Disclaimer, all characters and places recognized belong to the lovely Tamora Pierce.
It had been such a long time since these men had seen the capital. They had been upon the border for longer than most, a total of almost six years. They knew that most of their sweethearts had moved on, after all, why would any woman want to wait that long for a sweetheart who could most likely never come home again?
The men heaved a sigh of relief when they reached the stables. They could rest; after all, they had been on high alert since before the war had become actuality. Looking around they all felt it. They had suffered several losses since they had left. Friends and comrades whose horses had either died with their riders or have been given over to others who had lost their own mounts left stalls empty.
Quietly the men filed into their rooms, ignoring the empty beds, the lack of belongings of those whose bodies they had left in the North. Having dropped off their belongings they all quietly filed out and headed off to the baths, the first true bath they have had in almost six years.
Having washed all of their sorrows the men finally filled into the mess for the late night meal that had been prepared for them. Walking in they noticed slight changes within the halls. There was no mighty Giant Killer chuckling merrily with the men. There seemed to be an atmosphere untainted by the horrors these men had seen over the last six years. The men here were young and naïve.
"Men welcome home!" a booming voice startled them. Turning with grins upon their faces they greeted their former commander and his wife of the last five years. They had not seen this man for over a year now.
"Sir, it's wonderful to see you!" One of the men called out the others quickly agreeing.
Raoul just waved their greetings away "I am no longer in charge of the Own, haven't been for about six months, so I will have none of this 'Sir' nonsense." He looked at the men left from his favorite company, noticing the faces missing, most of whom had died performing their duty, a few who had become tired of the life they had been living and opted for the quiet life that raising a family held, and some men who had been removed from duty due to sever injury. He knew that things had changed; some of these men had lost some of that spark that made them joke and appear otherwise carefree.
"So, if you are no longer our feared and famed leader, then where is your replacement knight?" Another asked, highly curious.
"I have no doubt that we'll be stuck with some stuffy conservative opposed to change." One of them complained.
"Yeah, there is no way that a new Knight Commander can top your rule Sir, after all, you turned the Own around, made us an affective fighting force, not just some lazy force that sits at court." another added.
Raoul chuckled. "I have no doubt that the new Knight Commander will do a wonderful job. I am afraid that they will be unable to join us tonight, as they are currently leading First Company on a mission. Should be back tomorrow around noon."
He ignored the outcry from those men around him, absolutely refusing to answer who was in command. He practically sighed in relief when Alan came to fetch him. He was unsure as to how much longer he could evade their questions before they became overly suspicious.
"Bloody help he was. I wonder what he has up his sleeve." One of them mused as they looked around at the others gathered. Most of these men had been there for years, had been taught under Lord Raoul's guiding hand, and now he was gone. A happily married man who had resigned from the work that he had loved. Now they had no idea who their new commander was, who they would have to follow fearlessly into battle.
As the men pondered what awaited their future, they became aware of a lot of commotion nearing the mess. Looking up, several of the men could not keep grins off of their faces as they saw the one and only Lady Keladry, Third Company's favorite knight, besides Lord Raoul of course.
Many shouts were called out to her as all of the returning men desperately wished for news of their beloved lady who had been removed from the border almost a year ago. She smiled as she noticed the new faces within the mess, ones that she had been obviously expecting for a while now.
She sat down between Wolset and Dom, the only spot currently available. "Men, wonderful to see you in one piece, I was starting to wonder if the earth had cracked open and swallowed the whole of the company. There have been rumors that the Scanran's snuck over and kidnapped all of our dashing Own members." She smiled as a chuckle went around.
"Sorry to disappoint you Kel, but we are very much alive and more than glad to be back!" Dom couldn't help but tell her. "Of course, things aren't as they used to be." A somber mood settled over the group, each remembering those they had lost. "But on a positive note, maybe, Wolset here is no longer a lowly corporal; he is now the sergeant of what is left of my old squad, while I have the great misfortune to be Captain of these sorry excuses for men." Dom informed her.
Kel's smile made all of the men brightened up. "Would ye happen to know who the new Knight Commander is Lady Kel?" Wolset asked, hoping that they would have more luck getting information from her then they did Raoul.
Kel just smiled, looking almost sheepish. "Actually I do." But before she could continue there was a royal messenger who entered into the mess looking to be in a hurry. All the men looked towards the messenger to see who was summoned.
They all looked with ill-concealed shock as he approached Kel and left once she had the message. Sighing she stood up. "Sorry gentlemen, but the work of the Knight Commander never seems to stop. Welcome home." Kel smiled as she sent a salute and smile to the stunned men.
It had been six long years that the men had been stationed on the border, six years since they had left Corus. In those six years most of them had watched Lady Keladry grow from a squire to a knight and now the young woman was their fearless commander. Yes, things had changed, but they all felt it had been for the better.
AN: I found that I had made a mistake in my timeline if I wanted this story to be true to how Tamora Pierce wrote the books/characters, I have made just one small change, nothing big, and I am currently working on a second chapter, I am planning on continueing this story for a very short time, maybe extend it a little beyond 3rd finding out the identity of their new commander and how well Kel handles the boys.