Alright, this is my third Tamora Pierce fanfiction. And, like the others,
it is a Kel/Dom fiction!
For six years, Kel has been on the front, in a different place then all of her friends. Now, the war with Scanra is over, and it's time to go home to a world that Kel doesn't know any more.
Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story, except a few new, and brief, characters, and I'm not going to say it again.
Voila!
A trumpet sounded. Somewhere in the fort, a dog barked. Dawn was just breaking, but Lady Keladry of Mindelan, Lady Knight of Tortall, was already awake.
She moved her grip on her glaive. Her palms were sweating, becoming sticky on the wooden shaft in her hands. She circled around to his other side. In a heartbeat, she lunged. He dodged.
He lunged at her with his sword; she deflected it, and the sound of metal hitting metal rang out through the square.
She took another swing. He deflected it, but not very well, and Kel saw her opportunity. Just as she was bringing her glaive down, he dodged and swung low. His sword hit the back of her knees, and she buckled. She quickly righted herself and swung her glaive. This time, her aim was true, and she brought her glaive down at his neck, stopping only inches away.
"Victory!" She said, raising her fist in the air.
The man looked up at her and smiled. She offered her hand, and he took it.
Francis shook his head slowly, his graying brown hair flying all over. "You are getting predictable, Lady Kel." He said smiling, his face wrinkling.
Kel smiled back to the old man. "And you're getting better."
She and Francis had been training for the past three months, on every day they could. Francis was a commander in the army, stationed at the same fort as Kel. He was from the western shores of Tortall, a merchant sailor by trade many years before the war, and Kel felt a pang of loneliness when he said he had decided to go back to his old trade when the war was over.
"I've been doing this too long." He said one morning, "I miss the open water, the smell of the salt, the gentle rocking of the waves, the great blue expanse."
Kel closed her eyes and imagined it. She had never been to the waters in the west; the only ocean she had ever been on was the eastern ocean, on the boat to and from the Yamani islands. She knew the west was beautiful, if only from Francis' description.
"I think I'm ready to get something to eat." Kel said, rubbing the back of her knees. "That really hurt, you know. What happened to practice shots?"
Francis shrugged. "It's a wooden sword, and you're wearing armour. What harm can it do?"
Kel frowned. "That's not quite the point."
She looked up at the sky. The sun was shining brightly in the east, but the sky above Kel's head was grayish white, completely clouded over.
"At least it won't rain." She said. Today was not shaping up to be the best of her days. She had almost lost to Francis at practice, it was cloudy, Jump was grumpy (she had found that out that morning, when she accidentally stepped on his tail getting out of bed), and, she realized, stepping into the large, bleak mess hall, they were having oatmeal for breakfast. Again.
Kel stared at her bowl of grey, lumpy oatmeal. She was sitting in her usual seat, near, the door, alone. She had always been good at making friends. She got along with people easily, and as long as they understood that she was strong and smart, they got along very well. But there was no one she really connected with at Tagnot. The fort was large, that was true, with almost three hundred men, and one woman. But most of them were from the west, like Francis, and had never seen Kel fight, only heard stories of her. Few of them believed that she was as good a fighter as everyone said she was. After the first few battles, people began to understand why Kel came home alive, but they became resentful. She was on friendly terms with almost everyone, but it just never seemed friendly enough. She had friends, true enough, but none of them could match the friends she'd made at the palace.
There was only one thing that could make her day worse. The sirens from the tower. The sirens meant that Tagnot was under attack. Kel could hear them in her head, ringing louder and clearer each time. She looked up. Those sirens weren't in her head. They were real.
She grabbed her glaive and sword from beside her. She was already in most of her armour from practice, so she ran to the armoury to pick up her bow, and a moment later, she was in position on the wall. By the time all of her men arrived, she had her orders formulated in her head.
She looked through her spyglass, holding a griffin feather over her eyes, just in case. "There are about 500 of them. They have archers, riders, and foot men. They are about 1500 metres away." She looked back at her men. "In position, ready to fire!" She barked. All the men readied themselves, crouching at the wall. "As soon as they are in range, I will give the command! Aim for the archers and the riders. Archers first, riders second! If you see a commander, aim for him!"
She watched. Closer and closer they pulled, the archers readying their bows. Kel almost wanted to laugh at them. Her men couldn't make a shot that far, and already they were preparing? Finally, they pulled up close enough to shoot.
"Ready to fire!" She called, and a row of hands pulled back the strings in time. "Fire!" She yelled, and a hail of arrows poured down. She saw at least fifty men fall. "Fire at will!" She yelled. Arrows flying all around her, she turned and ran down the stairs.
"Francis! Are we ready?"
"Yes sir!" He said. Kel was the commander of the forces, as the second in command was in the infirmary, and the commander was busy with other men.
"I'm not sending your men out there. They will be massacred. There are at least 400 men out there still, but by the time they are close enough to shoot over the wall, I think they should be down to about 250."
Francis nodded. "What is the plan of action?"
Kel looked up at the wall. Fifty men, and plenty of room. "I want 25 of your best archers on the wall right now. The rest on horses and ready to fight."
Francis nodded. He had a hundred men on the ground, and in a few minutes, they would be mounted and ready for battle. Kel only hoped the odds would be better. She ran back up to the top of the wall. She kneeled down to avoid getting hit, and took out her spyglass. She saw someone galloping up at the very back of the army, at least three hundred metres farther away. She didn't have time to think about an emergency messenger. She had to think about her men.
"Keep your shots steady, men! I don't want to find any arrows in the dirt, every one of them should be in a man!"
And she watched as the Scanran army thinned out.
The battle was stopped right in the middle. The messenger Kel had seen was telling the commanders that they were not authorized to attack, and that Scanra had surrendered the evening before.
The Tortallans had already killed 350 of their men.
Kel sat down in her usual seat at supper and thought about it. She was going home. For six years, they had done nothing but fight. She had been offered leave twice, but both had come at bad times, at times when Kel was needed at Tagnot.
She hadn't seen any of her friends in such a long time. The last time she saw Neal was when she left New Hope. Would he still consider her his best friend? Would Merric, Owen, Seaver, and all of her other friends from school even remember her? They would remember her name and her legend, but would they remember that they were her friend? Would Yuki? Or would she see Kel as only a fighter, no longer the girl she grew up with?
And what about Dom? Would Kel still get the flutters in her stomach that she had gotten so many years ago? When she had been apart from Cleon for a few months they disappeared. Would the same thing happen?
She shivered. Would they even all still be alive? She felt a tear fall down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away, and blinked back the rest. She couldn't cry, sitting in the middle of the mess hall. "Will they still be there for me?" She whispered to herself. She quickly stood up and brought her plate to the kitchen.
"Evening, Lady Keladry." Damon said. He was a sweet young private who had always been nice to Kel. He was on duty in the kitchens. Kel smiled weakly. She liked Damon well enough, he was just always so boring. "You didn't finish your supper." He said, looking at her plate. "You always finish your supper. Especially after a battle."
Kel shrugged. "I wasn't hungry." She muttered, and walked quickly out the back door.
Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock at her room's door. Jump leapt off the bed and started barking.
"Good evening, Keladry." Alan said when she opened the door. He reached down and patted Jump on the head, who instantly stopped barking at his touch.
"Good evening, sir." Kel said to her commander. He was a small man, and he didn't look very intimidating, but he was a fierce leader. His strawberry hair was in his eyes, as it always was. He was constantly interrupting himself to blow it out of his face.
"You had already left when I made the announcement. Pack your bags, you leave tomorrow."
Kel raised an eyebrow. "Tomorrow?"
He nodded briskly. "Yes. The first group of men are going tomorrow, and I decided that you would command them on the way back. Of all the commanders, you've gone the longest without leave, so it makes sense that you go home first."
Kel nodded. "Thank you, sir."
He nodded and turned. "Goodnight, Lady Keladry." He closed the door behind him.
Kel sighed. "I guess this means I have to pack, doesn't it?" She looked down at Jump, who gave a little yelp. "Yes, it does." She sighed, and got to work.
Well, there's the first chapter! I really like this story! It makes me happy.
Please review, I love reviews, and I actually want to get a lot on this one! My other ones have been out so long, and they still only have about a hundred, at the most!
Love you all!
-unolimbo
For six years, Kel has been on the front, in a different place then all of her friends. Now, the war with Scanra is over, and it's time to go home to a world that Kel doesn't know any more.
Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story, except a few new, and brief, characters, and I'm not going to say it again.
Voila!
A trumpet sounded. Somewhere in the fort, a dog barked. Dawn was just breaking, but Lady Keladry of Mindelan, Lady Knight of Tortall, was already awake.
She moved her grip on her glaive. Her palms were sweating, becoming sticky on the wooden shaft in her hands. She circled around to his other side. In a heartbeat, she lunged. He dodged.
He lunged at her with his sword; she deflected it, and the sound of metal hitting metal rang out through the square.
She took another swing. He deflected it, but not very well, and Kel saw her opportunity. Just as she was bringing her glaive down, he dodged and swung low. His sword hit the back of her knees, and she buckled. She quickly righted herself and swung her glaive. This time, her aim was true, and she brought her glaive down at his neck, stopping only inches away.
"Victory!" She said, raising her fist in the air.
The man looked up at her and smiled. She offered her hand, and he took it.
Francis shook his head slowly, his graying brown hair flying all over. "You are getting predictable, Lady Kel." He said smiling, his face wrinkling.
Kel smiled back to the old man. "And you're getting better."
She and Francis had been training for the past three months, on every day they could. Francis was a commander in the army, stationed at the same fort as Kel. He was from the western shores of Tortall, a merchant sailor by trade many years before the war, and Kel felt a pang of loneliness when he said he had decided to go back to his old trade when the war was over.
"I've been doing this too long." He said one morning, "I miss the open water, the smell of the salt, the gentle rocking of the waves, the great blue expanse."
Kel closed her eyes and imagined it. She had never been to the waters in the west; the only ocean she had ever been on was the eastern ocean, on the boat to and from the Yamani islands. She knew the west was beautiful, if only from Francis' description.
"I think I'm ready to get something to eat." Kel said, rubbing the back of her knees. "That really hurt, you know. What happened to practice shots?"
Francis shrugged. "It's a wooden sword, and you're wearing armour. What harm can it do?"
Kel frowned. "That's not quite the point."
She looked up at the sky. The sun was shining brightly in the east, but the sky above Kel's head was grayish white, completely clouded over.
"At least it won't rain." She said. Today was not shaping up to be the best of her days. She had almost lost to Francis at practice, it was cloudy, Jump was grumpy (she had found that out that morning, when she accidentally stepped on his tail getting out of bed), and, she realized, stepping into the large, bleak mess hall, they were having oatmeal for breakfast. Again.
Kel stared at her bowl of grey, lumpy oatmeal. She was sitting in her usual seat, near, the door, alone. She had always been good at making friends. She got along with people easily, and as long as they understood that she was strong and smart, they got along very well. But there was no one she really connected with at Tagnot. The fort was large, that was true, with almost three hundred men, and one woman. But most of them were from the west, like Francis, and had never seen Kel fight, only heard stories of her. Few of them believed that she was as good a fighter as everyone said she was. After the first few battles, people began to understand why Kel came home alive, but they became resentful. She was on friendly terms with almost everyone, but it just never seemed friendly enough. She had friends, true enough, but none of them could match the friends she'd made at the palace.
There was only one thing that could make her day worse. The sirens from the tower. The sirens meant that Tagnot was under attack. Kel could hear them in her head, ringing louder and clearer each time. She looked up. Those sirens weren't in her head. They were real.
She grabbed her glaive and sword from beside her. She was already in most of her armour from practice, so she ran to the armoury to pick up her bow, and a moment later, she was in position on the wall. By the time all of her men arrived, she had her orders formulated in her head.
She looked through her spyglass, holding a griffin feather over her eyes, just in case. "There are about 500 of them. They have archers, riders, and foot men. They are about 1500 metres away." She looked back at her men. "In position, ready to fire!" She barked. All the men readied themselves, crouching at the wall. "As soon as they are in range, I will give the command! Aim for the archers and the riders. Archers first, riders second! If you see a commander, aim for him!"
She watched. Closer and closer they pulled, the archers readying their bows. Kel almost wanted to laugh at them. Her men couldn't make a shot that far, and already they were preparing? Finally, they pulled up close enough to shoot.
"Ready to fire!" She called, and a row of hands pulled back the strings in time. "Fire!" She yelled, and a hail of arrows poured down. She saw at least fifty men fall. "Fire at will!" She yelled. Arrows flying all around her, she turned and ran down the stairs.
"Francis! Are we ready?"
"Yes sir!" He said. Kel was the commander of the forces, as the second in command was in the infirmary, and the commander was busy with other men.
"I'm not sending your men out there. They will be massacred. There are at least 400 men out there still, but by the time they are close enough to shoot over the wall, I think they should be down to about 250."
Francis nodded. "What is the plan of action?"
Kel looked up at the wall. Fifty men, and plenty of room. "I want 25 of your best archers on the wall right now. The rest on horses and ready to fight."
Francis nodded. He had a hundred men on the ground, and in a few minutes, they would be mounted and ready for battle. Kel only hoped the odds would be better. She ran back up to the top of the wall. She kneeled down to avoid getting hit, and took out her spyglass. She saw someone galloping up at the very back of the army, at least three hundred metres farther away. She didn't have time to think about an emergency messenger. She had to think about her men.
"Keep your shots steady, men! I don't want to find any arrows in the dirt, every one of them should be in a man!"
And she watched as the Scanran army thinned out.
The battle was stopped right in the middle. The messenger Kel had seen was telling the commanders that they were not authorized to attack, and that Scanra had surrendered the evening before.
The Tortallans had already killed 350 of their men.
Kel sat down in her usual seat at supper and thought about it. She was going home. For six years, they had done nothing but fight. She had been offered leave twice, but both had come at bad times, at times when Kel was needed at Tagnot.
She hadn't seen any of her friends in such a long time. The last time she saw Neal was when she left New Hope. Would he still consider her his best friend? Would Merric, Owen, Seaver, and all of her other friends from school even remember her? They would remember her name and her legend, but would they remember that they were her friend? Would Yuki? Or would she see Kel as only a fighter, no longer the girl she grew up with?
And what about Dom? Would Kel still get the flutters in her stomach that she had gotten so many years ago? When she had been apart from Cleon for a few months they disappeared. Would the same thing happen?
She shivered. Would they even all still be alive? She felt a tear fall down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away, and blinked back the rest. She couldn't cry, sitting in the middle of the mess hall. "Will they still be there for me?" She whispered to herself. She quickly stood up and brought her plate to the kitchen.
"Evening, Lady Keladry." Damon said. He was a sweet young private who had always been nice to Kel. He was on duty in the kitchens. Kel smiled weakly. She liked Damon well enough, he was just always so boring. "You didn't finish your supper." He said, looking at her plate. "You always finish your supper. Especially after a battle."
Kel shrugged. "I wasn't hungry." She muttered, and walked quickly out the back door.
Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock at her room's door. Jump leapt off the bed and started barking.
"Good evening, Keladry." Alan said when she opened the door. He reached down and patted Jump on the head, who instantly stopped barking at his touch.
"Good evening, sir." Kel said to her commander. He was a small man, and he didn't look very intimidating, but he was a fierce leader. His strawberry hair was in his eyes, as it always was. He was constantly interrupting himself to blow it out of his face.
"You had already left when I made the announcement. Pack your bags, you leave tomorrow."
Kel raised an eyebrow. "Tomorrow?"
He nodded briskly. "Yes. The first group of men are going tomorrow, and I decided that you would command them on the way back. Of all the commanders, you've gone the longest without leave, so it makes sense that you go home first."
Kel nodded. "Thank you, sir."
He nodded and turned. "Goodnight, Lady Keladry." He closed the door behind him.
Kel sighed. "I guess this means I have to pack, doesn't it?" She looked down at Jump, who gave a little yelp. "Yes, it does." She sighed, and got to work.
Well, there's the first chapter! I really like this story! It makes me happy.
Please review, I love reviews, and I actually want to get a lot on this one! My other ones have been out so long, and they still only have about a hundred, at the most!
Love you all!
-unolimbo