means assured. Yet your academic and athletic prowess are not really the areas of expertise we are interested in, Bellany. There is one area of knowledge that ladies our age are kept in the dark about."

"Oh, do you have questions about men?" Bellany asked insightfully.

A chorus of nods and smiles answered her.

Bellany smiled. "I would be glad to fill your minds with carnal knowledge, but you must promise you will leave if you do not want to hear the truth and that you will not complain about the topic or content of our conversation to Headmistress Vargrend or other elders."

"Ladies, can we agree that what is said about men at this table is to be kept in strictest confidence, particularly in regard to the Headmistress and her agents?"

Another chorus of eager nods answered Larissa's question.

"Good, we all like to talk about men. It would be unmannerly to tell on Bellany just because she knows things that we may not know. Let me make this perfectly clear: No friend of mine will tell on Bellany for being kind enough to satisfy our curiosity."

"We know about the orcs, but do you have any experience with actual men?" Jennifer Rothe inquired.

Bellany smiled. "Yes, but please do not ask me to get into specifics about where, when, and with whom I have been naughty. That would be far too incriminating. After being a slave girl to orcs, it is no longer feasible for me to be chaste, but I do try to be as discreet as possible."

"I can understand why you had to do it with the orcs. They would beat you and you were trying to stay out of the stew pot, but why did you do it with men when you didn't have to?" Rothe asked.

"The orcs forced me to face the fact that I am neither fertile nor a virgin. They do not call me the fallen angel for nothing. It would be foolish for any woman here to lay with a man before marriage because it would seriously hurt her prospects. After the orcs, my prospects cannot possibly get any worse. That gives me a bit of freedom with men that most ladies our age never have, at least not until after they are widowed. The reason to do it is simple. It feels marvelous if done half right."

"It does? I should think it would be rather uncomfortable," Rothe looked astonished.

Bellany smiled. Apparently it was going to take some time to get the girls up to speed.

-------

It was the night of Friday the thirteenth of May and Bellany released the magic of her Remove Fear spell for the ninth time. She looked at Headmaster Bristol beneath her. He was not shackled to the bed the way she always used to keep him when practicing her Remove Fear spell because the fear spell that she had used on him also immobilized him. It had taken her scarcely a week of work to perfect the Scared Stiff spell and only a few additional days to get its ranged version working. Her aptitude for spells kindred to Mortaebius was little short of frightening; yet work on her Remove Fear spell had been just as frustrating as ever. She was now reasonably proficient with Cancel Magic, Mental Illusion and Tele-empathic Projection, but Remove Fear had been nothing but trouble. Since James had gone away to a tournament at the Hartmoor Preparatory Academy in Hartmoor, Bellany had been spending the time she would have been working with Master Leafwhisper on her magic. At least having mastered the Scared Stiff spell made practicing Remove Fear more convenient.

Bellany lifted her hips and dropped them back down on Bristol's petrified erection. Her full breasts quivered with the frustrated impact. Somehow she had to get Remove Fear to work. She tried casting it yet again. This time she attempted to put more energy into it, especially the magic-canceling component. Perhaps if her ghost hand made fear more effective, it could make Remove Fear more effective by causing the magic underlying the fear spell to decay to nothing. If nothing else it was a good angle to work from. Gods knew she had tried everything else. After three more attempts it proved to be a truly excellent angle as Bristol snapped out of his fearful rigor.

"Gods that smarts! My muscles have been in knots for so long I feel as if you worked me over with a flail."

Bellany smiled and then began to move her hips slowly forward and back. She leaned over to massage the headmaster's muscles as she rode him.

"What happened to the fear?" Bellany inquired.

"It just fell away, like a curtain wall that had had its foundation seriously undermined. You finally did it, didn't you? You broke the fear!"

"Yes!" Bellany squealed. "Thanks to your sore muscles and these marathon sessions, I feel certain that I have finally mastered Remove Fear. The cancel magic component needed more energy channeled into creating more magic-destroying entropy. With the fear magic completely cancelled, the other components could finally take hold to snap you out of the fear."

"I am sure Baladus will be pleased," Headmaster Bristol groaned.

Bellany kept her hips moving slowly. "Please tell him if you will, Alistair. You might as well. We are all done with fear for tonight."

"Alistair was spying on us?" Headmaster Bristol asked in surprise.

Bellany nodded. "I do not have the right spells cast to say for certain, but he was probably here. I realized he was a regular at our remove fear practice sessions some time ago. Men's fear is what nourishes Alistair most. He is drawn to you whenever I cast a fear spell on you, but he stays hidden. To his credit he is a very discreet ghost."

"Speaking of discreet, I have been meaning to ask you about your test scores in mathematics."

"What about them?" Bellany grinned.

"While looking at your work I have noticed irregularities since the second test and as time went on I discovered that these irregularities figured into your test scores. You got a perfect score on the first test, and thereafter you got ninety-four percent or near ninety-four percent on every subsequent test. You do very consistent work, yet the odds against getting a ninety-four on every test are high.

"I took a look at the last two tests, the only ones that I still had, and I noticed that all of the problems that you got wrong were procedurally correct. You simply made an error in calculation, usually addition or subtraction in the last line or two of the problem. I noted the initial error before subsequent computation, if any, is always thirteen. That has to be more than a coincidence. I know that you have an exceptionally clear mind and an excellent memory, otherwise you would not be able to do the kind of calculations you are able to do without benefit of scrap paper."

"Nine plus four is thirteen," Bellany observed.

"Yes, I noted that. It was a parallel to your average test score. It seemed fishy that you would have scores of ninety-four percent and errors of nine plus four."

"It was fishy. After the first test I realized that if I always got perfect or nearly perfect scores, there were a lot of boys who would give up and resign to being beaten by a girl. By getting a ninety-four any boy who tried hard had a real shot at beating me. I judged it the lowest average I could risk and still be assured of an 'A.'"

"I have punished several boys over the years for cheating on their tests in an effort to get higher scores, but I do not think I have ever caught someone making deliberate errors in order to secure a lower score."

"I knew you probably would not go for the idea because it is not honest, but I had promised you that I would make the boys work harder than they would have worked had I not been in your class. Can you honestly say that I have not delivered on that promise?"

Headmaster Bristol smiled. "This semester's class has one of the highest averages for test scores of any class since I began teaching. Participation in and completion of the mind-bender problems is as high as it has ever been and it is obvious from homework assignments that the boys have been working harder than ever before. I would be the dishonest one if I said that you had a negative impact on learning. Your effect on the boys and your 'A' average have both been instrumental in keeping Headmistress Vargrend off my back for having you enrolled. I am sure she would be more comfortable if the boys were goofing off and you were failing the course, but every time she inquires I strike her down with the facts.

"I am curious what your scores would have been had you not cooked the books."

"I save all of my tests for mother and father. You can borrow them back if you like. I think you will find that I would have an average of around ninety-nine percent," Bellany estimated.

"I am a stickler for accuracy. Please bring them by my office just after the last test before the final exam. I will pretend that I discovered the statistical anomaly then. That way the boys will still feel that they have a fighting chance, but I can put your real marks in my grade book. I am sure Headmistress Vargrend would have something to say about this."

"Of course, she would want to punish me for being dishonest, but even she does not go around telling the most homely of the students how repulsive they look. She has a strong concept of manners and courtesy, but I would not risk telling her and hoping that she could bring herself to realize that what I did was a courtesy for the boys in the class. Demoralizing them would have been counterproductive for everyone."

"I realize that your father is a general and it is a poor general who does not consider the morale of his troops. Yet you are right. Headmistress Vargrend lacks the flexibility to see that your course of action probably produced seven 'A' grades rather than only one. That is not mentioning the possibility that a stellar performance on your part might have depressed morale and depressed as many grades as your forbearance helped to raise."

"I am glad that you understand my motives. I find it ironic that Headmistress Vargrend was ready to yank me from your class if I did poorly or if the boys did poorly because of me. Yet she would be more than willing to punish me for taking measures to ensure that neither of her concerns became an issue."

"I too see the irony of the situation when you put it that way. You really do think like a general. You took the only sane course of action through a two-horned dilemma. I will see that the headmistress does not catch you in a no-win situation in regard to your performance in my class. Technically, you have not broken any rules. I have no rule against making deliberate errors. Before now, no one has had reason to make any. Headmistress Vargrend can take issue with you in regard to virtue and honesty, but where honor is concerned she hasn't a leg to stand on."

--------

On Tuesday, the seventeenth of May, Charles and the athletes returned from a successful tournament against the Hartmoor Preparatory Academy. Bellany received an invitation to dinner at the Patels, where Charles had his residence. She turned the invite in at Headmistress Vargrend's office and received a pass to leave school that evening. She was only too glad to spend some time outside of Vargrend's. It would be good to see Charles and find out how the tournament had gone.

When she climbed into the coach sent from Patel Manor to pick her up, the first thing she noticed was that Professor Howard was the chaperone. "Good evening, Professor Howard. I am glad you made it through that awful winter we had."

"Heh-heh, it was a bad one was it not? I barely squeaked by, thanks in part to a certain young lord, milady. I am assuming it was you who passed my name along to Mister Patel," Howard spoke in a hushed voice.

"Indeed it was. There was no one I would rather have preserving my non-virtue than you."

"I used to be such an honest man, but unfortunately my honesty was not able to keep me from freezing this winter. Only my dishonesty managed to do that. The school does what it can for me, but I have lived beyond even my own expectations. I do hope I am not compromising your virtue. The thing with the orcs is true, is it not?" Professor Howard whispered anxiously.

Bellany nodded. "Indeed. That is why I am starting school with the second year. I was on my way here last year when my carriage was sacked."

"Then I will not lose any sleep over your virtue, but I am sorry that you had to go through such an ordeal."

"It is over now, and the spell that nearly killed me during my rescue wrecked my memory. It was a high price to pay to make those memories seem softer and more distant. Yet since I had to pay it anyway, it worked out well. I hope you got a little something extra and assurances in case disaster were to strike," Bellany whispered.

"Mister Patel is a most generous and considerate man. I have absolutely no complaints about our arrangement. Did you have something to do with the contents of that package?"

Bellany smiled. "Yes, not with the particulars, but I did explain why I thought you were deserving of generosity."

Howard nodded. "Thank you, milady."

"It was my pleasure, Professor Howard."

When Bellany arrived at Patel Manor, Howard accompanied her to the door where the butler and Mister Patel were waiting.

"Come right in, Lady Norwit and Professor Howard. It is wonderful to see you."

"Thank you, Mister Patel," Bellany said amiably. "It is always such a breath of fresh air to get out of school and have a real dinner with family and friends."

"I could not agree more, Lady Norwit. Unfortunately Lord Charles has gone to a spur of the moment dinner party with his friends. Yet I know how much you enjoy the cooking of my chef and there is a chance that Charles will return home before you must return to Vargrend's. I have an important meeting with some business associates. Thus I took the liberty of having a dining table put in the sitting room between Charles' and Paul's suites."

Patel led the way and when they arrived he went to a small bar in the corner of the room. "Would you care for a brandy, Professor Howard? It is an excellent elven blackberry brandy that I imported from Yieraun."

"Oh I dare not. Brandy warms my belly and these days it never fails to put me to sleep."

"Please, just have a taste, Professor Howard. You are in for a long, dull evening without Charles here and I know you will enjoy the flavor of the brandy."

"Well if you insist, Mister Patel, I suppose a little bit would not hurt."

Mister Patel poured a snifter of brandy and handed it to Professor Howard who made a show of enjoying the flavor.

Professor Howard smelled the brandy, smiled and took a drink. "This is indeed delicious. You were absolutely correct about the quality. Ah, It warms me so," Professor Howard sat on the couch and savored his drink.

Mister Patel put a coaster on the coffee table for Professor Howard.

"There is also a tray of hors d'oeuvres here on the bar to nibble on before dinner arrives. I know you will enjoy them. They practically melt in your mouth."

"At my age teeth are a fond memory and food that melts in one's mouth is a real plus. This brandy reminds me of warm summer days that I spent in the forest as a youth. It is so fragrant. Ahhh..."

Bellany watched as Howard set his empty glass on the coaster on the coffee table and slumped contentedly.

Patel offered him the tray of hors d'oeuvres and he took one.

"Oh, these are delicious."

While Professor Howard sampled the hors d'oeuvres Mister Patel set the tray on the coffee table in front of Professor Howard and refilled the Professor's snifter.

"Oh this is too good. I feel so spoiled. I mustn't drink more of this brandy, but it is so delicious that it is habit-forming."

"Nonsense, you are my guest. Have as much as you like. I suspect Lady Norwit will be spending the evening reading. You might as well relax and enjoy," Patel said graciously.

Howard drained half of his glass, had another of the hors d'oeuvres, yawned, then slid onto his side and apparently fell asleep on the couch. Mister Patel carefully put an afghan over Professor Howard's sleeping form, touched his finger to his lips and ushered Bellany from the room.

Once they were headed for another part of the house Mister Patel explained the situation.

"The young lady in my employ who looks something like you will spend the evening in that room with Professor Howard. I think that I have found a way to help you fulfill your fantasy of seeing several men in a single evening, in a manner that will also assist me in the social world of business."

"That sounds good, and it was sweet of you to indulge my fantasy. How will it work?" Bellany asked.

"I am entertaining a few business associates of mine tonight, all of whom favor young women. Paul and Charles went to a tournament afterglow dinner at Carnarvon Manor. I noticed one of the neighborhood boys nearly always puts on a dinner the night the athletes return from an out of town tournament, but they are nearly always spontaneous and seldom announced. A decision is simply made by the boys as to who will hold the gathering just before they arrive home. Thus they know, but others do not. Last time the dinner was held here. It is not customary to hold the dinner at the same manor two times in a row, thus I knew it would not be here. Nevertheless, since these things are spur of the moment I could still invite you to dinner with your brother, even though I knew the boys would be elsewhere and not underfoot."

Bellany smiled. "You play a fine shell game, Peter."

"That is exactly it. I showed the stand-in, Tiffany, to my friends and explained that if anyone asks, they spent their evening in the company of Tiffany. In truth she will be the one relaxing in Charles' sitting room this evening until shortly before he returns home. You can use her name for the sake of anonymity if you would like."

"That sounds wise," Bellany affirmed as she thought about the night to come. Although she was not in dire straits for energy, more was always better, and the scenario would allow her to reinforce her image as a free spirit in the eyes of Peter Patel.

"Very good, then let me introduce you to my friends."

Patel led Bellany into the drawing room.

"Gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to a fine young lady that we will call Tiffany. I am sure you recall that if anyone asks it is the young lady I showed you earlier that we had with us this evening. No one could hire this young lady. She is far too well-bred, and money does not sway her in the least. She is here with us tonight simply because she enjoys the company of discreet gentlemen. If you know the identity of this young lady, then I suggest that you do not recall seeing her this evening. There was a redhead here, but it was not this young lady. If this lady was here she must have been cloistered in another wing of the house entirely.

"Now let me introduce you to my friends, Lady Tiffany. This gentleman is Edward Bolton, a manufacturer of fabrics. This is Michael Taylor; he owns a chain of clothier shops. Over here we have Robert Denslow who is in mining, and Cameron Driskell who owns a ship building company."

"Good evening, it is good to meet you Mister Bolton, Mister Taylor, Mister Denslow and Mister Driskell. I wish I could tell you something about myself, but if I did I would have to be a perfect lady all evening." Bellany yawned daintily.

"Perish the thought, Lady Tiffany. I believe we all find mysterious women much more attractive," Driskell crooned. "You may call me Cam or Drisky if you wish, all my friends do. Peter said this would be an informal gathering; we might as well dispense with the formalities right off."

"Thank you, Drisky. You may call me Tiffany this evening, but should we ever meet in society I am afraid I will have to be introduced to you since I am certain that we have never met."

Mister Denslow chuckled. "Call me Rob, milady whom I do not recall having met."

"Yes, we understand you are not here at all, Lady Tiffany. You can call me Edbolt. It is my nickname." Ed Bolton bowed with a flourish.

"Very well, Rob and Edbolt. You may call me Tiffany."

"Ye can call me Tay, everyone else does." the last man chimed in.

"All right, Tay. Please call me Tiffany."

"Good, now that we have all been introduced, let us take dinner in the dining room." Mister Patel spoke as he led the way.

Dinner conversation centered around various business dealings on the eastern part of the Augustana River. Since Red Jack was currently confining his predation to the northernmost part of the Augustana River, business had improved for everyone. Once they were finished with dinner, Patel suggested a contest.

"I thought about various men's games and sports we might engage in tonight, but I believe there is only one that I am sure Lady Tiffany could participate in with a chance of victory. Every gentleman of the city has at least passing familiarity with fencing, and I have a practice arena and the requisite apparel. The tips of my practice swords were inked as we ate and should be all set to go. I have it on good authority that Lady Tiffany is quite skilled with a light blade; therefore I thought we might come up with some sort of sudden death tournament. What would you suggest, Lady Tiffany?"

"Sudden death sounds fun. Let us say that only head or torso hits count. Peter, since you are the host perhaps you could put two jacks, kings and jokers into a tiny shuffled deck. We could then draw to determine who will compete against whom." Bellany smiled.

"What shall we wager?" Ed Bolton asked.

"That is a good question. Peter did not tell me I should bring gold but I have some money in my purse," Bellany said.

"That should not be a problem. Normally we bet a single gold dragon on our gentlemen's games. Yet, time is money and even though the evening is young we still have precious little time with you, milady. Yet it would not do if there were no risk involved for you, thus I have a proposal. I believe we will be showering after this event anyway. I have a poker chip here. Perhaps it could represent the right to be your showering partner at the completion of the bout, Lady Tiffany. If you win, you may shower alone."

Bellany took the poker chip and looked at it. "I understand the meaning of this chip, but actually, I think I have that much." Bellany silently thanked the highwaymen as she dug in her purse and removed every gold coin that she had. "There you are," she said as she handed Peter Patel six gold domains and two gold imperials.

Peter nodded as he counted the coins. "Lady Tiffany has provided me with a dragon's worth of lesser coins."

"Pete was not fibbing about your being a woman of means," Ed Bolton affirmed as he and the others handed Peter Patel one gold Imperial each.

After arriving at the arena within Patel Manor, Bellany retired to an antechamber, took off her dress and put on a coat of thin mail with a canvass backing. Over that she put on a white tunic that would show every touch of the inked tips of the practice swords.

By the time she was ready, Peter Patel and his friends were waiting. Bellany and each of the businessmen drew in turn from Peter's deck. Peter took the card that remained after the others had drawn.

"Hold up your cards," Peter exclaimed after the drawing was complete.

"Tay and Rob are our competing Jacks. Ed and Drisky are our Kings, and Lady Tiffany and I are this evening's jokers. We will have three winners. Let us say that whoever scored most speedily of the three initial winners shall wait to fight the winner of a bout between the slower pair."

"That sounds fair," Driskell agreed.

Tay and Rob traded parries and thrusts for about thirty seconds before Rob managed to fool Taylor with a feint and score a hit to his friend's belly.

"Hard luck! I am defeated! Edbolt and Drisky are next. May the best man win," Taylor conceded.

"Yi! Unlucky thirteen and you are winged, Edbolt!" Taylor laughed as Driskell made quick work of his friend.

"I am not surprised. Driskell has been training off and on since boyhood. My interest in swordsmanship started later," Ed Bolton admitted. "Go ahead, Pete. Let us see how you do against the lady."

Patel spoke to Bellany as they crossed blades, "I fear her youthful reflexes may be quicker than my modest skill, but I will do my best."

"Twenty-three seconds and you are nailed in the belly, Pete! You will have a long, painful hypothetical death from that belly wound," Taylor reported after looking at the timepiece that Patel had loaned him. "Lady Tiffany, I see you are not just putting us on. You have obviously received expert instruction."

"I agree, you are really quite accomplished with a blade, Lady Tiffany," Peter Patel said wiping the sweat from his brow. "I have been practicing off and on for years but I soon felt outmatched by your skill and youthful reflexes. Now you shall face Rob."

"Thank you Tay and Peter," Bellany said warmly. "En garde, Rob!" As the bout began Bellany probed Rob's defenses. He was fighting conservatively leaving as few openings for scoring as possible. She supposed that if the bout lasted a long time due to defensive fighting, it would make both combatants look more formidable. On the other hand, she had a hunch that Rob's endgame was to trap her in his defenses. She fought for a time without trying to penetrate Rob's defenses. If he wanted to look formidable, she had no problem with that. It gave her more time to get a feel for his style. Once she was ready she started her own endgame. She began a lunge but aborted abruptly, snatching her blade backwards just after Rob had committed to his parry. As the point of her blade cleared the advancing edge of his parry, she renewed her thrust, this time behind Rob's parry.

"Ack! I committed to that parry too soon. That first lunge was a feint and the withdrawal was a fake!" Rob complained.

"Fake withdrawal is a gentleman's ruse, but I thought it would be just the thing against the defensive style you were using."

Bellany smiled.

"Hah! Can I guess that you have been subjected to that feint by gentlemen in the past, milady?" Driskell crowed.

Bellany smirked. "The promise of withdrawal is something a lady can never count on. An astute woman will place more faith in the services of a good apothecary."

"You are wise for that faith. Now you must meet my thrusts and there will be no withdrawal before victory. En garde!"

"En garde, Drisky," Bellany smiled. She knew what to expect from watching Driskell defeat Ed Bolton. He played fast and furious with his blade and he was skilled enough not to leave serious openings in his defenses. Jamie had used a similar mode of attack on her many times to test her reflexes and her nerve. Driskell was not quite as quick as Jamie, but he more seasoned. His speed and confidence were unnerving and had quickly defeated Ed Bolton. Edbolt seemed to be a mellow gentleman without Driskell's aggressive flair.

Bellany kept smiling as she parried Driskell's first thrust and then surprised him by launching a riposte that nearly took him down.

"Huh!"

Bellany was sure that Driskell had a longer statement in mind, but while his mind was on expletives she launched a series of lightning attacks that took advantage of his initial surprise. She demonstrated that she could match his pace without falling back in disarray. For nearly a minute Driskell and Bellany matched skill and wit at break-neck speed.

"Good gods, this match is as swift and exciting as any tournament I have seen," Peter Patel exclaimed. "It is obvious you both excel at these contests."

After a minute and a half Bellany feinted to Driskell's right, and then jumped to his left. She placed a nice black dot under Driskell's left arm, yet it took him almost no time to recover from her ruse. He nailed her in the abdomen a split second after her blade found his chest.

"I see that you are both marked, but how shall we settle the matter of who landed the first blow? From my angle they appeared simultaneous. That would mean the bout ended in a draw," Peter Patel asserted. "It would be customary for you to split the pot."

"I suppose it might have looked like draw, but I am positive that my point landed first," Bellany contended.

"Shall we put it to a vote? I think my hit landed before the lady's." Driskell grinned.

"A vote sounds fair. What do you say gentlemen and milady?" Peter Patel asked.

A chorus of nods and affirmations confirmed that a vote was acceptable to all.

"Very well, you may vote either that the bout was a draw or that one of the two contenders struck first. It appears that Lady Tiffany and Drisky have already voted for themselves. I have voted that the bout was a draw. What say the rest of you gentlemen?"

"I think it was too close to call," Taylor agreed with Peter Patel.

"Nonsense, Drisky saw through the lady's trick and bested her," Rob Denslow maintained.

"It is up to you now, Edbolt. You saw the bout, why don't you cut me a break?" Drisky chided.

"If you want a break from me, Drisky, you will have to offer up your back! It was plain to me that the lady's feint had you fooled for a brief instant. Although your recovery was impressive, the lady's blow landed first," Edbolt retorted.

"The vote is a draw. Lady Tiffany and Drisky, you must split the pot unless you would like to impress us with a rematch," Peter Patel judged as he handed three gold dragons to Driskell and three gold dragons to Bellany.

The others nodded, affirming Mister Patel's remedy was agreeable to all.

"I would like a rematch, milady Tiffany," Driskell challenged.

"I accept your challenge, Sir."

Once again Bellany crossed blades with Mister Driskell. As the bout opened he launched a flurry of blows. It was obvious that his style was consistent. Bellany gritted her teeth but held her own. Once she got the measure of his rhythm she realized that he saw himself always as the aggressor. Master Leafwhisper had taught her that such a swordsman was like a dancer that danced the same dance no matter what tune was being played. A predictable pattern could be defeated by artful contradiction. She allowed him to work up a cadence and then contradicted his rhythm, making it necessary to parry when his rhythm told him to thrust. Her lunge went straight to his heart as she sidestepped the thrust that Driskell belatedly tried to turn into a parry. This time she was expecting a speedy recovery from Driskell. She parried his lightning return and smiled.

Bellany bowed masterfully.

"Ho, you are quite the prodigy with a rapier, Lady Tiffany," Driskell crooned.

"Thank you Drisky, you are a fine, vigorous swordsman. It was a pleasure to fence with you. I am sure I would like to do it again."

"There is no doubt she bested you that time, Drisky. It is a pity there is no booby prize." Taylor chuckled.

"Perhaps there is one after all." Bellany tossed the poker chip to Ed Bolton. "Edbolt, it would have been a simple matter for you to side with your friends, but you showed integrity instead."

Bolton grinned like a pirate. "It appears, gentlemen, that there are times when honesty really is the best policy."

"I will see you gentlemen later. With a little help from a friend, I plan to get very clean in the shower." Bellany smiled lustily.

-------

After the shower with Edbolt, Bellany made sure the evening progressed smartly. She had little time to fulfill Peter Patel's interpretation of her fantasy. Using telekinesis, Bellany clandestinely assisted Peter Patel in winning a backgammon match against Taylor. This freed Taylor for a commiseration walk that ended on the pallet above the tower room where Bellany had had her first tryst with Mister Patel months earlier.

After freshening up she returned to the swordsmanship arena where she helped Drisky in his self-appointed task of working up some counters to her moves. She made sure her help included plenty of touching as she suggested various stances and motions. One thing had quickly led to another with a culmination on a bench in one of the dressing rooms.

A little later Rob made things quite easy by suggesting a moonlit walk on the lakeshore. Bellany saw to it that a bit of romantic kissing got way out of hand. By the time she came in from her visit with Rob she was sure there would be no time for Peter Patel, but it turned out that he already had a strategy. He told the others that she had to leave soon since Paul would be arriving home shortly. On the way to the sitting room between Charles' and Paul's suites, Peter made a detour to the secret bedroom. After a brief but vigorous encounter and a very quick bath, she replaced Tiffany. Professor Howard conveniently woke up just after the switch. Paul and Charles came home shortly thereafter and Bellany had about ten minutes with them before Professor Howard noted the time and they were obliged to return to Vargrend's.

-------

It was nearly lights out at Vargrend's when Bellany arrived back at her room. Mary was sitting at her desk working on a paper

.

"Hello Bellany, how did the dinner go?"

"The food was good, but I would have preferred company. Charles and Paul went out on impromptu tournament business and did not return until just before I left. I ate in their sitting room and read. Mister Patel had to entertain important business associates in the main part of the house. I got a nice bath while I was waiting though."

"Bellany, I would like to believe that is all that happened, but you are glowing. Have you been naughty again?" Mary asked accusingly.

Bellany smiled, leaned over Mary's chair from the back and kissed her. "You should assume I lured every available man into the sitting room and bedded him, Mary. This is me you are talking about, after all."

"Oh gods! Bellany, you are so bad, but I missed you. Thank goodness you got in before lights out. I am sure the headmistress would have punished you for tardiness."

"No doubt, but that is so much less flattering than you missing me. How are you coming on that paper? Are you going to be able to come to bed, Mary?"

"What paper?" Mary asked as she pulled Bellany down and kissed her again.

It was obvious Mary had other things in mind now that Bellany had returned, but Bellany had no complaints about that. The evening had already been pleasant; closing it on a sweet note with Mary would make a fine completion.

-------

Since Bellany had already finished her school papers for the semester, she was able to relax and concentrate on her priestly studies, painting and magic for the remaining days of the school year. She started a large nude painting of Brianna Barter for James. It was ironic that she could not tell him that it was a self-portrait. Yet it made sense that she would portray a well-known bad girl in the nude so that no one at Vargrend's would get in trouble for being her subject. She also learned Remove Fear at range and perfected the Transient Shield spell and the Willowisp spell. She continued to hone her swordsmanship skills and to enjoy bath time afterwards. Before she knew it, the end of the school year was very near.

The last two tournaments would come practically back-to-back. The tournament with The Liaern Academy was scheduled for the twenty-eighth of May and then the championship tournament would take place on Friday, the fourth of June. Saturday, the fifth of June, was parent's day, when interested parents met with staff members concerning the performance of their children. Sunday would be the last day of chapel and the farewell brunch.

In spite of having accomplished a great deal, Bellany felt that the school year had raced by. She was also a bit nervous about what her parents might learn on parent's day. She had begun training Nimbus to come to her window because she felt she might be able to use him as a spy, but his performance had been somewhat spotty. On the occasions that Nimbus did fly to her window she was able to lie in her bed while using the Tele-empathic Projection spell. The added comfort aided her in forgetting her own senses. Unfortunately, her performance with the spell was still not a sure thing, although she had certainly made progress.

Bellany was still unsure what she would do in the coming months, but she needed to see what kind of reaction she had to Baronet Norwit. He had nursed her back to health after her sojourn in the land of the dead. In some ways he had been her father in a new life. She had bonded with him, only to find out that he had executed her real father under orders from Marquis Avengene. It was a great tragedy that a basically honorable man that she had developed feelings for had murdered her father.

She was positive that Darl Norwit felt that it was wrong of Marquis Avengene to order the execution of her family; otherwise he would not have refused to kill the rest of her family. She would just have to see him in person before she would know if she could bear to continue the charade of being Bellany Norwit in order to complete a prestigious education and an apprenticeship under a ghost. She was sure of one thing; she was going to stay at Vargrend's for the championship tournament. Many of her friends were athletes. She was not about to leave before seeing their final moments of glory. Besides, she was practically a member of the rapier team. James had even had a warm-up suit and a tournament uniform created for her that matched his own, all that hers lacked was the Bristol Academy crest.

The morning of the tournament with the Liaern academy, Bellany was going over the Irritant Cloud spell when she heard Headmistress Vargrend's voice coming up the hallway. She was obviously cross about something, because her voice had an irritated quality to it as she walked and talked with Mrs. Perkins, the hallway monitor and sometime chaperone. Bellany looked up from her spellbook as the headmistress knocked on her door. She put her book in a desk drawer and took out a book on elvish from her language class. She had already read it, but Headmistress Vargrend did not need to know that.

"Come in," Bellany called.

Headmistress Vargrend practically bristled. "Lady Norwit, I am only here because last night I promised I would speak with you about this if circumstances did not improve quickly enough, but frankly I think Headmaster Bristol has lost his mind."

"What did you need to talk with me about, Headmistress?" Bellany asked.

"As you know the young men of the Bristol Academy have a tournament against the Liaern Academy today."

Bellany nodded.

"You are probably aware that the rapier team has an unblemished record of wins. Even if Lord Jordell forfeits today's competition, he will still face the same young man in the championship tournament. Nevertheless both the headmaster and Lord Jordell, who is feeling ill, insist that it is not enough that the Bristol Academy win the championship. They must be undefeated."

Bellany nodded. "I noticed that the undefeated teams were announced first during the awards ceremony at the end of the first semester."

Headmistress Vargrend looked genuinely uncomfortable. "Yes, I suppose so."

"What was it that the headmaster wanted you to talk to me about?" Bellany inquired.

Headmistress Vargrend cleared her throat.

"James Jordell is ill. He can walk, but he is coughing, sneezing, wheezing and he has body aches. It is the end of the flu. He insists that he might be able to beat a lesser man, but that he is in no condition to beat Kyle Preston of Liaern. Lord Jordell seems to think that you are the only person at the Academy that would have a chance to beat this fellow from Liaern. Headmaster Bristol said that since he had already enrolled you in the Bristol Academy for the mathematics class, he could officially make you the secondary for the rapier team. As a matter of fact he did the paperwork last night as a precaution in case Lord Jordell was still ill this morning. Lord Jordell also had the appropriate insignia emblazoned upon your swordsmanship outfits. Personally I think it is a hair-brained scheme that will only bring embarrassment upon us, but I promised the headmaster that I would ask you if you would be willing to fill in for Lord Jordell at the rapier event in a few hours."

"Since you are asking, of course I will, Headmistress. It will be fun. Besides, Lord Jordell is asking me to cover for him during a time of personal crisis. I am not in the habit of denying my betters. That sort of thing is just not done."

Headmistress Vargrend cleared her throat. "I understand, but don't you suppose your opponent will oppose having to fight a lady?"

"Liaern is heavily influenced by elven culture since it is bordered on two sides by elven forest. The elves do not define the roles of males and females as strictly as we humans do. He may feel that, being a woman, I could not possibly be as accomplished with the rapier as he is, but I doubt that it will even occur to him to protest about having to compete against me."

"It seems highly irregular to me, but I understand that you mustn't disappoint the Jordells. You may go down and get your equipment from Headmaster Bristol in his office. The Jordell swordsmaster will be on hand there to coach you concerning the opponent."

"Thank you, Headmistress Vargrend. I hope to see you at the rapier event."

-------

A few hours later Bellany approached her opponent, Kyle Preston. The last-minute substitution of Bellany for James, her bad-girl image and the recent termination of the snub of Bianca Bristol had conspired to swell the audience for the rapier event beyond any similar match that year. There were a handful of young men in the audience that actually knew how skilled Bellany was. They all looked long-faced and worried. Their expressions matched those of the students of the Bristol and Vargrend Academies who did not know of or believe in Bellany's skill. Naturally they all looked wonderfully worried. Her message to Charles to have the boys broadcast an utter lack of confidence had paid off.

Jamie was ringside next to Master Leafwhisper and a pile of handkerchiefs. He looked red-faced and miserable, as if he had left his sick bed to come and watch. Bellany had decided against using magic or life force to improve her odds of winning. She would never know if her swordsmanship was top-notch if she cheated. Instead she had decided to rely on skill and wit. She walked with a slight awkwardness, a ruse gleaned from watching Timothy and Ed Marvik.

The rules the academies used for fencing matches were based more on war than showmanship. Whereas some exhibitions required up to fifteen hits, the makers of the tournament rules for the academies had reasoned that in a real swordfight, an individual could not possibly survive multiple hits to vital areas. In a casual competition three hits won a match, but in the tournaments themselves eleven points were needed for a win. Scoring eleven points was not as time consuming as one might think. Most hits were worth more than one point and some hits such as those to the head and heart were worth five points per hit. Thus, three hits could capture a victory.

After both contestants assumed the en garde position a dozen feet away from one another the bout began with a wave of the match master's hand. Based on her awkwardness and apparent lack of skill, Bellany expected an all-out attack from her opponent. Instead he probed her defenses. She moved her blade just quickly enough to parry his strikes, but not so quickly that it looked like she had the strength to entirely compensate for her heavier blade. She also deliberately stuck to basic moves. She carefully cultivated the illusion that she countered Preston's considerable skill only with great difficulty. Several times she narrowly avoided allowing her opponent to score. Once her opponent was reassured of her relative lack of skill he boldly launched a lightning quick assault that he reasoned was beyond her skill to counter. Her deft parry deflected his attempt to hit her heart. She riposted to score a hit to Preston's throat while he was overextended.

"Riposte and score, three points Norwit!" The match master announced after Bellany revealed that she could move her blade more swiftly than her opponent had been led to believe.

She had no doubt that the awkwardness card would not play again, but she did have a follow-up strategy. Bellany noted that just after she stung him with the surprise riposte, Preston tightened his stance and began to fight more conservatively just as she had expected. She did not give him time to rethink his strategy. She had a window of a few seconds during which she was sure Preston would not do anything bold. That allowed her to field a move that required bold action to counter. With a deft snap of her wrist she brought her heavier blade down on his blade to parry far more powerfully than he had anticipated. For an instant he was off balance. Her blade flitted up and scored against his mask before descending to narrowly parry a counterblow to her chest.

"Parry and score, five points - Norwit!" the match master announced.

Being cautious had failed Preston twice. He reversed his strategy and went on the offensive with a precision drive that forced Bellany to retreat. Bellany matched her skill against his, but she allowed him to believe that she was helplessly driven backwards by his tour de force. She waited until her opponent's body was committed to forward motion and then caught his blade in a deft circular parry that slapped the tip into the floor. The blade bent as Preston tried desperately to halt his forward motion in time, but it was too late. He stopped with the tip of Bellany's blade pressing the mesh above his heart.

"Match score, five points for a total of thirteen - Norwit! Match time is two minutes and 45 seconds!" The match master announced.

In the moment of stunned silence after the winning hit was announced, Bellany bowed to Preston and allowed herself a slight smile. She could not help giving his lust a little tug.

Suddenly applause swelled from the crowd like a cresting wave. The deafening applause took quite some time to die down. Once it did, Bellany stood shaking the hands of a great number of students and faculty including a sizable number of girls. The first in line were Lord Jordell and Master Leafwhisper.

"Thad was a... choo! Magnivizent win, Lady Bellady," Lord Jordell said. "I could nod have done bedder myselv. I am, achoo! So glad I came to wadge the madch in spide of my condition. I had hobed I would be able to compede this mording bud although I am maging good progress wid dis flu, I am ad my worst in da mording. I am going to go bag to bed dow. If I feel ub to id I will return to wadge da joust. If I cannod make da ball tonight I will still send da coach. You can ged ready at Jordell Manor regardless. I thing you will lub da drez I creaded for you."

"Thank you Jamie, I am so sorry you are feeling poorly. I hope some sleep helps and I will see you later this afternoon or evening."

James waved wanly and headed for home with several servants in tow.

"Congratulations, Lady Bellany. You are a true champion and the most extraordinary student I have ever had the pleasure to instruct."

"Thank you, Master Leafwhisper. It has been like a dream come true to be your student. I have enjoyed every moment, even the most grueling ones."

"I am glad you have been enjoying my teaching as much as I have enjoyed teaching you. We will talk later."

"Thank you, Master Leafwhisper, see you later."

"That was amazing, wasn't it Glenda?" Bianca Bristol asked Glenda Gransward as the two of them incongruously came to congratulate Bellany on her victory.

"Yes, Lady Norwit, you beat the boy who will fight Lord Jordell in the championship in under three minutes. I still cannot believe my own eyes and I honestly do not think he can either. He has it under control, but you can tell he is beside himself," Glenda observed.

"There is obviously more to your swordsmanship lessons than sparring with the one-eyed sword." Bianca conceded.

Bellany grinned. "Yes there is, but I think your version of what I did during my swordsmanship lessons had a certain naughty appeal."

"Didn't it? I noticed certain ladies of the Vargrend academy just couldn't stop thinking about it."

"Yes, lately I have had endless questions about what this or that boy was like in bed, but of course even if I knew, it would be indiscreet of me to say."

"Discretion is an element of manners too often overlooked. It is good for you that you have not forgotten it."

"Thank you, Lady Bristol. I hope to see you at the joust. Even after his harrowing injury, Abraham Steefl is back in the saddle, ready to help represent the Bristol Academy.

"Sir Steefl is nothing if not stalwart and courageous. He has served his school well. Once again, congratulations on your win, Lady Norwit. Lady Gransward and I will see you later."

Bellany blinked a few times after Bristol and Gransward left. The letter from Baron Bristol was obviously having an impact. Bellany guessed the victory had not hurt either. She did not exactly trust Bianca Bristol, but at least she trusted that Bristol would stab her in the back rather than in the front.

After shaking hands with a seemingly endless line of congratulators, Headmistress Vargrend suggested that Bellany should go change her clothing to something more appropriate. When she returned Bellany spent time politely watching some of the ladies events and then made her way to watch Charles in the crossbow event. Up until the last moment, their opponents outdid Charles and Erol Fobs by a narrow margin. The elven influence in Liaern provided excellent instructors that gave a strong advantage to the opposing team. In the end it looked like Charles would lose unless he pulled off a miracle on the last shot of the match. Bellany bit her lip as he stepped up. The range was long, and the breeze, though far from hurricane force, was enough to throw an arrow off. Before she had a chance to brace herself for the inevitable, Charles took the shot.

"Bulls-eye Norwit!" The Herald shouted.

The applause was deafening. Charles' friends broke out of their seats and converged on him to slap him on the back. Charles grinned like a pirate in spite of getting the wind knocked out of him as so many of his friends slapped him on the back in congratulations.

"Lord Charles Norwit, KING of the crossbow!" Lord Carnarvon shouted as he held Charles' hand up high.

Bellany smiled. She had been skeptical at the beginning of the year, but Charles' supposition that Lord Carnarvon would become his best friend had been prophetic.

That afternoon Bellany made her way to the Joust a little early to see if she had a place to sit in the stands or if she would need to try to get a spot near the rail.

"Your seat is right here next to Lady Jordell's, Lady Norwit," Bianca Bristol called courteously from the stands.

Bellany blinked in surprise for a moment. She was still not used to Bianca Bristol showing her courtesy. It seemed positively unnatural. She realized that this was just one more example of the effect of the letter from Baron Bristol, but it still threw her. After getting seated she saw that James Jordell had made it to the joust and was sitting in the stands on the other side of the lists with the other notable young men. She waved at him as she talked to Lady Bristol.

"Thank you Lady Bristol, I am much obliged."

"Charles did marvelously in the crossbow events considering the withering competition from Liaern. We should never have doubted that he was a champion," Glenda Gransward affirmed.

"Why thank you, Lady Gransward. I am glad he is lending his skill to the Bristol Academy rather than to some other school where there are far fewer peers. The wonderful thing about the Bristol and Vargrend Academies is that they bring peers from all over the area, from all faiths and political viewpoints together so that we can get to know one another, the better to conduct necessary regional business in the future. I think it is a sound idea."

"I am glad you think so. Look now; there is Sir Steefl wearing your favor upon the crest of his helm, Lady Norwit. He competes today against several fine knights from Liaern. Do you think he will prevail?" Lady Bristol asked politely.

"Abraham is the best. He has been tempered by battle and loss more so than any of them. Yet it is near the end of the season. They will likely know his style better than the other knights he has faced. It should be a good contest ; I just hope no one gets hurt," Bellany added softly.

As it turned out, Bellany need not have worried. Abraham and Loyd defeated their opponents without a great deal of trouble. The knights from Yieraun during the previous tournament turned out to have been the most formidable opponents thus far this year.

Next, Bellany headed over to the girls' grounds to see how Mary was doing in the pastry bake-off. She noticed Timothy hanging around the perimeter of the crowd. Their eyes met and about five minutes later Timothy was smacking his loins against hrer rump in the thicket like an overexcited puppy. He came in just over three minutes.

Bellany let go of her ankles and stood up. "I am teaching you such bad habits," Bellany whispered. "I should be encouraging you to hold out for much longer to enhance my pleasure, but circumstances being what they are, everything is turned on its head and speed is desirable in place of slowness." Bellany stole a quick kiss. "See you later."

"Byebye, milady, you were as fantastic as ever," Timothy grinned awkwardly. He left the thicket and walked briskly back and the bake-off. Headmistress Vargrend hustled up to her from the direction that Timothy had headed in. It made Bellany more than a little nervous that the Headmistress had narrowly missed coming upon them during their session in the thicket.

"Good evening, Lady Norwit," Headmistress Vargrend said a little crossly.

"Good evening, Headmistress Vargrend," Bellany replied cheerfully, knowing full well that the Headmistress probably suspected something, but knew she could not prove it.

-------

While the votes were being tallied for the bake-off, James Jordell came by.

"The competition is a close one. I had trouble deciding which would be first as opposed to third. This flu is interfering with my palate."

"You sound much better. Were you one of the judges?"

"Indeed I was. Rank has its privileges. As for the flu, I am always at my worst in the morning. Say, why don't you come over earlier than we had planned to get ready for the ball. I am sure you must be all sweaty from those three minutes of exhaustive swordsmanship earlier today. A bath might be just the thing before the ball."

"I am glad you are feeling better and I see your point. I am such a sweaty athlete I could benefit from a nice bath in the Princess Suite. There are supposed to be some fireworks this evening. We could head out before or after them, as you wish."

"Let's leave during the fireworks, I will have the open coach prepared for us and we can watch the fireworks as we head for Jordell Manor."

"That sounds like a great idea. Where shall we meet?"

"The fireworks will be held on the girls' side since the boys' side was used for the tournament. Let us meet at the Jordell garden commemorative sculpture."

"Which one shall we meet at? There are three."

"The Lavinia, of course, it is the latest."

"Okay, I will look forward to seeing you there this evening, Jamie."

-------

This ends, The Understudy, chapter 68 of The Chronicles of Rapina.

The story continues in chapter 69, The Man in Rags.

Copyright 2008 by Rapina