Disclaimer: None of this is mine.
A/N: Those of you with good memories may remember this story from a year and a half ago, before Lady Knight was published and fanfiction was thriving with concoctions of how the fourth book would go. I started this , but never finished because LK came out, and I wondered what the point of my own story was. LK was brilliant, like all of TP's work, but I don't think I was completely satisfied with the ending of Kel's story. So here I am, revisiting my own alternate take on the beginning of Kel's life as a lady knight.
Summary: When Keladry of Mindelan's best friend invites her to a congratulatory ball, she expects nothing more than a long night of polite but boring conversation and overall discomfort. Never did she think that she would be swept up into secret missions, intrigue, murder plots, heartache, duels, true friendship, revenge, betrayals, or even the fulfillment of her destiny as a Protector.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The Protectors
Chapter One: A Ball
by meghna
"To the bird, the nest; a spider, the web; to a person, friendship."
The newly knighted Keladry of Mindelan stared at the blank parchment on her slightly messy desk in her new knight quarters. After she had moved out from Raoul's and begun her official life as a lady knight, Kel found that she had a lot of free time on her hands. To pass her afternoon, she had been trying to write a letter to her brother Anders back at Mindelan, but she kept getting distracted.
The lady knight kept thinking back to her Ordeal, and that little man with the unruly brown hair, the children-killer. How will I find him? she wondered. But that wasn't the only thing that bothered her.
At first she had just thought it was restlessness. After all, in her four years as a squire she barely ever stayed in one place for long, and she had never been idle. But as time wore on, Kel realized what it was. She missed Cleon. A lot. To her surprise, a tear trickled down her tanned cheek. You're being ridiculous, she tried telling herself. He's just away on border duty. She stopped that line of thought, though, before she started worrying about him too.
Kel sighed and made another try for the letter, but she got no farther than "Dear Anders" when she was distracted again. This time though, it wasn't her own thoughts, but a knock on the door.
"Kel? It's me, Neal," that deep drawl sounded through the door.
She took her time trimming the end of her quill and closing the ink bottle before walking over and letting him in. As soon as the door opened, Neal asked, "What's the matter?" his green eyes worried. Kel realized, a little too late, that she hadn't wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Nothing," she lied, not facing him, but walking to her desk and putting away the ink and parchment.
"Come on, Kel. This isn't just anyone you're talking to. You can't just put on your mask and expect me to go along. Might as well tell me now; I'm going to find out anyway." She made a face at her friend's cocky attitude. Purposely misinterpreting it, he went on, "It can't be that bad."
She blushed at the thought of Neal's reaction to her girly emotions, but refused to acknowledge that he was right. "You're right, it can't, because there isn't anything to be bad."
He, however, was more interested in her red face. "Hmm...tears in your eyes, blush in your cheeks, and denial coming out of your mouth...could it be? Are you, my dear, thinking about a certain red-headed clown?"
"No, why would I be doing that?" she tried to say, but one look at her face told Neal everything.
"Aww," he replied, wiping a nonexistent tear away from his eye, "my little Kel's all grown up. In love and everything."
She gave him a little shove for his teasing and insisted, "I'm not in love and I wasn't thinking about him."
He put his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow. "I'm not one of those conservatives, blind to everything around me. I've noticed how disappointed you were when Cleon didn't show up for your Ordeal, how you haven't been celebrating much, how you zone out sometimes, with a sad look on your face. That, in fact, is the reason why I am here."
How can he tell, Kel pondered. Have I been that obvious?
Neal didn't notice her puzzlement, though. "The King is throwing a ball in honor of the new knights," he continued, seeming not to notice her frown when he mentioned the King. "That's us! Anyway, Yuki seems really tired with all her lady-in-waiting and Midwinter duties past. Shinko and I have agreed that she needs the night off from all these balls and social events. Also, since you obviously need a night out from all this 'missing Cleon' and moping over your Ordeal nonsense, I thought we could go together. Come on, it'll be fun!"
"Does Yuki know about this ball?" she asked. If she knew Yuki, she knew that the Yamani wouldn't want to miss it.
"No, and if I told her, then she'd want to come, which wouldn't be good for either of you, would it?" he answered. "So are you in or out?"
Kel made the mistake of hesitating. "OK, so you're going! Now, go get changed," he decided for her.
She replied with the first stupid excuse that came to her mind, regretting it immediately, "But I have nothing to wear."
He didn't buy it. "Of course you do." Striding past her, Neal opened her trunk and pulled out the first garment that came to hand, a gown of a light, springy green, with a white sheer over the skirt. The bodice was embroidered with little beads that blended in with the fabric, but softly caught the light when shone upon. Kel thought it was too much, but obviously he believed it perfect. "Here you go," he said while gently shoving her into her dressing room, ignoring her protests.
Once inside, Kel gave up and struggled into the dress. She recognized it as one of Lalasa's creations. It fit almost perfectly. There was only one problem. There were ties in the back of the dress that she wasn't able to reach. They were criss-cross, an invention of Lalasa's, that were used for show, but also served as means for a slightly tighter fit. After struggling a bit, she finally called Neal. "Could you come here for a sec?"
"Sure," came the hesitant response. "What do you need?"
"Help," she answered as he walked in looking a little embarrassed. For no reason, Kel thought. Even without being tied, she was totally covered. Lalasa made it that way. "Could you tie this for me?"
"Of course," he said, embarrassment disappearing. Kel turned around as he took the strings and fit them through the loops.
"They're supposed to cross, kind of like boot laces," she explained. When he finished, she turned around "Thanks a lot. These gowns are meant for people with maids."
"And, alas, all you have is me," he finished with mock woe that turned into fake resolve as he said, "I shall have to do my best to serve you."
She chuckled at the thought of her dramatic friend acting as a maid, but stopped abruptly when he said, "There you go, my lady, all tied up. Now, how will we do your hair?"
"You must be kidding."
"I'm sorry my lady doubts my skill, but if she will please sit," he replied, leading her to her dresser and forcing her into a chair. Kel looked up at him. Despite the wicked gleam in his eyes, he was in all seriousness.
"I'm afraid," she murmured to herself.
Neal, however, paid no attention to her doubt. Instead, he pulled out the band that confined her hair into its normal ponytail and picked up a brush. "My lady has wonderful hair. Straight and full. Interesting length, also. I don't think I've seen a courtier with shoulder length hair recently," he commented while brushing.
He was right. Since the Queen had grew out her hair until it spilled down her back, no one in court had hair shorter than midway down their back. "Then maybe you should put it up, so no one knows that I am out of fashion?" she suggested, hoping that the threat of real work would stop Neal from continuing this charade.
To her satisfaction he looked surprised, but quickly recovered by saying, "No, it looks better this way. Plus, you make a statement. There, I'm finished with your hair. Now, all you need is a few finishing touches, like makeup and jewelry."
"Uh Uh, there is no way you're putting face paint on me," she protested, shaking her head.
"As my lady wishes, I will not put face paint on her, she looks better with a healthy tan anyway, but my lady never said anything about lip rouge or eye paint," he replied, unable to keep the humor out of his voice.
"Why do you keep saying 'my lady' or 'she'?" Kel demanded.
"It would be rude to address my lady directly!" he exclaimed while starting to look through the drawers of her dresser for makeup.
"I think my lady-in-waiting better back away from me with that rouge or the only thing she'll be waiting on is another job come tomorrow," Kel snapped as Neal found a deep red color.
"Relax, my lady, or you'll mess up your hair! Now close your mouth and sit still, I won't put on much, you don't need it," he complimented.
She was about to mutter something indecent, but figured that he would just yell at her for moving and gave up. After he was done, he started looking for something for her eyes. "Oh, here it-what's this?" he asked, pulling out a long silver chain.
At first Kel didn't recognize it, but then she remembered that birthday long ago, before she had told her mother she wanted to be a knight.
"This is for when you get older and get presented at court," the tall Ilane of Mindelan had told her. "You'll find a husband who loves you and be happy."
"But what if I can't find anyone?" the eight year old had replied.
"Don't worry you will."
Snapping out of the reminiscence, Kel answered, "My mother gave that to me a long time ago, for my first court appearance. I forgot I had it."
"Well then, my lady must wear it." He handed it to her and went back to looking, until he finally took out a bag with many different eye colors it. After a bit of searching during which Kel was putting on the necklace, he pulled out a color and told her to close her eyes and sit still once again.
It took all of her self-control not to open her eyes and make sure Neal wasn't making her look like a clown. Finally, he said, "There, you can open your eyes now."
The first this she did was get up to go for the mirror, but he barred her way, ignoring commands to move out of the way. " I thought lady-in-waitings were supposed to be obedient," she commented dryly.
"Well they're supposed to be ladies too, aren't they?" he retorted, a smile in his eyes. "Just be patient, there's only one more thing my lady needs. Today, I was coming to your rooms from lunch, when I encountered a handsome, young gentleman, who gave me something for you," he continued, falling again into the role of 'dainty maid.'
"You did, did you? What was he like?" she inquired, genuinely interested.
"Well, he was extremely handsome, deep green eyes and brown hair. Very graceful also, like he was walking on air. One sentence from him and I knew that he was intelligent. A lady's dream, but a competitor's worst nightmare," Neal replied, getting dreamy eyed.
"Hm, I think he has the wrong person. The only green eyed person I know is clumsy and rather idiotic. Do you think maybe he has an older brother or something?"
"I think my lady underestimates her friend," he said, rather haughtily, before giving her a small box.
Kel chuckled and untied the ribbon that held the box closed. Inside was silver chain link bracelet.
"Do you like it?" he asked softly, looking nervous.
She picked it up. The metal was extra light, but surprisingly strong. Although unadorned with anything but a single leaf charm, the small links were intricately wrought and seemed to fit Kel. "I love it," she answered. She was putting it on when she noticed an engraving on the single charm. It read, "N+K BFF."
"What does this stand for?"
To her surprise and amusement, he actually blushed, "Kel and Neal, Best Friends Forever. Just so you don't forget me when you go out and do great knightly deeds and become a legend."
"Oh, Neal, I could never forget you," she replied, before pulling him into a tight hug.
"Come on, we're going to be late," said an even redder Neal. With an arm still around her, he led her out the door
and to the Great Hall.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I'm terribly sorry about the lack of italics, but I have to upload this as a text file and practically any formatting disappears. I'll try to find a way to fix this, but until then...
But otherwise, what did you think? Feel free to review and let me know. Flames are welcome as long as they are constructive.
Thanks for reading : )
meghna
A/N: Those of you with good memories may remember this story from a year and a half ago, before Lady Knight was published and fanfiction was thriving with concoctions of how the fourth book would go. I started this , but never finished because LK came out, and I wondered what the point of my own story was. LK was brilliant, like all of TP's work, but I don't think I was completely satisfied with the ending of Kel's story. So here I am, revisiting my own alternate take on the beginning of Kel's life as a lady knight.
Summary: When Keladry of Mindelan's best friend invites her to a congratulatory ball, she expects nothing more than a long night of polite but boring conversation and overall discomfort. Never did she think that she would be swept up into secret missions, intrigue, murder plots, heartache, duels, true friendship, revenge, betrayals, or even the fulfillment of her destiny as a Protector.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The Protectors
Chapter One: A Ball
by meghna
"To the bird, the nest; a spider, the web; to a person, friendship."
The newly knighted Keladry of Mindelan stared at the blank parchment on her slightly messy desk in her new knight quarters. After she had moved out from Raoul's and begun her official life as a lady knight, Kel found that she had a lot of free time on her hands. To pass her afternoon, she had been trying to write a letter to her brother Anders back at Mindelan, but she kept getting distracted.
The lady knight kept thinking back to her Ordeal, and that little man with the unruly brown hair, the children-killer. How will I find him? she wondered. But that wasn't the only thing that bothered her.
At first she had just thought it was restlessness. After all, in her four years as a squire she barely ever stayed in one place for long, and she had never been idle. But as time wore on, Kel realized what it was. She missed Cleon. A lot. To her surprise, a tear trickled down her tanned cheek. You're being ridiculous, she tried telling herself. He's just away on border duty. She stopped that line of thought, though, before she started worrying about him too.
Kel sighed and made another try for the letter, but she got no farther than "Dear Anders" when she was distracted again. This time though, it wasn't her own thoughts, but a knock on the door.
"Kel? It's me, Neal," that deep drawl sounded through the door.
She took her time trimming the end of her quill and closing the ink bottle before walking over and letting him in. As soon as the door opened, Neal asked, "What's the matter?" his green eyes worried. Kel realized, a little too late, that she hadn't wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Nothing," she lied, not facing him, but walking to her desk and putting away the ink and parchment.
"Come on, Kel. This isn't just anyone you're talking to. You can't just put on your mask and expect me to go along. Might as well tell me now; I'm going to find out anyway." She made a face at her friend's cocky attitude. Purposely misinterpreting it, he went on, "It can't be that bad."
She blushed at the thought of Neal's reaction to her girly emotions, but refused to acknowledge that he was right. "You're right, it can't, because there isn't anything to be bad."
He, however, was more interested in her red face. "Hmm...tears in your eyes, blush in your cheeks, and denial coming out of your mouth...could it be? Are you, my dear, thinking about a certain red-headed clown?"
"No, why would I be doing that?" she tried to say, but one look at her face told Neal everything.
"Aww," he replied, wiping a nonexistent tear away from his eye, "my little Kel's all grown up. In love and everything."
She gave him a little shove for his teasing and insisted, "I'm not in love and I wasn't thinking about him."
He put his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow. "I'm not one of those conservatives, blind to everything around me. I've noticed how disappointed you were when Cleon didn't show up for your Ordeal, how you haven't been celebrating much, how you zone out sometimes, with a sad look on your face. That, in fact, is the reason why I am here."
How can he tell, Kel pondered. Have I been that obvious?
Neal didn't notice her puzzlement, though. "The King is throwing a ball in honor of the new knights," he continued, seeming not to notice her frown when he mentioned the King. "That's us! Anyway, Yuki seems really tired with all her lady-in-waiting and Midwinter duties past. Shinko and I have agreed that she needs the night off from all these balls and social events. Also, since you obviously need a night out from all this 'missing Cleon' and moping over your Ordeal nonsense, I thought we could go together. Come on, it'll be fun!"
"Does Yuki know about this ball?" she asked. If she knew Yuki, she knew that the Yamani wouldn't want to miss it.
"No, and if I told her, then she'd want to come, which wouldn't be good for either of you, would it?" he answered. "So are you in or out?"
Kel made the mistake of hesitating. "OK, so you're going! Now, go get changed," he decided for her.
She replied with the first stupid excuse that came to her mind, regretting it immediately, "But I have nothing to wear."
He didn't buy it. "Of course you do." Striding past her, Neal opened her trunk and pulled out the first garment that came to hand, a gown of a light, springy green, with a white sheer over the skirt. The bodice was embroidered with little beads that blended in with the fabric, but softly caught the light when shone upon. Kel thought it was too much, but obviously he believed it perfect. "Here you go," he said while gently shoving her into her dressing room, ignoring her protests.
Once inside, Kel gave up and struggled into the dress. She recognized it as one of Lalasa's creations. It fit almost perfectly. There was only one problem. There were ties in the back of the dress that she wasn't able to reach. They were criss-cross, an invention of Lalasa's, that were used for show, but also served as means for a slightly tighter fit. After struggling a bit, she finally called Neal. "Could you come here for a sec?"
"Sure," came the hesitant response. "What do you need?"
"Help," she answered as he walked in looking a little embarrassed. For no reason, Kel thought. Even without being tied, she was totally covered. Lalasa made it that way. "Could you tie this for me?"
"Of course," he said, embarrassment disappearing. Kel turned around as he took the strings and fit them through the loops.
"They're supposed to cross, kind of like boot laces," she explained. When he finished, she turned around "Thanks a lot. These gowns are meant for people with maids."
"And, alas, all you have is me," he finished with mock woe that turned into fake resolve as he said, "I shall have to do my best to serve you."
She chuckled at the thought of her dramatic friend acting as a maid, but stopped abruptly when he said, "There you go, my lady, all tied up. Now, how will we do your hair?"
"You must be kidding."
"I'm sorry my lady doubts my skill, but if she will please sit," he replied, leading her to her dresser and forcing her into a chair. Kel looked up at him. Despite the wicked gleam in his eyes, he was in all seriousness.
"I'm afraid," she murmured to herself.
Neal, however, paid no attention to her doubt. Instead, he pulled out the band that confined her hair into its normal ponytail and picked up a brush. "My lady has wonderful hair. Straight and full. Interesting length, also. I don't think I've seen a courtier with shoulder length hair recently," he commented while brushing.
He was right. Since the Queen had grew out her hair until it spilled down her back, no one in court had hair shorter than midway down their back. "Then maybe you should put it up, so no one knows that I am out of fashion?" she suggested, hoping that the threat of real work would stop Neal from continuing this charade.
To her satisfaction he looked surprised, but quickly recovered by saying, "No, it looks better this way. Plus, you make a statement. There, I'm finished with your hair. Now, all you need is a few finishing touches, like makeup and jewelry."
"Uh Uh, there is no way you're putting face paint on me," she protested, shaking her head.
"As my lady wishes, I will not put face paint on her, she looks better with a healthy tan anyway, but my lady never said anything about lip rouge or eye paint," he replied, unable to keep the humor out of his voice.
"Why do you keep saying 'my lady' or 'she'?" Kel demanded.
"It would be rude to address my lady directly!" he exclaimed while starting to look through the drawers of her dresser for makeup.
"I think my lady-in-waiting better back away from me with that rouge or the only thing she'll be waiting on is another job come tomorrow," Kel snapped as Neal found a deep red color.
"Relax, my lady, or you'll mess up your hair! Now close your mouth and sit still, I won't put on much, you don't need it," he complimented.
She was about to mutter something indecent, but figured that he would just yell at her for moving and gave up. After he was done, he started looking for something for her eyes. "Oh, here it-what's this?" he asked, pulling out a long silver chain.
At first Kel didn't recognize it, but then she remembered that birthday long ago, before she had told her mother she wanted to be a knight.
"This is for when you get older and get presented at court," the tall Ilane of Mindelan had told her. "You'll find a husband who loves you and be happy."
"But what if I can't find anyone?" the eight year old had replied.
"Don't worry you will."
Snapping out of the reminiscence, Kel answered, "My mother gave that to me a long time ago, for my first court appearance. I forgot I had it."
"Well then, my lady must wear it." He handed it to her and went back to looking, until he finally took out a bag with many different eye colors it. After a bit of searching during which Kel was putting on the necklace, he pulled out a color and told her to close her eyes and sit still once again.
It took all of her self-control not to open her eyes and make sure Neal wasn't making her look like a clown. Finally, he said, "There, you can open your eyes now."
The first this she did was get up to go for the mirror, but he barred her way, ignoring commands to move out of the way. " I thought lady-in-waitings were supposed to be obedient," she commented dryly.
"Well they're supposed to be ladies too, aren't they?" he retorted, a smile in his eyes. "Just be patient, there's only one more thing my lady needs. Today, I was coming to your rooms from lunch, when I encountered a handsome, young gentleman, who gave me something for you," he continued, falling again into the role of 'dainty maid.'
"You did, did you? What was he like?" she inquired, genuinely interested.
"Well, he was extremely handsome, deep green eyes and brown hair. Very graceful also, like he was walking on air. One sentence from him and I knew that he was intelligent. A lady's dream, but a competitor's worst nightmare," Neal replied, getting dreamy eyed.
"Hm, I think he has the wrong person. The only green eyed person I know is clumsy and rather idiotic. Do you think maybe he has an older brother or something?"
"I think my lady underestimates her friend," he said, rather haughtily, before giving her a small box.
Kel chuckled and untied the ribbon that held the box closed. Inside was silver chain link bracelet.
"Do you like it?" he asked softly, looking nervous.
She picked it up. The metal was extra light, but surprisingly strong. Although unadorned with anything but a single leaf charm, the small links were intricately wrought and seemed to fit Kel. "I love it," she answered. She was putting it on when she noticed an engraving on the single charm. It read, "N+K BFF."
"What does this stand for?"
To her surprise and amusement, he actually blushed, "Kel and Neal, Best Friends Forever. Just so you don't forget me when you go out and do great knightly deeds and become a legend."
"Oh, Neal, I could never forget you," she replied, before pulling him into a tight hug.
"Come on, we're going to be late," said an even redder Neal. With an arm still around her, he led her out the door
and to the Great Hall.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I'm terribly sorry about the lack of italics, but I have to upload this as a text file and practically any formatting disappears. I'll try to find a way to fix this, but until then...
But otherwise, what did you think? Feel free to review and let me know. Flames are welcome as long as they are constructive.
Thanks for reading : )
meghna