When everyone had come back and the classes were in full swing, Jewls was given a knight to serve: Sir Kyle of Marktin. Kyle was the most exasperating and perverted men she had ever meet. He was in his mid-20s and always got drunk at any chance he had. One night, right before she was going to go and have her meal, Sir Kyle came in and told her that he needed her in his rooms. "AUGHHHHHH! I haven't had a meal since breakfast, and now, I can't have my dinner!"
Walking to his room, she saw that there was but one candle, the knight lay on his bed. Jewls had never run so fast in her life, even when she had been escaping off the ship, that was a mere jog compared to this. The next day Sir Kyle summoned Jewls to his study, "Jewls, I am one of the most desirable men at court," he told the girl. What is he talking about? Obviously not at this court, I couldn't imagine one lady wanting to even be in the same room as him. "Yes, I know that by the look on your face, you are confused, you want to know why me, a great knight would want to fulfill your dreams and you just a page!" He told the girl with a great many airs. "What?!? You a great knight? That is a joke, and I wouldn't even be in this room if I didn't have to serve you, but never again will I be in here, I would rather... Oh I hate you!" Jewls said as she turned around and walked out. She told Sir Wyldon about what had happened, and just yelled at her, telling her that she made herself seem available and that she still had to serve him. "Oh what am I going to do, Neal? I yelled at him and told him I would never work for him again, and I don't want to tell the prince just because then the whole place would know and something bad would happen to me like I would be sent home. Oh please help me think of something Neal, please?" Jewls begged.
Jewls woke up to the sound of rain. "Oh, yea, another birthday, which no ones remembers," Jewls told herself. Getting dressed, Jewls realized that her favorite tunic, the one her mother made for Kaddar, was ripped, Jewls sat down and cried. What is wrong with me? She asked herself, walking down to breakfast, Jewls tripped, some of the older pages laughed. Getting in line for her food, she saw that there was only cold gruel. Can my day get any worse???? "Where is Kel?" Jewls asked. "Oh, she has a fever and a rash, so they are keeping her in bed." "Great, now one of my best friends is sick," Jewls muttered. Walking to her first class Jewls reached into her bag and realized that she didn't have she homework. Running back up to her room, Jewls definitely decided that 13 was an unlucky number. And only 365 more days to go she told herself. When she was running to her room, she passed Kel's room. "Oh, my stomach!" The sick girl moaned. "Kel, are you okay? No of course you're not okay, if you were you wouldn't be moaning," Jewls said to herself.
Jewls went it the sick room and felt suddenly a wave of hot. It felt hotter than the kitchens. She felt Kel's forehead and she was burning up, yet, Kel was shivering. "Ok, Jewls, calm, just calm down." the freshly 13 year old girl said. Jewls opened Kel's eyes and looked deep into them, there were no thoughts, just evil. Jewls shivered. Looking past her eyes Jewls looked beneath her pupils, and say what she never wanted to see again, in Kel's eyes she saw a blackish green haze tightening its grip around the limp body that couldn't fight back. Jewls could hear it enfold itself on the frail mind and soul of Kel. "Jewls, please get help, I can't hold on, please Jewls, please," Kel half- whispered. Kel ran into the hall forgetting everything about her classes, the only thing was that Kel must not be hurt. "HELP!!!!!! ANYONE HELP PLEASE!?!?!?" Jewls screamed. Jonathan had been walking in the hall, going to his study when he heard the scream. He came at a run, "What is it Jewls?" He asked. "Kel, its Kel, the evil she can't stand it, there is too much, she can't do it. Kel, help Ke-" Jewls fell into a faint. When she woke up, she was shivering despite the fact that her room was hotter than Kel's. I must get up, I need to se Kel, must get up. the determined girl said. Walking over to Kel's room took over 10 minutes because Jewls was so dizzy and could gain her balance back. She walked into Kel's room and saw the doctor there. "How, why are you up? I gave you something that should have put you to sleep for hours!" The doctor stuttered. "How is Kel? How is she?" Jewls almost screamed. She didn't wait for an answer, Jewls pulled Kel's eyes open and stared into them, "NO! IT'S GETTING HER! WHY ARE YOU ALLOWING THIS?!?!?" "Jewls, we have to tell you something, you know how there were seven other girls that wanted to become knights, too?" Jonathan asked. "They were all going to be here by next month, well we just receive notice that they all passed on." "So, what does that have to do with my best friend????" "Jewls, don't you see, someone doesn't want girls at the palace, and they will kill to keep them away." "We have to keep your brothers away from here, incase they put the disease on them, too." Jonathan told Jewls. All of a sudden, Kel threw the blankets off, and stopped shivering. Jewls felt the forehead and it was chilled, Kel's whole entire body was frigid. Jewls tried to put the blankets back on Kel, but she threw them off. Kel turned a slightly blue color. "Oh, no, oh no! Kel, stop it. Please Kel! Kel, I can't heal," Jewls begged. Alanna came in, and pulled Jewls aside. She shivered when she felt the skin of the girl. "Jewls, get into a hot bed, now!" the Lioness commanded. Jewls' lips were turning an ugly blue. Her teeth were chattering so much that she couldn't talk. "Aaaaaa-Lannnnnnnnna, ppppppppleeeease llllllllllemme hhhhhelppppp?" she asked, shivering. Jonathan picked up the freezing girl and put her in a bed with hot bricks all around it. As soon as he did that, Jewls' chattering stopped and she started to sweat, her face turned from blue to a red color. She had drops of sweat pouring from her temples. A healer took the covers off the girl and used an ice cold clothe on her face. Then, a very peculiar thing happened, Jewls' face turned a blue, but her forehead was burning up. She got out of the bed, and walked to the window. Opening the shutters, Jewls climbed out, with all the force of a squire and tried to jump. "Granmama, I will be there, shortly. Hold, on, let me fix my hair, Granpapa, is always mad when I am messy," Jewls said to imaginary people. In her own world, Jewls saw her grandparents, who had been dead for over five years. They had both died of The Forgetting Sickness. It had been going around for sometime before they had caught it, it made them forget everything, to eat, sleep, walk, and in the end, it made them forget to breath. Neal walked in just at the right time, Jewls was about to jump from the window ledge, a shattering six stories above the ground. He picked up the sweating girl and put her in her bed. She was kicking and screaming for her grandparents. The duke came in and put a spell over Jewls that made her drift into a fast sleep. She woke up some hours later and opening her eyes, she could see nothing but a filmy gray. "Help," she said in a weak voice, to low for anyone to hear. "Help me please," her voice was raspy from only saying those few words. "Help, I feel him coming, please help," Jewls begged and she feel into an exhausted sleep. Jewls dreamt of her home land with her dead uncle, trying to kill her. He had tried to do so many times. He was always close but there was always something wrong with his plans. Once he was so close to killing her that he couldn't leave her bed for three and a half months. He had tried to poison her, but she didn't drink all of it. "Orzone! Away please don't kill me. I won't tell any one please just don't kill me. I am only 8, please please," Jewls broke into a fight of tears and shook uncontrollably. The duke came in and tried to wake her but Orzone had some spell on her. "No please I can't do it please no no no!!!!!!!" She screamed. The duke couldn't hear the other side of the conversation, so he had no idea about what was going on. "Uncle don't hurt the others please you already killed some just don't hurt the others. Please anything to make you stop, uncle anything the pain is too great," Jewls collapsed and her face started to turn a light red then darker and then it turned an ugly bluish purple. Numair came in just at that time, he had heard about the sickness and wanted to see one of the patients. He saw the girl's face and instantly said a word of command and Jewls took in a deep breath. She opened her eyes to the bright light. "No, don't hurt me please I had nothing to do with it. Please please I swear on my dead mother's grave that I had no idea. Please no!" She shook and rocked back and forth. Jewls scrunched her body up into a ball and tried to protect herself. "Please don't hurt me," She cried hard. The tears were red, streaming down her pale face. Her eyes were clear making her look like a demon. Numair stepped closer and Jewls fainted. She a woke in a totally different atmosphere, there was sun streaming into the room. She was on a high bed with white all around her. "Oh no, I blew it, I am dead," with that thought, Jewls started to cry. "What are you talking about? You have been sick for two and a half weeks, so has the whole castle." Alanna said. "I think I am the only one who didn't have a touch of it. Even the king had some kind of illness. Although, come to think of it, no one had the same illness..." Alanna drifted off into her own thought. Wait it is all coming together, now. I understand. Alanna thought to herself. "Yes, it all makes sense," she said aloud.
