"Tamora Pierce - Protector Of The Small 1 - First Test" - читать интересную книгу автора (Pierce Tamora)

Alanna half turned to see Wyldon better. Surely he'd read the letter at least twice! From this side the
puffy scars from his battle to save the younger princes and princess were starkly visible; Wyldon's right
arm was in a sling yet from that fight. Alanna rubbed fingers that itched with the urge to apply healing
magic. Wyldon had the idea that suffering pain made a warrior stronger. He would not thank her if she
tried to heal him now.
Goddess bless, she thought tiredly. How will I ever get on with him if I'm to help this girl Keladry?
Wyldon was not flexible: he'd proved that to the entire court over and over. If he were any stiffer,
Alanna thought wryly, I'd paint a design on him and use him for a shield. He's got no sense of humor and
he rejects change just because it's change.
Still, she had to admit that his teaching worked. During the Immortals War of the spring and early
summer, when legendary creatures had joined with the realm's human enemies to take the kingdom, the
squires and pages had been forced into battle. They had done well, thanks to their training by Wyldon
and the teachers he had picked.
At last Lord Wyldon returned the letter to King Jonathan, who placed it on his desk. "The baron and
the baroness of Mindelan are faithful servants of the crown," the king remarked. "We would not have this
treaty with the Yamani Islands were it not for them. You will have read that their daughter received some
warrior training at the Yamani court, so it would appear that Keladry has an aptitude."
Lord Wyldon resettled his arm in its sling. "I did not agree to this, Your Majesty."
Alanna was about to say that he didn't have to agree when she saw the king give the tiniest shake of
the head. Clenching her jaws, she kept her remark to herself as King Jonathan raised his eyebrows.
"Your predecessor agreed," he reminded Wyldon. "And you, my lord, implied agreement when you
accepted the post of training master."
"That is a lawyer's reply, sire," Wyldon replied stiffly, a slight flush rising in his clean-shaven cheeks.
"Then here is a king's: we desire this girl to train as a page."
And that is that, Alanna thought, satisfied. She might be the kind of knight who would argue with her
king, at least in private, but Wyldon would never let himself do so.
The training master absently rubbed the arm in its linen sling. At last he bowed in his chair. "May we
compromise, sire?"
Alanna stiffened. She hated that word! "Com - " she began to say.
The king silenced her with a look. "What do you want, my lord?"
"In all honesty," said the training master, thinking aloud, "I had thought that our noble parents loved
their daughters too much to place them in so hard a life."
"Not everyone is afraid to do anything new," Alanna replied sharply.
"Lioness," said the king, his voice dangerously quiet. Alanna clenched her fists. What was going on?
Was Jonathan inclined to give way to the man who'd saved his children?
Wyldon's eyes met hers squarely. "Your bias is known, Lady Alanna." To the king he said, "Surely the
girl's parents cannot be aware of the difficulties she will encounter."
"Baron Piers and Lady Ilane are not fools," replied King Jonathan. "They have given us three good,
worthy knights already."
Lord Wyldon gave a reluctant nod. Anders, Inness, and Conal of Mindelan were credits to their
training. The realm would feel the loss of Anders - whose war wounds could never heal entirely - from
the active duty rolls. It would take years to replace those who were killed or maimed in the Immortals
War.
"Sire, please, think this through," Wyldon said. "We need the realm's sons. Girls are fragile, more
emotional, easier to frighten. They are not as strong in their arms and shoulders as men. They tire easily.
This girl would get any warriors who serve with her killed on some dark night."
Alanna started to get up. This time King Jonathan walked out from behind his desk. Standing beside
his Champion, he gripped one of her shoulders, keeping her in her chair.
"But I will be fair," Wyldon continued. His brown eyes were hard. "Let her be on probation for a year.
By the end of the summer field camp, if she has not convinced me of her ability to keep up, she must go