"Are we close?" she snapped after walking for a few more minutes. The boy nodded excitedly, running ahead to the base of a thick oak. For a moment the...queen was puzzled, for it appeared that a single red leaf still clung to the tree. Then the boy turned, a triumphant look on his face. He held up the leaf, which turned out to be a scarf, which he quickly tucked into his trousers."There," he said proudly. He pushed aside a bit of undergrowth and pointed.The Ice Queen's breath caught in her. "Eadul said that Beldaru knows old secrets? That may answer some questions. -- No, most tribal sorceresses have very little power. They can protect themselves and do enough tricks with light to make the people think that they can do more. It is something that many of the women in the tribe could do if they were trained as girls. But if everyone could do it the priestesses wouldn't have any power, so they are selective about whom they train. There are some in the tribe that can do as Beldaru. “It looks good but try on the other.” The other was a French maid looking outfit with thighhighs and garter belts that she had never worn before.She put the outfit on but had trouble with the belts. Hegot down on his knees and started to buckle. He was soclose she could feel his breath on her skin. He startedat the back then came to the front. He lifted the skirtand buckled one then he moved to do the last andstopped. All he did was breathe. Hard. His breath was hot and he was doing. They were cold and hungry after the long day spent almost entirely on their manoeuvre stations. To make things worse, it was Christmas Day, and they had expected at least a double grog ration and a special meal. Thomas gave orders to the purser to even things out with the supper.Thomas had planned to invite his officers for dinner, but that was not to be. A little before the start of the First Dog Watch, signal flags appeared again. This time, it was the commodore inviting the captains to.