First chapter, second part

JORIANA

Afterwards, I wandered through the palace, ending up in one of the small gardens scattered through the palace in unexpected nooks and crannies. I had been hoping for peace and quiet, but I obviously wasn't going to get it. Nearby I heard voices; apparently some of the warriors' children, living in the palace with their mothers, had chosen my retreat to play in. It sounded like they were being warriors, since I heard the joyful cries of mock combat. But then in the midst of their fun, I heard, "Look, I'm Joriana!"
Startled, I stopped. I heard another child scoff, "You can't be Joriana, you don't have a cuff!"
The first child defended herself, "I don't need a cuff, she can fight without it and so can I!"
"She may not need it, but she wears it all the time. My mother said she's been wearing it so long, it's fastened to her skin, and she can't get it off even if she wanted to!"
"My mother said it's to cover up a horrible scar she got at the orphanage, when she got in the way of a driver whipping a horse!"
"Yeah, well, MY mother said she keeps her soul in her cuff, and if she ever took it off, she would fall down stone dead!"
Suddenly I could listen no more. I turned and almost ran out of the garden.
As I paced the castle hallways, I kept going over what they had said in my mind. They were just kids chattering about something of which they knew nothing, but I couldn't help thinking about it.
Eventually I found myself outside the weapons courts and decided to get in some practice. I didn't need it, but I had nothing better to do, and it was better than roaming the castle, brooding. I picked up a staff - I didn't need to put on armor, since I had never bothered to remove mine after the fight on the wall - and entered the nearest yard.
I was practicing my strikes on one of the targets when a boy came in. He looked familiar, but I couldn't place him. He came up to me and asked, "Have you seen Jory?"
Now I recognized him. He was a servant from the City Guard's apprentice hall. I had seen him occasionally with Jory - he's my twin brother, Jordan. I said, "No, why?"
"Mistress Melira was expecting him after he had lunch. When he didn't show up, she was not happy."
I remembered the old Horse Mistress. When she wasn't happy, no one was happy.
"Sorry, I haven't seen him. Have you checked his quarters?"
"Yes, he wasn't there either. I'll check again - maybe I just missed him." He darted off.
I continued practice, but I was worried. Jory was never late; he was proud of being a warrior-in-training, and always showed up promptly for his classes. Very few boys went for training, because they were commonly believed to lack the courage, cleverness, and sheer ferocity of a woman, with her inborn instincts to protect her young. The few that did in spite of that were discriminated against, and Jory was no exception; girls finished their basic training in two years, but he was still a greenie after three. It didn't help that he was older than most trainees - he began at 14, four years older than most. He worked as hard as he could to overcome these disadvantages; it was simply not like him to be late for class.
Jory's friend came running in - Adrian, that was his name. From the look on his face, I could tell what he was about to say before he said it. "I can't find him anywhere. Will you help me look?"
I did. We looked everywhere he'd ever been seen, and quite a few places he hadn't. But he was nowhere to be found. Finally, Adrian went to explain to Mistress Melira, while I returned to Jory's quarters.
I ransacked his room, searching for a clue. Finally, I found something I had overlooked before: a small, irregular piece of cloth. It bore a striking resemblance to a piece of a guard's uniform.
Suddenly, I had it. I remembered the City guard's threat, and the smirk on her face when we'd passed her post that afternoon. I remembered the small guardhouse on top of the wall, and the dank, unpleasant dungeons I'd seen in a similar guardhouse once when I was in training. And I knew exactly where he was.
I was furious. Not only did that guard show blatant disrespect to her superiors, and run from a full warrior to make a cowardly attack on a half-trained boy, but she had the gall to strike at my family. I was honor-bound to protect Jory, and she just carried him off like a useless piece of trash.
But she wouldn't get away with it. I would get him back, somehow. But how? I couldn't call my squadron, or my superior officers; they would never let me live down the day the great Joriana let her own brother get kidnapped. But who else would help rescue him? I took off my cuff and rubbed my birthmark, wishing some great and powerful being had set it there, and would come help me.
I heard a voice behind me. "I thought you would never take that off and show me what I need to know!"
I whirled, dropping the cuff and drawing my sword. Somehow, despite the castleful of guards and the locked door, someone had gotten into Jory's rooms with me. There, standing in the middle of the bedroom, was a man.
I tried to see his face, but I couldn't; it was hidden beneath the cowl of his large off-white cloak. But somehow I knew that he was not someone I knew, not someone anyone in this town knew. He was just too strange. I shifted position, preparing to jump forward and capture him.
"I can help get him back."
Startled, I paused. Without lowering the sword, I signaled for him to go on.
"I am an old friend of your family. However, I didn't come to look up old pals. I came here to make a deal."
He sat in one of Jory's chairs. Seeing that he wasn't about to make a sudden attack, I sheathed my sword, though I didn't sit down. He continued, "I have a way for you to get anywhere you want without being seen. However, I cannot use it, only you can. It can get you everything you want." I heard the subtle emphasis he placed on everything, implying that he was no longer talking about just my brother.
He withdrew what looked like a bracelet from his pocket. "This will unlock the gates of the air for you and open doors you never knew were shut."
He held it out to me and I could see that it was made in the exact same pattern as my birthmark. Ignoring his cryptic words, I demanded, "Where did you get that?"
"That is not important. But it was meant for you from its creation."
I still made no move to take it. "I just have one question. You come in here by unknown methods and offer me 'everything I want', but you have not explained what you want. What is my part of the deal you're offering?"
He sat motionless for a moment. Then he gave a small nod, as if in acknowledgement of a shrewd blow. "There is a chest. The key unlocks it, as well as the way to it. You must follow the path and open the chest."
"That's all? I don't have to bring you anything from it? Just open the chest?"
"Yes. There is a rare and precious animal hibernating inside. Once the chest is open, it will come out on its own."
I had the feeling he wasn't telling the whole truth. However, it provided a way out of my dilemma - and a chance for adventure. I nodded and took the bracelet, turning it around to study it. "How do I use this?"
But he was gone, the same mysterious way he arrived. I heard faint words coming from where he had been, "Remember the mirrored room. It is the way to the chest."
I stared at the empty chair. Then I picked up my cuff and tucked it into my pouch. I wouldn't put it on just yet, but I wanted to have it with me...whatever happened.
Then I put the bracelet on my left wrist, on the birthmark.

Some questions:
Do our characters have last names?
Do they look similar?
Are they born at the same time? Any portents at birth?

Add more questions, answers, random thoughts, as desired.

This is probably the best place to put my story, since I don't know where I'll be writing from next. I will add more later.
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JORIANA

CRACK!
My sword slipped past my opponent's and delivered a ringing blow to the helmet behind it, knocking my foe down. Taking advantage of the momentary pause, I knocked the sword away and placed my point at my adversary's throat.
I heard the referee whistle. "And the winner is...Joriana!"
As the watching warriors cheered, my opponent got up and shook my hand. "Great match, Joriana. You're a tough fighter." I thanked her, then went to drop my wooden practice sword on the pile and get out of my filthy armor.
I stripped everything off before jumping into the warriors' pool - everything except the leather cuff around my left wrist. No one commented on my omission. Though all the warriors wore them while fighting to keep the shield's strap from chafing their left wrist, I was the only one who wore mine all the time. It was of the finest leather, treated with special oils to make it waterproof, with my name pressed on it. Everyone thought I wore it as proof of my status, since I was the youngest girl ever to become not only a full warrior but a commander in the elite Queen's Own Guards. This was true; but I wore it for another reason as well.
Back in the privacy of my room, I took the cuff off. Once again I traced the lines of my strange birthmark, a row of shields running like a bracelet around my left wrist. Nobody but my mother knew about it; she had covered it from the moment I was born. As soon as I was old enough to understand, she took me aside and explained how I might get burned as a witch because of it. I took her words to heart, and kept my wrist covered. By the time I decided she was mistaken, the habit was too deeply ingrained.
My mother...My thoughts turned to the tough but gentle woman who died when I was 7. She was a builder; it was what she loved, and in the end it killed her. A rope had broken, and the wall of the house she was working on had fallen down on her, crushing everything but one arm...I shuddered and forced the remembered image from my thoughts.
After her death, I was taken into the orphanage. I quickly learned to fight to protect my meager belongings from the older orphans. I rapidly became skilled at fighting; not even the oldest, biggest bullies touched me.
At 10 we were required to choose a profession to learn; I promptly applied for the City Guard, and was accepted. The instructors were astonished by my aptitude. Normally, trainees spent 2 years learning the basic skills, then 4 years practicing them and learning more advanced techniques. I completed my training at 13.
The day I was made a full warrior, I was approached by a woman who told me the Queen was looking for skilled warriors to expand her Guards. She said she had been watching the final testing, saw my potential and decided to offer me the opportunity to fulfill it by joining the Queen's Own. I eagerly accepted.
I kept rising, even though by this time I was competing against women several years older than I was. I passed through bronze warrior, to silver, to gold by the time I was 16. No one else had ever achieved gold rank before the age of 21. Now, at 17, I had just been given my first command post.
It was all I had ever wanted. So why did I feel dissatisfied? I touched the birthmark again, wondering.
The palace bell, summoning the warriors to the midday meal, brought me out of my reverie. I hastily slid the cuff back on, hurried down to the dining area, and picked up my tray. I found a table off to the side, saluting my senior officers as I passed their table, and began to eat. But I had hardly taken three bites when the bell rang again.
One of the Queen's attendants came in and spoke quickly to the commander, then left again. The commander stood up and told us, "The Queen wishes to walk the city wall. We are to make sure it is safe." None of the women questioned why the Queen wanted to do such a thing, or why she absolutely had to do it in the middle of our meal.
The commander continued, "I need three squads." Her gaze roamed over the assembly. "Adriala, take your group and clear the wall south of the castle. Joriana, take the north. Eline, you stay with the queen as she walks."
I bowed, then turned to find my command. They were already slipping into their armor, with the ease of long practice. I quickly did the same, then headed through the maze of the castle to one of the doors that led out onto the wall around the city.
The guard at the door challenged us, though we were clearly from the castle. "Who are you and what is your business?"
I replied, though it should have been obvious, "Queen's Own. We are to secure the wall for the Queen."
She glared. "The City Guard does a perfectly good job guarding the wall. We don't need your high-and-mighty lot."
I bit back my cutting reply and merely said, "We're wasting time." I signaled my squad to move forward. The guard looked daggers at us, but let us pass.
We quickly completed our work. There were no enemies hiding on the city wall, nor had I expected there to be. However, we had been told to search the wall, so we did.
We took up position at the north end of the wall. As it happened, there was a guardhouse nearby, and one of the off-duty guards came out to see what was going on. When she saw us, she started hurling insults at us at the top of her lungs, and some of her friends - slightly drunk, as was she - came out to join the fun. I ignored them, but a hotheaded young bronze warrior, who had just joined my squad that week, didn't. About the time our tormentors reached "you **** uppity **** daughters of **** ****", she yelled and charged.
The City guards were drunk and not as well trained, but they outnumbered her considerably. Without thinking, I drew my short club and signaled my squad to charge. The City guards responded in kind, and the battle was joined.
I don't know how long we fought. I dodged, parried, and smashed my way through the guards. But suddenly I noticed that those of the City guards who still could were picking themselves up and backing away, carrying their fallen comrades. As their ringleader was leaving, she gave me a glance of pure hatred and told me in a low voice, "Beware, Joriana of the Queen's Own. For all your skill and fame, you are not omnipotent. Beware lest you find something dear to you is stolen, as you have stolen our honor."
Ignoring her cryptic words, I inspected my command. There were a few cuts and bruises, but altogether we came off very well. By the time the runner came to inform us that the Queen was finished and we could return, we didn't look as if we'd been fighting at all.We hurried to finish our interrupted meal.