How to Write a Challenge

[Mairead Harker]

Maggie set a notebook and a pen on her desk. Pen in hand, she tapped the paper in front of her and began to write.

I got the grant because Rand thinks I deserve a chance.

I want to challenge because I want a chance.

I want to be a baroness because ... that was when she lifted her pen to consider possibilities. It was also when she heard her younger sister's voice behind her. "Well, why do you want to be a Baroness?"

Maggie was quiet for a minute before she answered Catie, "I want to do something to prove I'm serious about the sport. Just because I'm kid doesn't mean that I'm not good enough to run with the big dogs like Gran would say."

"It that the only reason?"

"No," Maggie shook her head, "I want my place in the history book, too."

Catie tipped her head. "You already got that. You're the youngest person to win that Talon thing."

"Mm.. that depends on how old Mystic was when she won."

"Isn't that what Da calls semankiks?"

"Semantics!" came from an adult voice in the hall.

"Yeah, that!" Catie called back to her mother."

"Catie, why don't you go and help Rick set the table? Uncle Bertie made his famous meatloaf and mash."

"Awesome!" Catie was gleeful as she dashed down to the kitchen.

Rhiannon took a seat on the trunk at the foot of her daughter's bed. "Why do you want to be a Baroness?"

Maggie didn't face her mother as she answered, "For the some of the same reasons I tried out for the theater. I want to try. If I try and succeed, that's great, and I took a step ahead for me and other kids. If I fail, I can try again until I do it right. If I don't try, I fail because I didn't take a chance. I want a chance, that's not a lot to ask, is it?"

Rhi smiled gently. "No, it isn't. However, I'm concerned that you might be stretching yourself a bit thin, Maggie."

Finally, she looked at her mother. "I like bein' busy, Mama! I like being in shows at the Shanachie because the people over there are fun to be with."

"Mataya has been wonderful about making sure your school work gets done during your performance days. She knows how important it is to work hard in school."

"I've always worked hard in school. I'm not good at everything, but I work hard to get it as best I can." Maggie wrote something in her notebook. "I would like to switch from ballet to gymnastics. I know that's one of Catie's things, but she said she wouldn't mind if her big sister was in class, too." Her mouth scrunched. "I think it might be a good idea to talk to her about that. I don't want to steal her thunder and all."

"How about we stop ballet class for this year and you go and observe a couple of Catie's gymnastics classes to see if you'll like it?"

Maggie nodded. "Ok! Now, what about piano lessons? Will you and Da be mad if I stop those, too?"

"I thought you liked playing the piano."

"I do, but I think I can practice at home or I can ask Dris if I can play one of his over at his place."

"That reminds me, I'll get hold of him and see about having a piano delivered. That is, unless, you want to walk Gussy more often."

"What, I can't do both?" Maggie grinned. Gussy was Dris's Wolfhound and Maggie had a soft spot for the dog.

"We'll see. Now, back to the business at hand." Rhiannon tapped her index finger on Maggie's notebook.

"Do I address a challenge to the person, the title, or the whole community?"

"The first thing you should do is post a note on the cork to thank Rand."

"Okie dokie!" Maggie nodded and penned a note to be tacked on the cork later in the day.

Dear Rand,

Thank you for giving me the chance to be a Baroness.

Mairead Harker

[Mairead Harker]

"Now, the next question is ... " Rhi looked at her daughter with a serious expression, "who will you challenge?"

Maggie had a printed copy of the standing list before her. "Well, not going to challenge Aunt Rhi."

"Your reasons?" She had a good idea why, but wanted to know how Maggie was thinking this through.

"Mama, really, challenging someone in your own family? Would you have challenged Grandpa Tass?"

"Probably not. If he was Overlord instead of Rand when I won the grant in the tournament, I think he would have been disappointed if I didn't challenge him."

Maggie smiled wryly. "See what I mean? But in this case, I have a choice, so, no, not Aunt Rhi."

Rhi looked over the list and then looked at Maggie. "Go on."

"Loyals are out. I might like to challenge Miss Ravenlock, but since Rand gave me the grant, it'd be rude to him to do that, so, no, not her. By the way, being a Loyal is another reason to not pick Aunt Rhi."

"What about Jackson Gray? He's listed as a Loyal."

Maggie was being tested and she knew it. The standings list was dated 2015/08/30. "Mama, he won't be a Baron in a few days. He lost to G, remember?"

Rhi smiled slightly. Maggie had seen through that ploy.

"That still leaves me with five choices, if I wait until the new list comes out. Four since Myria Graziano is being challenged by Rose's dad." Her mother started to interrupt, but Maggie knew the rules well enough to know what was about to be said. "I have seven days to challenge, Myria's a Renegade, so, people can line up to challenge her, but ... if Rose's dad wins, that's a pretty much a waste of the grant."

"Wise idea." There was a hint of pride in her voice as she commented.

"That leaves G'nort, Shadow, Claire, and Melanie on the list. Shadow, no, not Shadow."

"Why?"

"Mama, this is just one of those because I said so things."

Rhiannon tried not to smile. She knew that phrase was often a last resort of frustrated parents. "So, your reasons for possibly challenging the others?"

"Claire has Old Market, that was the last one you had. I might like to have a room for myself at the Cardinal Inn!"

Rhi tipped her head. "And you'd stay there alone?"

"No way! I might be good at defending myself, but I'm still a kid. Maybe Uncle Bertie could have a room, too?"

Rhi chuckled softly. "Are you going to let him use your possible title to ..."

Maggie laughed. "You mean use me as flirt bait?"

"Mhmmmhm."

Maggie shook her head. "No, but he might like to stay in town for a while. Or Gran might not mind getting out of the big house with the girls for a while."

"Fair enough," Rhiannon agreed as she considered that if anyone could get her mother out of that old house, it'd be Maggie.

"As far as Melanie goes, well, Old Temple has been in and out of family hands for some time, you and Grandpa. If I won that one, it'd be three generations of the same family!" She held up her hand for her mother to wait a moment. "Aunt Nikki lives down the street from the manor, so, she'd be able to keep an eye on me. Not to mention, school is right down the way, too."

"Which brings us to New Haven and G'nort."

"Aunt Nicole has her jewelry shop up there, so, same as Old Temple, someone is already there to keep watch." Maggie frowned slightly. "Darien's house is up there, too." Mother and daughter shared a few minutes of awkward silence when the journalist's name was brought up. Finally, Maggie cleared her throat. "I've always wondered if beating him in Madness was a fluke." She had changed the subject back to G'nort.

[Mairead Harker]

Maggie took some time to time to practice before her audition at the Shanachie. Afterword, she was passing by as she heard Saul Heyman's speech. Despite his departure, she had an answer for the spokesman and words for Rand. After placing her challenge note for Old Market on the cork, Maggie tacked up two more notes on the cork in carefully scripted penmanship.

Dear Saul Heyman,

Your entitled to your opinion, but so am I. I can already ride a bike, swim, and do and know a lot of other things that maybe you don't, can't, or never even heard of. By taking part in these rings of violence, the one thing I will never become is a helpless victim. Far too many people of all ages fall end up as prey to criminals on the street because they never learned to use a weapon. To paraphrase the words of the Lady Eowyn of Rohan, those without weapons can still be killed with them. By the way if you've never heard of that brave woman, you should know that she hails from the same realms as Queen Luthien Tinuviel, who once upon a time officiated in those rings of violence. She also held the Ninth Baronial Ring for more than a year.

I am disappointed to see that G'nort, a man I have had a great deal of respect for in my rather short lifetime, has decided to have someone else speak on his behalf. Maybe he's not the best with words, but I always thought he had more courage than to hide behind someone else.

Mairead E. Harker

----------------

Rand,

I will use the Challenge Grant that you graciously gave me. I hope to use it wisely. Win or lose, I would welcome the opportunity to champion you and/or stand as your Second against G'nort in this challenge. I'm well aware that an Overlord's champion, that is not already a Loyal Baron, that defeats a Renegade Baron may press immediate challenge for that Baron's title.

Maggie

Ironically, her audition piece for the Shanachie had been a song called "Defying Gravity."