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though I still sat upright on the meditation mat. The candles had burnt away to nothing. I blinked. Had I gone into a trance? How could I have? I had no training for that, had never even seen it done by someone else.
    But in that instant, I knew with certainty that I could make everything right. I must. For I was responsible for it going wrong.

    Sometime after the supper tocsin sounded, someone knocked on my door. It was Traz with my supper and another servant with my trunk. I couldn’t eat with my mind whirling with plans, so I set the tray on my desk and instead of eating, I packed in a frenzy. Had I dawdled, it still wouldn’t have taken long. Novices didn’t have much. Two robes besides the one I was wearing, a heavy cloak for bad weather, my books and writing tools. In the morning, I’d pack my night things, and that would be it.
    I’d just closed the trunk when another knock came on my door. Assuming it was someone come to collect the supper tray, I picked it up and opened the door. But instead of Traz or a servant, there stood my friends. From the shocked looks on their faces, it was obvious they’d heard the news. They came in. Loreen and Sira sat on my cot, Marileesa on the trunk, and I on my chair. For a moment we all sat in uncomfortable silence.
    Then tears sprang into Loreen’s eyes. “Oh, Donavah. How can you stand it? Just the thought of them—” Sira’s elbow jabbing into Loreen’s ribs cut her off. She gulped and completely broke down.
    “Loreen!” Marileesa snapped. “Pull yourself together. Donavah needs us all to be strong for her.” She didn’t say, “Haven’t you done enough?” but the words seemed to hang in the air as if she had.
    A lump rose unexpectedly in my throat, making my words thick as I said, “I don’t want to talk about it, all right? For now, I’m going to the retreat house. Master Foris thought it would be better for me to go away for awhile.”
    Loreen sniffled. “You’re going away?”
    I nodded. “Tomorrow morning. But I’ll be back soon.” How was it I could lie to my best friends so easily?
    In the end, there didn’t seem much to say, and the girls left. But their simply coming had meant more than any conversation could have.

    Talisman and Queen is an ancient and popular game of strategy. Its origins lie in the depths of time, when suitors gave small gifts—symbols of themselves and their love—to the women they courted. A knight might give a hand-carved wooden dagger; a bard, a tiny lyre. A woman would carry a talisman publicly to show which man she favoured.
    As more than one man might—and often did—pursue the same woman, the giving and displaying of these gifts became strategic elements in the game of love.
    And, ultimately, they also became the foundation of the game of Talisman and Queen, in which the player who wins is the one whose Talismans “Secures the Queen’s Heart.”
    ~from A History of Games

When I got up in the morning, I changed into the traveling clothes I’d left unpacked. It felt a little strange to be wearing trousers and a tunic. Would I ever change into a novice’s robe in this cell again? No point in following that line of thinking.
    On my way to breakfast, I found Traz carrying another tray in the direction of my cell. He stopped when he saw me.
    “You’re coming to table, miss?”
    I smiled as he turned around to walk next to me. “Don’t think I’ll get another chance to say goodbye to my friends. My trunk has already been taken away, and I expect I’ll be off myself soon.”
    “Indeed, miss,” he said, bobbing his head.
    “Look, Traz, why don’t you eat that food. You look like you could use another meal on your bones.”
    “Oh, no, miss. They’ll see you at table and will know you didn’t eat this. I’ll just take it back to the kitchen.”
    He really was a skinny lad. I stopped him and rummaged around on the tray, taking a whole-wheat roll and some fruit. “There. You met me in the corridor, and I