Title: Lucky Misery

By: Peachy Garlic

Beta: Seadragon

Disclaimer: All of the characters belong to Tamora Pierce. I own the plotline. Italicized quotes are taken directly from the works of Tamora Pierce.

Rating: PG-13 (to be safe)

Summary: Keladry has determination, as she has proved time and time again, and won't settle for anything less than what she wants. Yet the life of an intellect is not as simple as Kel believes. And the Mindelan girl will realize that no one goes armed with nothing to face the world and its problems. Least of all herself.

#%&%#

Take these plastic people

Read their lips, now let it linger

Is there anything that makes them sound sincere?

Tightly hold your hand

Take a deep breath

Give them the finger

Are you worried

That your thoughts are not quite

Clear?

--Our Lady Peace

#%&%#

Chapter 1

"It isn't right," she said quietly, even fiercely. "No boys have probation. I'm supposed to be treated the same."

"Don't give your answer yet," Baron Piers said quickly. "Take the letter with you. Think about what it says. You're not hasty, Kel. This is a bad time to start."

The stone was out; her mind was made up. If they couldn't treat her the same as they would the boys, then she wasn't going to settle for half portion. She would have to become a warrior some other way.

#%&%#

Kel wandered a distance away from the river, allowing the cool breeze to caress her face. Coming to a moss-covered rock, she took a seat on it, carefully rearranging herself until she was comfortable. Then she took out the letter and read it again, bristling at the indignation of it all. One thing she knew was that she would never settle for anything less than what she deserved. How she longed to prove herself to the training master, to show him that she didn't need him and his probation, that it wouldn't stop her from succeeding. But she wouldn't ever let herself be brought down to the level of a sexist pig. Would she?

She would have to become a warrior some other way.

But how? The chance of her becoming one of the Royal Ladies was very slim. She couldn't join until she was fifteen, and that seemed like ages away. What would she do until that time, with her brothers roaming the lands, and her parents involved in all sorts of diplomatic and political affairs that ranged across two continents? She shook her head. There wasn't any way she could possibly become affiliated with the palace warriors unless she was trained there.

She traced her finger over the rough edge of the handmade paper. She couldn't go to the convent, of that she was sure. There was no option of her at all joining a group of women who sat in their armchairs and knitted over tea, biscuits, and the latest gossip. Some ladies had chances to fight, but only if they lived on fiefs in 'trouble zones'. The chance of her marrying a nobleman with such a fief was slim, the chance of her marrying at all was much worse. She hadn't forgotten what her sister-in-law had said. Kel's mind was filled with horrid visions of growing old, never having accomplished anything, of not having any purpose. Of being lost.

Of being a failure.

It was such a daunting thought. There was no way she would be able to live with knowing that her life, short as it may be, had been a complete waste. She shuddered and nestled deeper into the thick carpet of green on the boulder. She would make use of the time given to her. She would not be a failure. She would prove to the world that Mindelan was not a name to be looked over or tossed aside.

There was one option left to her. One that she knew was only vaguely possible. Sighing, she lifted herself out of the cradle of the rock. Stretching and re-adjusting the strap of the horn the guardsman had given her, Kel headed back for home, thoughts buzzing in her head.

#%&%#

Ilane of Mindelan paced her study, her ornate pink silk kimono swishing and raising small clouds of dust on the floor. She turned to face her youngest daughter, her eyes filled with confusion, resting her palms on the supple bamboo of her desk.

"The Royal University? Who put this fanatical idea into your head?"

"No one, mama. I thought of it on my own."

Ilane paused to give Keladry a sidelong glance.

"Are you aware of the schedule at the university? How much work is involved? How much time and effort you will be putting into your educational studies?"

"Yes, mama. It is my only option."

"What about page training? Have you discarded that plan as well?"

"I won't settle for second best, mama."

The baroness hesitated, causing Kel to stamp in frustration.

"Mama, I want to do something productive with my life. I think this is the right path for me to take to do that."

The fierce determination in her daughter's eyes decided Ilane. She beckoned to Kel and wrapped her in her arms. Kel rubbed her cheek against the soft fabric of her mother's kimono, feeling safe and protected. She would regret leaving home, she knew, but was determined to show the world just how much she could accomplish without anyone else's help. That would show the king. She didn't need his half-hearted offers to succeed.

She would do it all on her own.