The next few days were unbridled misery for the recruits. The knights drove them hard in training and they spent any free time cleaning and scrubbing the Southern Hall with its high windows and the Refectory. After three days, Bria was nearly weeping with tiredness when she bumped heads with Heikki under the refectory table. ‘Look at my hands’ she whimpered. The harsh soap had got inside her blisters from the pole arms training and she could barely hold the scrubbing brush. ‘Why are we doing this?’

Heikki shrugged. ‘The Ambassador is coming here and we must put on a good show. I’ll finish here. You go and help Henrik in the garden. He’s clipping the grass.’

Bria dropped her brush back into the pail. ‘Thank-you. That’s kinder than maybe I deserve.’

Heikki shrugged again. ‘My hands are tougher than yours. I’ve been in training for a year already so the drills don’t burn my hands as much.’ He grinned at her ‘Are we even?’

She surprised herself and grinned back ‘I’m in your debt, but only a bit. I’ll go and see Sir Henrik.’

When she got to the garden, Sir Henrik had finished the grass and had moved on to the roses. He looked at her hands when she explained why she wasn’t scrubbing and grunted, before passing her a pair of clippers and pointing to the box hedges surrounding the seats in the middle of the garden. Clipping the hard springy twigs wasn’t much better than scrubbing floors but at least there was no soap and the metal felt cool pressed against her abused palms and fingers

The recruits knew their ordeal was over when they presented themselves in the Southern Hall for training early one morning and the Preceptor sent them down to the bath houses rather than the relentless drilling. When they got back to the refectory, breakfast was laid and the Preceptor was waiting for them. ‘This week has been hard, and we have made it hard deliberately. The high windows didn’t need scrubbing just because the ambassador was coming. There will be times when the pace is gruelling and there is no time to stop and recover, or indeed to question orders. You put your shoulders to the wheel and together you have accomplished a great deal, passing this test. You have made me proud. The Ambassador will be here mid-morning and we will stand guard for her entrance but there are no other duties or training today. Palace servants will lay out food and clear away today. Tomorrow, we will begin again at a more normal pace. Bria, a word in the Southern Hall before you eat.’

He turned and marched briskly through the doors into the hall and down to the double doors that led to the Lady’s Hall.

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Bria followed after him wondering if she was in some kind of trouble.

‘I won’t keep you long, but I need to say two things. Camryn is back on her feet and taking gentle exercise. You may tell the others and Rosa. The other is that Rosa has requested that you be allowed to carry the ornate poleaxes at all times so that you become accustomed to them. She also tells me that they are magical and that the charges have diminished. Apparently they may tap into the power of the crystal tree to recharge just by being close but it will take many days for sufficient power to be transferred. I suspect that the tree is a sink.’ He paused at the baffled look on Bria’s face and laughed. ‘Not a sink for washing pots. A sink for storing power. I’m not sure that I want the Lore Master to know that there is a way of tapping the tree’s power hence the discussion here where we may not be scryed or overheard. Rosa asks that you carry poleaxes in and out of the garden, building up their power and she will monitor them to make sure they do not overcharge and break. However, I do not know Rosa. I have had precisely two letters from her.’ He held up the piece of parchment that Bria had brought earlier in the week. ‘Do you consider her trustworthy or should I deny this request? Has she ever said or done anything that seemed out of place, that jolted your opinion of her?’

Bria thought back to the day she had suggested exploring and Rosa’s uncharacteristically sharp response. But she had explained why. Bria shook her head. ‘No Preceptor. I believe her trustworthy.’

The Preceptor gave her a long hard look. ‘There is something though. Explain!’

Bria gulped. ‘She snapped at me once when I wondered about the size of the Lady’s Hall. She explained that if we went exploring and ran into trouble, she would not be able to rescue us and no-one else would be able to get in to help but when she snapped at me she reminded me of both you and the Lore Master’

The Preceptor scowled. ‘In what way am I similar to the Lore Master?’

Bria gulped again. ‘I didn’t mean that. The Lore Master can be hasty and bad-tempered, fiery even, and you expect to be obeyed. Rosa, for a moment, seemed to be both of those things.’

The Preceptor looked thoughtful. “Hmm, well yes I do expect to be obeyed. It’s essential for a military commander and the Lore Master is quite bad-tempered. If we take your impressions to be correct, then Rosa is both a military commander and a lore master?’

Bria nodded. “She said she was a lore mistress and she’s very old. Who knows what else she has been? She has been very kind and her advice has always been sound. She seemed genuinely upset when Camryn was hurt. I think she has been asleep under a spell for a very long time and it’s taking time to remember things and get used to the world’s changes.’

The Preceptor straightened up. ‘Very well. Carry the poleaxes, charge them and train with them. The halberd forms will suffice for now. She is right, you must get used to them. If she has an ulterior motive, she is still helping train you with fierce weapons. Ask her for any information she may have on dragons. She may know something that the Lore master doesn’t. We might as well make use of her knowledge and experience. All that will keep until this afternoon. Go and eat.’