"Don't you ever wonder who your family is?" Alex asked Rufus the next day at lunch. "I know, if it was me, I'd want to know, and I'm sure Joshua doesn't go a day without thinking of what a different life he could have."

"Especially on conference days," the Prince said dryly as he sat down next to Alex. "At conferences, I just let my mind wander and think of life as an artist's son, or a rich doctor's, or a fisherman's. But something always goes wrong- the artist doesn't seel anything and becomes starved, or the doctor makes a mistake in surgery and is sued of his life's earnings, or the fisherman's boat gets caught in a storm and he dies. So, I always conclude that being Prince is fair better, even in conferences." He grinned. "Maybe it's my fate."

"You were made for it, if not born into it," Alex agreed. "But you didn't answer my question, Rufus. Do you ever wonder?"

The boy shrugged. "Of course I do, but I don't worry about it. I know they'll find me someday," he told them. Then, the great bell rang, summoning the pages to the practice fields.

The other twin nodded. "Mum and Dad told me themselves, after I found it. They couldn't very well lie to me, then," she said with a slight smile. "Listen, I have to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow." In an instant, the mirror went black, then cleared.

There was a knock on Alex's door. "Just a minute!" she yelled in reply as she slipped her necklace around her head. Then, she walked over to the door and opened it, to reveal Rufus standing there.

He held up a book. "I need help with my math," he admitted, "and Stuart said the person to go to for help was you."

Alex smiled and opened the door wider. "That I am," she agreed. "What is it?"

"Trig," he answered. "He didn't teach it, just gave us the problems to do, and I don't understand it."

She showed him the basic principle of the hard math, and then let him do the problems on his own, complex versions of the examples she had taught with. Finally, the boy laid down his pen. "I haven't been honest with you," he told Alex.

"Oh?"

"I didn't come here for math help, although I did need it, but that was just the excuse," he said. "I actually came here because of something else. I had a dream, a week ago, before I came here, of a great lady. She gave me a vision of you, and said that you'd be able to tell me who my family is. So, I took this journey in mind that you'd tell me, yet you've said nothing about it, besides today at lunch. So, I decided to ask you, do you know who my family is, and why haven't you told me?"

Rufus waited for an answer, and Alex sighed. "I didn't tell you because I didn't know until just before you came here tonight. It's been a very well kept secret, until a couple of nights ago. Rufus-" she took a deep breath, "-you're my brother. Only, I'm not who you think I am. You, me, Prince Joshua- we're all siblings."

"If you're not who I think you are, then who are you?" Rufus asked.

Alex sighed and took out her necklace. "This shields people from seeing the real me," she explained. "Once I take it off, you can't tell anyone."

"Wait," her brother said as he pulled out his own necklace and flashed a grin. "You take off yours, and I'll take off mine."

Alex nodded and counted off. "1...2...3." She closed her eyes, letting her true appearance unveil itself. When a coolness washed over her, she opened her eyes and gasped.

Her twin stared her right in the face.

"I thought you were Jennifer for a moment," she said with a weak smile. "But then, I really looked at you, and saw that you were still a boy."

"So, you're Alexandria?" Rufus asked. "The Queen's lost cousin? And we're two of triplets?"

"Quadruplets, really," Alex told him. "Joshua's the only one that doesn't look like the rest of us. And I'm not really lost. Just, a few selected people know where and who I am."

"Who?"

"Jennifer, Stuart, our friend Brian, Marek, and his mother," Alex answered. "And now you."

"Joshua doesn't know?" Rufus asked.

She shook her head. "I hadn't gotten to tell himyet. I'm wondering if I should right away."

Rufus thought about this a moment, then nodded his head. "Maybeyou shouldn't," he agreed. "He's got a lot on his mind at the moment, and we don't want to overload him."

Just then, someone knocked on the door. "I've a note for ye, Alex," Felipe, Marek's man, told her. A paper slid under the door, and then footsteps retreated.

Alex went over and picked up the note, reading it.

Alex,

I've been thinking about what you said last night, and you're right. You need your own horse, instead of those stable mounts. I think I have a horse for you. Meet me at the stables tomorrow night, after supper.

-Marek

Alex sat on her bed, thinking, after Rufus had gone. Her own horse? They were expensive. Surely she didn't have enough money. Feeding and stabling a horse wasn't the problem, since the palace took care of all the pages' horses; the problem was buying it. With a sigh, she went over to her desk drawer and took out an envelope that contained the remaining money she had taken from her house a year ago. She only had a thousand dollars left. She hoped it was enough to buy the horse of her dreams. With a sigh, she climbed into bed and fell asleep with a smile on her face.

It began snowing mid-morning, during Alex's history class, and continued to snow throughout the day. Afternoon lessons changed, and the first-year pages, except the newest, were called to one of the large indoor practice courts. Duke Edward and nother man came in with wooden practice swords, and Alex gulped. She had known this was coming, so it was no surprise. Still, it made her nervous. She had learned the general use of the sword on her palace visits, but had never mastered it.

"Today, you start learning the use of the sword," the Duke told them. "Captain Lars here will teach you. For your benefit, we will give a quick demonstration." They turned to each other, bowed, and then faced off.

Alex watched them with attentive yellow eyes. She had seen the Duke fence with Captain Lars before, but it usually went too fast for her to keep up. Now, they slowed down their attacks and blocks, and Alex studied their moves carefully. She certainly did not want to fail at fencing, the one thing a knight most relied on! It was okay to be bad at wrestling or jousting, but a knight fought by his swordmanship.

"Now it's your turn," the Duke told htem. "Edward. Alexander. You're up."

Alex's face turned white. Of everyone to be paired against, Eddie was the worst. The Duke was the country's best knight, and he had trained his son before the other pages. Numbly, she put the practice gear on and took a wooden sword.

"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you," Eddie said with a grin as they bowed. Suddenly, he cut in at her at the side; she parried it by luck. He swept in at an arc, and she blocked it, then remembered the next part of the move. She blocked that, went to strike, and brought her sword back just in time to block another of Eddie's blows. She stepped backward, he forward. Another strike, another step backwards. Alex didn't even realise how close she was to the wall until her back was pressed against it. With a sigh, she submitted her sword as Captain Lars let out a belly laugh.

"Hey, what happened to going easy on me?" she asked Eddie as they walked back to supper later.

"Sorry, Alex," he replied. "My training just took over. I'll be the first one to say that it wasn't fair of Dad to match us up, though. You obviously haven't fenced before."

"Oh, I have," she grumbled. "Only a couple times, and I never really learned much, but I have fenced. That's the sad thing."

He laughed. "Well, you'll learn how to fence, now, and won't go up against me until you're ready," he guaranteed.

"Come on," he told her and led her to one of the spare stalls. "I guess you'd rather see the horse before socializing. Very well, then. What d'you think?" Inside stood a tall, black mare with a white mane and tail, and a perfect star on her forehead. She whickered when she saw Alex, and the girl let herself into the stall.

"She's beautiful," Alex breathed as she ran a hand down one of the horse's legs. "How are you, beauty?" she asked, and the mare bobbed her head up and down. "What's her name?"

"She hasn't got one," Marek answered. "The man I bought her from didn't believe in giving animals names." He laughed. "She's six, young enough to be trained as a knight's horse, but not young enough to be skittish. She'd serve you well."

Footsteps came down the hall, and Joshua's head appeared over the stall door. "I thought I heard you," he said with a smile. "What's this?"

"Alex is considering buying this horse," Marek told him. "Perhaps you'd like to check her over, for an expert opinion?"

Joshua grinned, stepped into the stall, and checked the mare for any physical wrongs. Stepping back, Alex reached into her Gift and checked for any illnesses. "She's excellent," Joshua finally said, and Alex nodded in agreement.

"How much, Marek?" Alex asked, afraid to know.

"A thousand, including tack." He motioned to a plain black saddle and bridle. "A thousand, and she's yours."

Alex had never paid that much money for anything in her life, but she handed over her envelope without hesitating. The mare nudged her, sensing that she was Alex's now.

"What's her name going to be?" Joshua asked.

Alex thought about that a long time. "Lunar Eclipse," she finally answered. Her horse whickered in agreement, and Joshua laughed.

"And never a more committed horse shall there be," he said.

Marek raised his eyebrows. "You don't have your own mount either, do you?" he asked the Prince. "You might want to have a look at her twin." He walked over to the next stable. "I was going to sell him to the palace, but he'd be better as your mount." In the stall stood a horse slightly taller than Alex's, and as noble. Completely opposite of his twin, he was white, with black mane and tail, and the same star. Expertly, Joshua checked this horse as he had Lunar, and then stepped back. "I'll take him," he said, eyes shining.

"I'm almost afraid to ask you what you'll name him," Marek commented as he filled out the papers.

"Well, since his twin's Lunar Eclipse, he of course must be Solar Eclipse," the Prince replied with a smile.

Their friend chuckled. "You'd best get back to your studies, now," he said. "I hear that history test tomorrow is a tough one."

Joshua smiled. "That it is. Thanks, Marek. Alex, are you coming?"

She shook her head. "I finished my homework at lunch, and studied during supper," she told him. "It's a method I picked up in school. I doubt I could learn anything else about King Henry VI unless I counted the hairs on his head, and I'm pretty sure that won't be on the test."

Joshua laughed and left the stable, leaving the two to talk in private. "Thanks, Marek, on both our lives," she said. "He's my brother, you know."

The thief did a double-take. "No, I did not know that. I thought maybe Rufus, but not Joshua," he said quietly.

"Oh, Rufus too," she told him. "It turns out that we're quadruplets. Joshua doesn't know, though. I told Rufus last night, right after I found out from Jennifer. It turns out that he does look like us - he had a disguise as well. Joshua doesn't look like us. That's what he really looks like."

They walked around the palace grounds in silence for a few minutes, and then Marek remarked, "I heard you had a rough time in your lessons today."

Alex sighed. "'Rough time' does not describe it. I've always been bad at the sword, but never that bad. I only made on proper block, and it was my own stupidity that ended the match. I don't suppose you could teach me?"

He shook his head. "I don't use noble weapons," he told her. "Daggers, hands - that's for me. But there's one man who might be able to help you."

"Yeah?" She was desperate for any chance she had.

"His name's Travis Demirs. He's the finest swordsman I've ever seen, including the Duke. If he can't help you, well - nobody can."

"Where can I find him?" Alex's voice was hopeful.

"He has guard duty on the North-east tower, the pre-dawn watch. Tell him I sent you."

"Another one of your men?" she asked with a smile.

"I told you this place was filled with them," he said. "Now, I suggest you go to bed, so you can wake up early tomorrow."

With a grin, she ran back to her room, hope on her face.

"You Alex?" he asked, and she nodded. The light was lowered. "Marek said you needed help with your fencing. What exactly is wrong?"

"Everything," she answered. "I don't have a feel for the sword, and I've never been able to learn it. I can't strike, I can't even block right."

The gruff man looked her over. "Very well, then. I'll help you - or try, at least. I can teach, but you have to do your part." He motioned toward three swords lain across a table. "Take your pick."

She looked at the swords - the first two were regular swords any knight carried, but the third was a big, heavy broadsword. If she learned how to wield that, any sword would be easy. Picking it up was even a challenge, but she forced herself to. Finally, it was hefted so the tip of the blade was above her shoulder, and Alex grinned. "I'll use this one," she said determindely. "If I can't wield this, I'll give up."

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