A/N: Well, I've written several stories, but this is the first one I've actually posted. I believe my next Tammy fic will be a Daine/Kaddar romance, so sorry Daine/Numair shippers. I never liked that pairing. Also, soon I'll have a Harry Potter fic, and Lord of the Rings. I do plan on updating regularly, so the story won't just rot in my computer. I wrote this because I tired of stories where Kel was denied the chance to return, and went to Shang. Shang doesn't accept people over the age of six! Eleven is far too old to become a Shang warrior! I have not yet decided on the ship, but it will probably end up being Kel/Dom, with possible hints of Kel/Neal. Enjoy! Please review
Disclaimer: You know the ropes.........I don't own anything except for the plot, and characters you don't recognize it. Nor could I make money off of them if I tried. So don't credit me with anything. Well, nothing that should be credited to Tammy.
The servingman bowed to Kel, then opened the door and announced her. She entered the office, listening to the door as it closed at her back.
Lord Wyldon stood with his back to her, staring through a window that opened onto a palace rose garden. Was he looking at flowers, she wondered, or maybe at the nobles who walked there as the skies grew dark?
"You sent for me, my lord," she said.
Lord Wyldon sighed and turned. "Sit down, girl."
Kel hesitated, then sat
Wyldon absently massaged his right arm. "I want you to listen to me. I speak to you as I would to my daughters."
Kel blinked at him, startled. She supposed she knew that Lord Wyldon had a wife and family, but she had forgotten it. It was hard to imagine him with any life other than that of training master to the pages and squires.
"Now that you have made your point, consider the future. Soon your body will change. The things that you will want from life as a maiden will change. Pursue the course you have and you might be crippled by an accident." He looked at his right arm and smiled crookedly. "What if you fall in love? What if you come to grief, or cause others to do so, because your thoughts are on you heart and not combat? This year was the easiest."
You think so? She asked him silently. It wasn't your year was it? She opened her mouth to reply.
"Not now," he said, raising his hand. "Do not answer me now. Go home and think about it." He sighed. "You are dismissed."
She had to hear him say it. "I can't come back, then."
The training master shook his head wearily. "I will not deny that you have excelled in both academic and physical training. However, having a maiden among us will soon become a liability. I do what I think is best both for you and the lads. You may not return."
Kel stood, carefully schooling her face not to show her disappointment and anger. "As you wish, my lord," she responded, her voice trembling slightly as she exited the room.
Kel first went to her room, and dragged her things out to the hall, where the servingmen would come and fetch them to her parents' home in Corus. Most of the pages would just be leaving their things in their rooms, but of course they would be returning the next year. She then went to Neal's room, where she knew her friend waited for word.
Neal and Roald were both there. They looked up with worried faces as she entered. Neal stood and walked to embrace Kel tightly.
"You were right," Kel said, returning Neal's embrace, and giving Roald one of her own. "Tell everyone good-bye for me."
"It's not right!" Roald exclaimed with surprising vehemence for one usually quiet.
Kel looked at him sadly, wishing she did not have to leave such loyal friends.
"Where will you go?" Neal asked, his voice shaking.
Kel gave him a weak smile. "Wherever I want," she answered. "But I'll let you know." And with that, she left, before she had Merric, Cleon, Esmond, Seaver, and Faleron after her to say good-bye also.
Kel took her time as she walked to her house in Corus. Where will I go? she wondered. I would return to Mindelan, but for my sisters-in-law. I don't think I could bear staying in Corus, and seeing my friends become what I could not. She had to fight to keep herself from shaking both in anger and sadness. And what of my friends? I don't want to just leave them. However, just as I don't want to hear my sisters-in-law remarks, neither do I want those of Joren and his cronies.
She was so caught in her thoughts that she did not realize when she reached the Mindelans' residence. Her mother answered the door. She took one look at her daughter's face, and hugged her tightly.
They went to sit in the parlor. Kel's father, Piers, joined them, and sat next to Kel. "Do you want to return to Mindelan?" he asked.
Kel shook her head.
"And I know you don't want to go to the convent."
Kel looked at him, completely shocked that he had even suggested it.
"And I doubt you want to stay here," Ilane remarked, correctly interpreting the look on her daughter's face. "There is a ship setting sail for the Yamani Isles. You don't have anymore kimonos that fit, as you have grown a lot. We would have to get you fitted. Can you be ready in three days time?"
Kel raised her head to look at her mother. "Could I really?" she asked, speaking for the first time since she was home.
Ilane smiled. "Let's get you packed."
A/N: Hope you like it! Let me know if you want more. This was mainly setting the scene, so the chapters will get longer. Merci beaucoup! Review please!