"So, I guess our weekend is pretty much shot, huh?"
"Shot, dead, and buried is what it is. Cleaning up the kitchens and the stables; this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't acted like an idiot in front of Cheiron, Iolaus."
"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try to act cool when you're carrying a bucket full of honey through the Academy and Cheiron asks what in Hades you're doing."
"Well, I wouldn't have led him straight to where we were."
"Hold up, Jason, it's not entirely his fault. We should've been more careful with our plan or at least have waited for a better time. Pass me that mop, will ya?"
It was a sad Friday afternoon for the three cadets. Hercules, Iolaus and Jason had been caught in the middle of an attempted prank to pour honey all over another cadet's room so that it would fill up with ants, bees and flies, in return for an earlier prank. Cheiron, in return, sentenced them to a weekend of chores in the kitchens and stables, starting that afternoon.
Lilith walked by and poked her head in the doorway. "Hey guys, I just heard what happened; are you stuck in here all weekend?"
Jason looked up from the pots and pans he was scouring. "Yep, sorry if we're gonna ruin your weekend. By the way, how was your trip?"
Lilith had been gone for the last few days, off visiting her sister who had been sick. "It was ok. My sister's getting better every day, it just hit her hard in the beginning. And don't worry about my weekend; I'm sure I can find someone else to go to the Athenian Spring Festival with tomorrow."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Listen, when you get back don't gloat all about it and how much fun it was. We have to hit the stables tomorrow."
"And where would be the fun if I didn't gloat about it?"
Lilith tried not to laugh out loud at the sight of the three boys, dressed in aprons, up to their elbows in soap and water, all glaring at her, but the best that she could do was manage to smother a few giggles.
"What's so funny?" Iolaus asked indignantly from the floor he was scrubbing. He was about to go on, but he was stopped by Lilith's hysterical laughter. She hadn't seen Iolaus clearly at first, but when he leaned back to sit on his knees, she saw that his long blond hair was being held back by a rose pink scarf knotted off to one side. She leaned against the doorway, laughing so hard she could barely stand alone. Hercules and Jason had already seen Iolaus' scarf, but the look on his face and Lilith's contagious laughter started them off, too.
"Hey, this wasn't my idea," Iolaus protested. "My hair kept getting wet, so the cook grabbed one of her scarves and wrapped it around my head."
Lilith tried to stop laughing. "I'm sorry- haha!- Iolaus, but that color really looks good on you-haha!" She didn't succeed very well.
A few minutes later, they were all calm, so now Iolaus could continue with what he had been trying to saying before Lilith had interrupted him.
"Like I was saying, our missing the festival isn't that funny. Just think of what we'll be missing- a chance to see magicians, an acting troupe, a fighting display by the Shang, and on top of all that, think of the food!"
"Hey, don't worry about it, Iolaus, there's always next year," Jason said practically.
"Besides," Hercules added, "I heard that the Shang aren't even going to be there."
"Well, that stinks," Iolaus snorted. "It would've been great to go and learn something from them."
"Yeah, like how to talk with your face in the dirt."
"And you think you could do any better, Jason?!"
"A lot better than you could, little Miss-I-look-good-in-pink!"
"I think I'll leave now."
Lilith beat a hasty retreat out of the kitchen, right after she saw Iolaus pick up a bucket of soapy water, Jason using Hercules as a shield, and Hercules trying to get out of the line of fire.
As she walked around the Academy, trying to decide if some archery practice would be in order- it couldn't hurt- when Cheiron stopped her right outside of his office.
"Lilith, come; we have a guest for tonight and I'd like you to show her around while she's here."
A bit confused, she asked, "Wouldn't another instructor be better to show a visi.her? Is she a new cadet? That would be great, it's horrible sometimes being the only girl here."
"Not a cadet, only a guest, but she's about your age and staying here for the night, and I'd like you to make her feel welcome while she's here."
"Oh, ok," Lilith agreed. She followed Cheiron into his office, where they found a young girl waiting patiently in front of his desk.
Cheiron introduced them. "Kel, this is Lilith; she's the only female cadet here and she'll be your guide during your stay. Lilith, Kel. I put her in the guest quarters across the compound from the cadets.'"
Lilith nodded, trying not to stare at Kel's oddly colored eyes. "All right. Come on, Kel, they're right down this way."
The two girls exited the office and started walking towards the guest rooms.
Lilith asked, "So where are you from? I don't recognize your robe's design."
Kel looked at her khaki-colored traveling robe and explained, "I'm from way up north, in a small mining town in the Carpathian Mountains, but I got my robe from some Persian traders who were passing by. I was passing by here, too, and noticed the sun setting, so I was going to take shelter in the inn up the road, but it was completely full."
"Yeah, we have a really big festival this weekend, so everyone from out of town's staying there. Are you going, too?"
"No, I have to get to Sparta as soon as possible; I would've kept on going, but like I said, it's late and I'm on foot." "Here's your room. If you want to rest, I'd understand, but if you're hungry, dinner's in a few minutes."
"That sounds great; I've had to survive on rations for most of my trip, I'd give anything for fresh food right about now."
"Well, don't be too optimistic, Academy food isn't too far from rations."
"Don't worry, I've probably tasted worse. Just give me a minute to put up my stuff."
When Kel came out, she and Lilith headed to the dining hall. Most of the other cadets were in there, Kora's being full of out of town guests. As soon as Kel entered the hall, she was immediately greeted by whistles, cheers and clapping, or dumbstruck faces, and all for good reason- Kel could turn heads even if she was covered in mud. She had left her traveling robe in her rooms so she could move more freely, and now without it, everyone saw her slender, yet evenly muscled figure. Her fitted cropped top and skirt were both made of black leather, but both were covered by a thin mesh-like layer of bronze chain mail. Black boots intricately laced up to her knees, and she wore plain black wrist guards. Her eyes caught most of the cadets' attention; they were an unusual color of reddish gold, a color that gave Kel a serpentine look that went well with her tan skin and masses of coal black hair that was braided all the way down her back.
She and Lilith were able to get a tray of food without too much trouble, and find a table that was empty, while deterring the many invitations Kel got from cadets to eat with them.
"Are they always this way?" Kel asked amusedly.
Lilith chuckled. "No, thankfully, or they'd have received some major beatings by this time. I think they're just fascinated by how gorgeous you are, excuse me for saying so. I'd get used to the attention while you're here."
Looking towards the kitchen doors, she spotted Hercules, Jason and Iolaus walking tiredly out the doors, trays of food in hand. Speaking to Kel again, "Great, my friends got some time off for dinner. I'll introduce you. Hey, Hercules!"
The blond demigod stopped looking for a place to sit and saw Lilith off at a corner table. He smiled in acknowledgement, then froze when he saw Kel sitting across from her. She was one of the most gorgeous girls he had ever seen! He didn't even notice the hard thuds in his back that came from Jason and Iolaus running straight into him. Seeing the dumbstruck look on his face, the looked in the direction he was looking and had the same reaction.
Iolaus recovered first. "Whoa, who's that babe with Lilith? Maybe she's a new cadet, I get first dibs on sittin' next to her!"
He dodged around Hercules and Jason and practically ran to the table. The other two were snapped back into reality when he dashed by them, and quickly followed. As soon as they sat down- Iolaus and Hercules on either side of Kel and Jason next to Lilith, Lilith went through introductions, and then they began eating.
"Are you a new cadet?" Jason asked.
"No, just a guest for tonight. I continue my journey tomorrow as soon as I get up."
"Oh," Iolaus said, with a slightly disappointed look on his face.
Kel laughed good-naturedly. "Hey, I'm still gonna be here for the rest of tonight. Do you guys have any plans for tonight?"
"Well," Hercules began awkwardly, "The guys and me kinda got into trouble today and part of our punishment includes kitchen duty, so after dinner, we have to go back to washing dishes and stuff."
Kel glanced at Lilith questioningly. Lilith inclined her head slightly towards the guys. Kel nodded; Lilith pursed her lip thoughtfully for a moment and nodded, too.
Lilith spoke up. "How about me and Kel help you out with the dishes? You'll be done quicker and we'll all have some more time to hang out tonight."
"Is that what that was all about?" Jason asked curiously.
"Yep."
"Great, another thing I'll never understand about girls," Iolaus muttered. "Hey Kel, something wrong?"
Kel had a puzzled look on her face as she chewed on something. "Maybe. Does kitchen duty involve cooking?"
Hercules shook his head. "No, why?"
"Just answer a couple more questions for me. These are mashed potatoes, right?" She pointed to some food on her plate.
"Yeah, sorry if it seems like our cooks are trying to poison you." Lilith apologized. "Does it taste that bad? We've kinda developed an immunity to their cooking." "No, they taste fine, just." She pulled something out of her mouth and placed it rather delicately in her napkin. ".why does it have bones in it?"
The four cadets looked at each other.
"I think we should get started on those dishes," Jason suggested dryly.
"Good idea," Hercules agreed, "Come on, Kel, the kitchen's over here."
They all headed into the kitchen with their trays, amid the gazes of many lovestruck cadets following Kel as she left. When they had emptied their trays, they started with their chores. Kel found herself washing dishes with Iolaus, Lilith and Hercules worked on the pots and pans, and Jason dried whatever they washed and the floor, too, whenever they spilled water on it. Since dinner had just started, they took their time with the few dishes they had and mostly talked.
"You look a bit young to be traveling alone, Kel," Jason said, "Your parents don't mind?"
"No, I'm an orphan."
"Oh, sorry."
"Don't worry about it; I was only a few months old; I've been living with my relatives for the past seventeen years, so I've had a good life in any case."
Lilith handed Jason a pan she'd just finished scrubbing. "You said you were from the Carpathian Mountains; why are you going all the way down to Sparta?"
"Mining is just not for me. I learned some fighting skills at home, but I wanted to learn more and decided that Sparta seemed to be the best choice."
"You know, you could always stay here," Iolaus said cheekily. "We have a good fighting program here."
Kel flicked some bubbles at him. "I don't think so. Besides, I've already been accepted into one of their academies, and have some friends down there, too."
The conversation slowed when Jason, who had left in the middle of it, came back with a large pile of plates from dinner, most still having remnants of mashed potatoes on them. Now he was promoted to dishwasher and helped out alongside Kel and Iolaus. But with the three of them they finished off the dishes in no time, even though Lilith and Hercules kept on bringing in new plates after they had finished the pots and pans. When the constant flow of dirty dishes started to slow down, Iolaus found some time to flirt with Kel.
"So.are you seeing anyone?"
Kel chuckled at the cute attempt. "Ha, no. I'm not, but that's not an invitation by any means."
"Too bad, you could've made it easier on yourself."
Everyone jumped at the sound of the new voice. Its source came from the door the to outside of the Academy where three cadets were standing; the one in the middle was obviously the leader of the scruffy-looking trio. Kel heard Hercules mutter a grim, "Oh great."
Jason spoke first, while the others quickly dried off their hands, tensing up for whatever happened next. "What do you want, Shadren?"
The tall, muscular cadet glared at him. "I don't have to explain myself to you, prince," he said contemptuously. He strode over to Kel and grabbed her wrist. "Come on, let's get out of here."
He tried to drag her with him but found that Kel was as immovable as the building she was standing in, even though she was using one arm to block Iolaus, Jason, and Hercules from trying to beat up Shadren for her. Lilith knew what was going on; she was helping Kel hold back the guys.
"Lilith!" Hercules exclaimed, starting to get annoyed at her refusal to let him fight.
She shook her head. "Not until we're needed."
The guys stopped struggling and watched what transpired next.
Kel kept a passive emotionless look on her face. "Let go."
You want me to let go, you're gonna have to make me," Shadren sneered, not making any move to let her wrist go.
She narrowed her eyes. "As you wish."
The cadets watched in awe as she proceeded to free her wrist by jumping and slamming her feet hard into Shadren's chest, then in a blur they could barely follow, she knocked him face down to the ground, completely unconscious. And he hadn't even touched her.
It was over quicker than the earlier retreat from dinner. Kel turned Shadren on his side and checked his condition. Standing back up, she looked at his two companions; from the astonished looks on their faces, they didn't seem too eager to continue the fight. "Take him back to his room; he'll awake in the morning with a few bruises, that's all."
The cadets did as they were told, doing their best to half-carry, half-drag Shadren out of the kitchen.
Kel watched them leave, then turned to the others. They all had expressions of surprised wonder on their faces.
Iolaus spoke first. "Wow."
Lilith said, "And you said you came from a mining town? Where in the world did you learn how to fight like that?"
Kel shrugged. "My relatives taught me how to defend myself if I ever had a need to; and occasionally, we had a Shang warrior pass through and he'd teach us village kids sometimes."
"Do you think you could teach us what you just did?" Jason asked.
"I suppose I could give you a quick lesson, but we'll need a lot more room than this kitchen has."
"Well, we're done 'til tomorrow morning, so how about we hit the courtyard, plenty of room there," Hercules suggested.
"All right then, let's go."
Once they all reached the courtyard, Kel began their lesson. And they kept at it for over an hour. Once she slowed down the technique she used to knock out Shadren, they were able to follow along quite well. In the one-on- one fights with Kel though, Hercules was the only one who would last for more than a few seconds, his immortal blood giving him the quicker reflexes and strength he used. After helping him off the ground after one session, Kel asked him about his unusual stamina and looked slightly impressed when he named Zeus as his father.more interested than impressed, really, he noticed.
They were all tired after the lesson ended, especially Jason, Lilith, and Iolaus; since they were only human, they weren't able to react as quickly as Hercules did and as a result spent a bit more time on the ground. Of course, Hercules wondered how Kel could keep up with him, let alone surpass him if she was only human. He tried to shrug it off; maybe her training had given her some extra edge in her fighting; maybe she also had immortal blood in her; maybe it was none of his business. To paraphrase Cheiron, "Everyone has a past." He was curious, but perhaps he didn't need to know.
"All right, I've had enough," Iolaus groaned wearily. "I'm going to bed. The stables await in the morning."
"I agree with you there. And just think of how much fun it'll be cleaning out the horses' stalls when we're aching all over. Thank you so much, Kel."
"You're welcome, Jason. I need to turn in as well; I'm leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow."
Iolaus struggled to his feet, trying to walk. "Dawn? You must be crazy, even our rooster sleeps through that."
Kel laughed. "Oh, really. Well, I've been traveling for a long time now, and the faster I can get to Sparta, the better."
Hercules also climbed up on his feet. "Whatever you say, Kel. But seriously, our rooster here crows around noon, so I wouldn't expect a wake- up call. Come on, your room's on the way to ours, we'll walk you there."
They walked rather slowly, since Kel and Hercules had to hold up the other three, so they wouldn't trip and fall. Aside from the occasional murmurings of "I am definitely gonna be feeling this in the morning" and "I'll never walk again, my legs feel like they're gonna fall off," there wasn't much said. Kel was too busy trying to keep Lilith up and Iolaus from "somehow" leaning on her instead of Hercules, who was busy thinking his own thoughts; he couldn't get over the feeling that there was more to Kel than she let on, innocent as she was. As he watched her out the corner of his eye, she looked as fresh as a daisy, yet he and the other cadets were still trying to regulate their breathing and all of their skin shone from the thin layer of sweat across their skin. She probably had a past of sorts, but one that could explain her fighting skills and strengths that were better that his own? He wanted to ask her about it, but it was late; maybe the next morning, if he caught her before she left; the others would probably be really tired, so he could talk to her alone.
They reached Kel's room and said a short goodnight there. Iolaus tried to get a good-night kiss, but changed his mind when she jokingly remarked, "Oh save the dreaming for when you sleep."
On the slow walk back to their own quarters, the cadets discussed Kel.
"Yep," Iolaus gloated, "I think she wants me."
"Yeah, she wants you to leave her alone," Jason commented.
"That was pretty cool-what she taught us. You guys'll probably remember it longer than me, though."
"Why would you say that, Lilith?"
"Because I'm not the one who's gonna be vividly remembering each and every hit that she landed while you clean out the stables."
"Well at least, we've got kitchen duty before that. The smell of breakfast should kill our sense of if we're lucky, we can get out of the whole thing with food poisoning."
"All right, here's my room, I'll drop by the kitchen before I leave in the morning."
The boys said goodnight to Lilith as they went into their own quarters. There they could talk about Kel again, but without having another girl there.
"She didn't look that interested, did she?" Jason asked.
"Nope, and I tried," Iolaus answered. "Even though she's gorgeous, you kinda gotta rethink the whole thing after what happened with Shad."
"Does anyone else sense that Kel seems to be hiding something?" Hercules asked confidentially.
"Yeah, of course," Jason responded, "but everyone's got secrets, Herc; and as long as it's not harmful to anyone, she can keep her secrets," the crowned prince's side of him showing through his young boyish personality.
"I guess so." Though still highly curious about Kel and the odd feeling he had that something was strange about the whole situation, Hercules was tired beyond belief. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit his pillow.
"Shot, dead, and buried is what it is. Cleaning up the kitchens and the stables; this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't acted like an idiot in front of Cheiron, Iolaus."
"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try to act cool when you're carrying a bucket full of honey through the Academy and Cheiron asks what in Hades you're doing."
"Well, I wouldn't have led him straight to where we were."
"Hold up, Jason, it's not entirely his fault. We should've been more careful with our plan or at least have waited for a better time. Pass me that mop, will ya?"
It was a sad Friday afternoon for the three cadets. Hercules, Iolaus and Jason had been caught in the middle of an attempted prank to pour honey all over another cadet's room so that it would fill up with ants, bees and flies, in return for an earlier prank. Cheiron, in return, sentenced them to a weekend of chores in the kitchens and stables, starting that afternoon.
Lilith walked by and poked her head in the doorway. "Hey guys, I just heard what happened; are you stuck in here all weekend?"
Jason looked up from the pots and pans he was scouring. "Yep, sorry if we're gonna ruin your weekend. By the way, how was your trip?"
Lilith had been gone for the last few days, off visiting her sister who had been sick. "It was ok. My sister's getting better every day, it just hit her hard in the beginning. And don't worry about my weekend; I'm sure I can find someone else to go to the Athenian Spring Festival with tomorrow."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Listen, when you get back don't gloat all about it and how much fun it was. We have to hit the stables tomorrow."
"And where would be the fun if I didn't gloat about it?"
Lilith tried not to laugh out loud at the sight of the three boys, dressed in aprons, up to their elbows in soap and water, all glaring at her, but the best that she could do was manage to smother a few giggles.
"What's so funny?" Iolaus asked indignantly from the floor he was scrubbing. He was about to go on, but he was stopped by Lilith's hysterical laughter. She hadn't seen Iolaus clearly at first, but when he leaned back to sit on his knees, she saw that his long blond hair was being held back by a rose pink scarf knotted off to one side. She leaned against the doorway, laughing so hard she could barely stand alone. Hercules and Jason had already seen Iolaus' scarf, but the look on his face and Lilith's contagious laughter started them off, too.
"Hey, this wasn't my idea," Iolaus protested. "My hair kept getting wet, so the cook grabbed one of her scarves and wrapped it around my head."
Lilith tried to stop laughing. "I'm sorry- haha!- Iolaus, but that color really looks good on you-haha!" She didn't succeed very well.
A few minutes later, they were all calm, so now Iolaus could continue with what he had been trying to saying before Lilith had interrupted him.
"Like I was saying, our missing the festival isn't that funny. Just think of what we'll be missing- a chance to see magicians, an acting troupe, a fighting display by the Shang, and on top of all that, think of the food!"
"Hey, don't worry about it, Iolaus, there's always next year," Jason said practically.
"Besides," Hercules added, "I heard that the Shang aren't even going to be there."
"Well, that stinks," Iolaus snorted. "It would've been great to go and learn something from them."
"Yeah, like how to talk with your face in the dirt."
"And you think you could do any better, Jason?!"
"A lot better than you could, little Miss-I-look-good-in-pink!"
"I think I'll leave now."
Lilith beat a hasty retreat out of the kitchen, right after she saw Iolaus pick up a bucket of soapy water, Jason using Hercules as a shield, and Hercules trying to get out of the line of fire.
As she walked around the Academy, trying to decide if some archery practice would be in order- it couldn't hurt- when Cheiron stopped her right outside of his office.
"Lilith, come; we have a guest for tonight and I'd like you to show her around while she's here."
A bit confused, she asked, "Wouldn't another instructor be better to show a visi.her? Is she a new cadet? That would be great, it's horrible sometimes being the only girl here."
"Not a cadet, only a guest, but she's about your age and staying here for the night, and I'd like you to make her feel welcome while she's here."
"Oh, ok," Lilith agreed. She followed Cheiron into his office, where they found a young girl waiting patiently in front of his desk.
Cheiron introduced them. "Kel, this is Lilith; she's the only female cadet here and she'll be your guide during your stay. Lilith, Kel. I put her in the guest quarters across the compound from the cadets.'"
Lilith nodded, trying not to stare at Kel's oddly colored eyes. "All right. Come on, Kel, they're right down this way."
The two girls exited the office and started walking towards the guest rooms.
Lilith asked, "So where are you from? I don't recognize your robe's design."
Kel looked at her khaki-colored traveling robe and explained, "I'm from way up north, in a small mining town in the Carpathian Mountains, but I got my robe from some Persian traders who were passing by. I was passing by here, too, and noticed the sun setting, so I was going to take shelter in the inn up the road, but it was completely full."
"Yeah, we have a really big festival this weekend, so everyone from out of town's staying there. Are you going, too?"
"No, I have to get to Sparta as soon as possible; I would've kept on going, but like I said, it's late and I'm on foot." "Here's your room. If you want to rest, I'd understand, but if you're hungry, dinner's in a few minutes."
"That sounds great; I've had to survive on rations for most of my trip, I'd give anything for fresh food right about now."
"Well, don't be too optimistic, Academy food isn't too far from rations."
"Don't worry, I've probably tasted worse. Just give me a minute to put up my stuff."
When Kel came out, she and Lilith headed to the dining hall. Most of the other cadets were in there, Kora's being full of out of town guests. As soon as Kel entered the hall, she was immediately greeted by whistles, cheers and clapping, or dumbstruck faces, and all for good reason- Kel could turn heads even if she was covered in mud. She had left her traveling robe in her rooms so she could move more freely, and now without it, everyone saw her slender, yet evenly muscled figure. Her fitted cropped top and skirt were both made of black leather, but both were covered by a thin mesh-like layer of bronze chain mail. Black boots intricately laced up to her knees, and she wore plain black wrist guards. Her eyes caught most of the cadets' attention; they were an unusual color of reddish gold, a color that gave Kel a serpentine look that went well with her tan skin and masses of coal black hair that was braided all the way down her back.
She and Lilith were able to get a tray of food without too much trouble, and find a table that was empty, while deterring the many invitations Kel got from cadets to eat with them.
"Are they always this way?" Kel asked amusedly.
Lilith chuckled. "No, thankfully, or they'd have received some major beatings by this time. I think they're just fascinated by how gorgeous you are, excuse me for saying so. I'd get used to the attention while you're here."
Looking towards the kitchen doors, she spotted Hercules, Jason and Iolaus walking tiredly out the doors, trays of food in hand. Speaking to Kel again, "Great, my friends got some time off for dinner. I'll introduce you. Hey, Hercules!"
The blond demigod stopped looking for a place to sit and saw Lilith off at a corner table. He smiled in acknowledgement, then froze when he saw Kel sitting across from her. She was one of the most gorgeous girls he had ever seen! He didn't even notice the hard thuds in his back that came from Jason and Iolaus running straight into him. Seeing the dumbstruck look on his face, the looked in the direction he was looking and had the same reaction.
Iolaus recovered first. "Whoa, who's that babe with Lilith? Maybe she's a new cadet, I get first dibs on sittin' next to her!"
He dodged around Hercules and Jason and practically ran to the table. The other two were snapped back into reality when he dashed by them, and quickly followed. As soon as they sat down- Iolaus and Hercules on either side of Kel and Jason next to Lilith, Lilith went through introductions, and then they began eating.
"Are you a new cadet?" Jason asked.
"No, just a guest for tonight. I continue my journey tomorrow as soon as I get up."
"Oh," Iolaus said, with a slightly disappointed look on his face.
Kel laughed good-naturedly. "Hey, I'm still gonna be here for the rest of tonight. Do you guys have any plans for tonight?"
"Well," Hercules began awkwardly, "The guys and me kinda got into trouble today and part of our punishment includes kitchen duty, so after dinner, we have to go back to washing dishes and stuff."
Kel glanced at Lilith questioningly. Lilith inclined her head slightly towards the guys. Kel nodded; Lilith pursed her lip thoughtfully for a moment and nodded, too.
Lilith spoke up. "How about me and Kel help you out with the dishes? You'll be done quicker and we'll all have some more time to hang out tonight."
"Is that what that was all about?" Jason asked curiously.
"Yep."
"Great, another thing I'll never understand about girls," Iolaus muttered. "Hey Kel, something wrong?"
Kel had a puzzled look on her face as she chewed on something. "Maybe. Does kitchen duty involve cooking?"
Hercules shook his head. "No, why?"
"Just answer a couple more questions for me. These are mashed potatoes, right?" She pointed to some food on her plate.
"Yeah, sorry if it seems like our cooks are trying to poison you." Lilith apologized. "Does it taste that bad? We've kinda developed an immunity to their cooking." "No, they taste fine, just." She pulled something out of her mouth and placed it rather delicately in her napkin. ".why does it have bones in it?"
The four cadets looked at each other.
"I think we should get started on those dishes," Jason suggested dryly.
"Good idea," Hercules agreed, "Come on, Kel, the kitchen's over here."
They all headed into the kitchen with their trays, amid the gazes of many lovestruck cadets following Kel as she left. When they had emptied their trays, they started with their chores. Kel found herself washing dishes with Iolaus, Lilith and Hercules worked on the pots and pans, and Jason dried whatever they washed and the floor, too, whenever they spilled water on it. Since dinner had just started, they took their time with the few dishes they had and mostly talked.
"You look a bit young to be traveling alone, Kel," Jason said, "Your parents don't mind?"
"No, I'm an orphan."
"Oh, sorry."
"Don't worry about it; I was only a few months old; I've been living with my relatives for the past seventeen years, so I've had a good life in any case."
Lilith handed Jason a pan she'd just finished scrubbing. "You said you were from the Carpathian Mountains; why are you going all the way down to Sparta?"
"Mining is just not for me. I learned some fighting skills at home, but I wanted to learn more and decided that Sparta seemed to be the best choice."
"You know, you could always stay here," Iolaus said cheekily. "We have a good fighting program here."
Kel flicked some bubbles at him. "I don't think so. Besides, I've already been accepted into one of their academies, and have some friends down there, too."
The conversation slowed when Jason, who had left in the middle of it, came back with a large pile of plates from dinner, most still having remnants of mashed potatoes on them. Now he was promoted to dishwasher and helped out alongside Kel and Iolaus. But with the three of them they finished off the dishes in no time, even though Lilith and Hercules kept on bringing in new plates after they had finished the pots and pans. When the constant flow of dirty dishes started to slow down, Iolaus found some time to flirt with Kel.
"So.are you seeing anyone?"
Kel chuckled at the cute attempt. "Ha, no. I'm not, but that's not an invitation by any means."
"Too bad, you could've made it easier on yourself."
Everyone jumped at the sound of the new voice. Its source came from the door the to outside of the Academy where three cadets were standing; the one in the middle was obviously the leader of the scruffy-looking trio. Kel heard Hercules mutter a grim, "Oh great."
Jason spoke first, while the others quickly dried off their hands, tensing up for whatever happened next. "What do you want, Shadren?"
The tall, muscular cadet glared at him. "I don't have to explain myself to you, prince," he said contemptuously. He strode over to Kel and grabbed her wrist. "Come on, let's get out of here."
He tried to drag her with him but found that Kel was as immovable as the building she was standing in, even though she was using one arm to block Iolaus, Jason, and Hercules from trying to beat up Shadren for her. Lilith knew what was going on; she was helping Kel hold back the guys.
"Lilith!" Hercules exclaimed, starting to get annoyed at her refusal to let him fight.
She shook her head. "Not until we're needed."
The guys stopped struggling and watched what transpired next.
Kel kept a passive emotionless look on her face. "Let go."
You want me to let go, you're gonna have to make me," Shadren sneered, not making any move to let her wrist go.
She narrowed her eyes. "As you wish."
The cadets watched in awe as she proceeded to free her wrist by jumping and slamming her feet hard into Shadren's chest, then in a blur they could barely follow, she knocked him face down to the ground, completely unconscious. And he hadn't even touched her.
It was over quicker than the earlier retreat from dinner. Kel turned Shadren on his side and checked his condition. Standing back up, she looked at his two companions; from the astonished looks on their faces, they didn't seem too eager to continue the fight. "Take him back to his room; he'll awake in the morning with a few bruises, that's all."
The cadets did as they were told, doing their best to half-carry, half-drag Shadren out of the kitchen.
Kel watched them leave, then turned to the others. They all had expressions of surprised wonder on their faces.
Iolaus spoke first. "Wow."
Lilith said, "And you said you came from a mining town? Where in the world did you learn how to fight like that?"
Kel shrugged. "My relatives taught me how to defend myself if I ever had a need to; and occasionally, we had a Shang warrior pass through and he'd teach us village kids sometimes."
"Do you think you could teach us what you just did?" Jason asked.
"I suppose I could give you a quick lesson, but we'll need a lot more room than this kitchen has."
"Well, we're done 'til tomorrow morning, so how about we hit the courtyard, plenty of room there," Hercules suggested.
"All right then, let's go."
Once they all reached the courtyard, Kel began their lesson. And they kept at it for over an hour. Once she slowed down the technique she used to knock out Shadren, they were able to follow along quite well. In the one-on- one fights with Kel though, Hercules was the only one who would last for more than a few seconds, his immortal blood giving him the quicker reflexes and strength he used. After helping him off the ground after one session, Kel asked him about his unusual stamina and looked slightly impressed when he named Zeus as his father.more interested than impressed, really, he noticed.
They were all tired after the lesson ended, especially Jason, Lilith, and Iolaus; since they were only human, they weren't able to react as quickly as Hercules did and as a result spent a bit more time on the ground. Of course, Hercules wondered how Kel could keep up with him, let alone surpass him if she was only human. He tried to shrug it off; maybe her training had given her some extra edge in her fighting; maybe she also had immortal blood in her; maybe it was none of his business. To paraphrase Cheiron, "Everyone has a past." He was curious, but perhaps he didn't need to know.
"All right, I've had enough," Iolaus groaned wearily. "I'm going to bed. The stables await in the morning."
"I agree with you there. And just think of how much fun it'll be cleaning out the horses' stalls when we're aching all over. Thank you so much, Kel."
"You're welcome, Jason. I need to turn in as well; I'm leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow."
Iolaus struggled to his feet, trying to walk. "Dawn? You must be crazy, even our rooster sleeps through that."
Kel laughed. "Oh, really. Well, I've been traveling for a long time now, and the faster I can get to Sparta, the better."
Hercules also climbed up on his feet. "Whatever you say, Kel. But seriously, our rooster here crows around noon, so I wouldn't expect a wake- up call. Come on, your room's on the way to ours, we'll walk you there."
They walked rather slowly, since Kel and Hercules had to hold up the other three, so they wouldn't trip and fall. Aside from the occasional murmurings of "I am definitely gonna be feeling this in the morning" and "I'll never walk again, my legs feel like they're gonna fall off," there wasn't much said. Kel was too busy trying to keep Lilith up and Iolaus from "somehow" leaning on her instead of Hercules, who was busy thinking his own thoughts; he couldn't get over the feeling that there was more to Kel than she let on, innocent as she was. As he watched her out the corner of his eye, she looked as fresh as a daisy, yet he and the other cadets were still trying to regulate their breathing and all of their skin shone from the thin layer of sweat across their skin. She probably had a past of sorts, but one that could explain her fighting skills and strengths that were better that his own? He wanted to ask her about it, but it was late; maybe the next morning, if he caught her before she left; the others would probably be really tired, so he could talk to her alone.
They reached Kel's room and said a short goodnight there. Iolaus tried to get a good-night kiss, but changed his mind when she jokingly remarked, "Oh save the dreaming for when you sleep."
On the slow walk back to their own quarters, the cadets discussed Kel.
"Yep," Iolaus gloated, "I think she wants me."
"Yeah, she wants you to leave her alone," Jason commented.
"That was pretty cool-what she taught us. You guys'll probably remember it longer than me, though."
"Why would you say that, Lilith?"
"Because I'm not the one who's gonna be vividly remembering each and every hit that she landed while you clean out the stables."
"Well at least, we've got kitchen duty before that. The smell of breakfast should kill our sense of if we're lucky, we can get out of the whole thing with food poisoning."
"All right, here's my room, I'll drop by the kitchen before I leave in the morning."
The boys said goodnight to Lilith as they went into their own quarters. There they could talk about Kel again, but without having another girl there.
"She didn't look that interested, did she?" Jason asked.
"Nope, and I tried," Iolaus answered. "Even though she's gorgeous, you kinda gotta rethink the whole thing after what happened with Shad."
"Does anyone else sense that Kel seems to be hiding something?" Hercules asked confidentially.
"Yeah, of course," Jason responded, "but everyone's got secrets, Herc; and as long as it's not harmful to anyone, she can keep her secrets," the crowned prince's side of him showing through his young boyish personality.
"I guess so." Though still highly curious about Kel and the odd feeling he had that something was strange about the whole situation, Hercules was tired beyond belief. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit his pillow.
