Disclaimer: Any characters or places that you recognise all belong to Tamora Pierce.

The First Meeting

She remembers the first time they ever met. It was one of the brief visits back to Tortall, Ilane of Mindelan had decided to meet up with one of her closest friends from her years at the convent, Meldrose of Stone Mountain.

The two friends embraced as they met in the Mindelan townhouse exclaiming over the child each had brought along. Despite being only five, Keladry had already lost her adolescent chatter in favour of the Yamani customs, silently observing the world around her with muted curiosity. Her emerald-almond eyes gazed levely back into a pair of wide blue orbs. The eight-year old pushed his unruly locks out of his eyes as he grinned and held his hand out to the girl.

There was a doubtful pause as the girl looked uncertainly at her mother. Ilane nodded and encouraged, Keladry gave a deep bow before taking the proffered hand. Joren took the hand and launched into an introduction of himself.

"I'm Joren of Stone Mountain. I'm eight years old and the firstborn son of Lord Buchard of Stone Mountain and Lady Meldrose of Cerisey. The Stone Mountain house is in the book of gold and has been around for more than four centuries," he announced proudly, looking delighted he'd managed to recite all that in front of this girl.

Keladry mimed a shy hello before swiftly leaning back into her mothers' skirts, meekly peeping out at the boy and his beautiful mother.

"Kel, would you like to show Joren your new shukusen? I have something to discuss with Lady Meldrose" Ilane looked at her daughter pointedly. The girl nodded and places her palms flat on her thighs and bowed to the two women before leading the excited boy out of the room.

"Sometimes I wonder if bringing her to the Yamans was a good idea. She's so immersed in their culture she seems more Eastern than Western," Ilane sighed as she watched her daughter silently lead the boy out. "Seeing her with Joren only goes to show how different she is, but you must be so proud of your son! He has your features and Buchard's blonde hair and his infamous eyes! In a few years, he'll be a heartbreaker just like his father!" Ilane laughed, only to stop short at the expression on her friend's face. "Is everything all right with you and Buchard? You mentioned some trouble in your last letter...?"

Meldrose tucked a stray lock behind her ear, a frown eteched between her pale eyebrows.

"I…I'm not very… I… Buchard's been cheating on me. I think" the worry in Meldrose's lilting voice told Ilane her friend was more than doubtful. "It took me so long to conceive and give birth, and yet, after the heirs I've produced for him, Buchard trns his attentions to other women. I've already sent four maids and a cook away for being pregnant without a named father."

She took a small sip of the Yamani brew that Ilane has prepared for her before she continued.

"And recently, Buchard's been imparting his values to Joren about how the Stone Mountain is a gold nobility and how Joren should be proud of it and not let anyone order him around, especially women. I'm starting to see this side of Buchard that I don't want my sons to turn out like."

Ilane offered her friend a miniature pastry and tried to steer the conversation away. "And Jayce? How is he?"

Meldrose lit up at the mention of her other son. "Oh Ilane! He's a dear! You won't believe how sweet he is! Though he's only three, he has the temperament of an angel! Only…" as her face fell, Ilane knew its cause was once again her friend's husband. "…Only that he has my red hair and my eyes which Buchard claims are unsightly on a male heir of Stone Mountain… Oh Ilane… And recently…" as the problems begin to pour out, Meldrose gave way to sobs as her friend enveloped her in an embrace.

"What's a shuksen? Hey! I just realised I don't know your name! How old are you? Do you have…" As they walked along the corridor, Joren's tirade of questions never seem to stem.

Keladry stopped outside a door and turned to look at the boy. Her quiet assessment stopped him in midsentence as his eyes meet her dreamy gaze.

"It's shukusen, shu-ku-sen. My name is Keladry, I'm five, I have three older brothers and two older sisters and I love to eat soba. My favourite colour is red." She gave him a moment to process her answers before turning the handle to reveal a large playroom.

Joren followed her into the sparse room and looked around. It was neat, with a multitude of boxes stacked up. The floor was devoid of any stray toys lying around, except for a simple mat lying in the middle. It was so unlike his own playroom, scattered with swords, wooden horses and other toys, that he was stunned.

"This is your playroom?"

Ignoring his question, Keladry approached a small box in the center to take out two thick sticks. She settled gracefully with her feet tucked in and gestured for him to come over, Curious, he accepted the stick and almost dropped it. Surprised at the weight, he sat next to her and watched her unfurl the stick. Carefully taking the top and bottom sticks, he spread it apart on his lap. The shukusen opened to reveal equally spaced bamboo sticks each as thick as two of his fingers, flat and all connected by a smooth cloth that depicted a scene of a calm lotus pond backed by mist covered mountains in a red sunset. A quick glance at hers showed a plainer, dark blue shukusen with a curling red dragon and patterned flames. The shukusens were triangular in shape framed by sharp edges that seemed even deadlier than his own practice swords.

"The shukusen is made of metal, for women of the warrior class. We wear it when we think we are in danger. But mama says I'm too small to carry the real one, so I can practice with the bamboo ones instead." She pointed to his "that's my favourite one."

"Then why did you give it to me instead? Why not keep yours to yourself and give me that one?" Joren tried to hand the fan back to her. But she gently closed the fan with a snap and pushed it back to him, shaking her head.

"You are the guest in the house, Mama says we cannot be selfish to guests who have come peacefully".

Joren pondered this for a moment and slowly nodded his head. Then he cocked his head to the side "Then why do you need to practice with a bamboo shuk...shukuken?" He was surprised when her soft cheeks colour.

"Odoruno cho. The fan toss dance. Every warrior lady is supposed to know the dance by heart" she looked down embarrassed "but I can't do it yet, I keep forgetting which part comes next."

Joren looked at her for a moment before thrusting the shukusen into her hands. "I want to see your dance."

Keladry stared at him and shook her head. "I… I can't! It's not perfect yet!"

But at his defiant silence and petulant glare she reluctantly gave in. not wanting to be scolded later for being rude to the guest, if Joren had a reason to complain. She reluctantly got to her feet and paced to the middle of the room, where the mat lay. She looked at him "It's not perfect yet, my dance is very ugly still," before she bowed to him. There was a beat of silence and she began her dance.

She unfurled the fan with a snap and fell to her knees. The movement was so sudden that he thought she had tripped but the graceful rise of her arms convinced him otherwise. He could hear her chanting softly under her breath. She spun slowly as she rises, one hand supporting her tilted head, the other arm trailing behind her, holding the fan like a red flame. Her arms and legs moved in tandem and her soft chanting seemed to match the dance.

Suddenly, she stopped and jolted Joren out of the trance-like performance. Standing in the middle, she looked ready to cry. "I… I forgot the next step" her voice wobbles slightly and thoughts of being found by his mother for making her cry flashed through Joren's head.

"I thought it was well done! " Joren smiled encouragingly, and prepared to get up and comfort her before she started to cry and he was found the cause.

Her vehement stamp made him sit back down. "No! I must finish the dance. I can't not finish the dance! I can't!" Tears gone, Joren sat back down to watch the girl finish the dance, albeit with awkward pauses and slight stumbles. As she sank to her knees, one arm over her bowed head and the other outstretched, Joren clapped enthusiastically careful not to have a repeat of the scene just now.

She looked up shyly before breaking into a grin. As she settled back into the corner, he turned the beautiful fan in his hands.

"Can I learn that?" she looks worried at his question.

"Mistress Kurenai says that men are not supposed to dance the oudoruno cho. It will be a breach to the female customs."

Joren was indignant. "But my papa says that women should always listen to what men tell them to do because we always know better."

"That's wrong! Even the emperor must listen to the empress dowager before he makes his descisions, and she does not always listen to him!" Keladry began to frown, the crease in her forehead marring her small forehead.

"No you're wrong, papa says that women can't make descisions because they're not as clever as men!"

The girl opened her mouth, ready to argue when the playroom door opened and a maid put her head in.

"Lady Keladry, your mother wishes you and the Lord back in the drawing room." Keladry nodded her thanks as the maid withdraws. She placed the shukusens carefully back in the box and turned to find a hand thrust in her face. Looking up into the face of a grinning Joren, she put aside their earlier disagreement and takes his hand.

As they walk back Joren asked her why she kept her toys in the boxes. She looked at him surprised.

"Well, they keep the place neat for one. And I always know where my toys are when I want to play with them. And well, I always thought keeping the toys in the boxes made them safe. Like they have a shelter to stay in when I'm not with them." She smiled up at him and her wide eyes seem to stun him for a moment.

They stop outside the drawing room and Keladry knocks quietly at the door. There is a pause before a muffled "come in" is heard. Joren pushed the door to run back to his mother while Keladry entered at a slower pace and bowed to the two women before hurriedly escaping to the safety of her own mothers' skirts.

Ilane and Meldrose part, promising to exchange correspondence. As Joren clambers in after his mother, she questioned him on his encounter with the youngest daughter of the Mindelan clan. She ruffled his hair fondly and smiled as he ducked his head.

"-ah! Mama don't mess my hair!- and she said it was to protect her toys! How clever is that?" Joren then looked to his mother seriously, "Mama she's so pretty I will marry her when I grow up after I get my shield and become a knight!"

Meldrose laughed and tugged at his ear teasing him when she remembers the quiet girl she met. "I don't think so Joren, but I certainly hope you will."

A/N: Ohkay so I haven't written in so so so so long but anyway here's my fic that seems to have written itself.

This is the rewritten version, comments on the tenses please! I really had some trouble with it! And in case you're wondering, my inspiration for the dance camee from the korean drama "Hwang Jin Yi" and a Tibetian traditional dance that my school performed, drop a comment if you want the links to both! They're both really nice!