A/N: Hey there! So I love kel, and most certainly K/D, and when I saw the update date and current date I gained permission to continue this fanfic! This was first called Time Will Change but is now under the current title. Thanks to sokkr-rox, whose this was originally. I will post the same average size of chapters as they did, starting with the chapter already put out then some of my own. If you have any ideas or want to help with what you think sould happen, don't be afraid to review or PM me.
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Ilane of Mindelan asked her daughter.
"Yes, Mother, I'm sure. I would like to complete my training as an imperial lady of the Emperor's Court!"
"I understand," Ilane replied, "I just don't want to leave you."
"It's alright, mother, I will train hard, and I will make you proud!"
"I know you will, my dear," Keladry's mother sighed. "I am more worried about myself than I am about you."
"Have a good voyage! Stay safe!" Oh, dear Mother Goddess, make sure they stay safe.
That had been over a year ago. Now Keladry of Mindelan sat among the other imperial ladies and meditated. She often had flashbacks during these times. After all, the whole purpose of meditating was to reflect upon your life, and the choices you made. Kel often wondered what her life would have been like if she had gone back to Tortall with her parents when she was ten.
Kel didn't have very many friends, but those she had loved her very much. She wondered if she would have had great friends in Tortall, or if they would have rejected her as these people used to. She had been a very expressive child, which made her an outcast among the Yamani people, who always hid their emotions behind masks.
When Kel had first come to the Islands when she was but six years old, she had contented herself with calling them names, such as 'Lump' and 'Cow' because they expressed their feelings so little. Kel herself had been an outcast, for her face could be read like an open book.
The Yamanis rejected her, yet she soon learned to school her features into calmness. She always imagined a calm, cool lake where no wind blew. This was how she imagined herself, when she felt like she would break down. She often felt this way, as if a dam inside her would break down and wash all of her control away.
When foreigners came, they thought that the Yamanis felt nothing, as they could not see it. Little did they know, the Yamanis usually felt more, because it was all bottled up inside, and had no way to get out, unless you let it.
Before her parents left, Kel would often cry in the safety of their rooms, as her parents understood. They felt that no child should have to feel rejected and closed all of the time, though they were forcing it on their own child.
After they left, Kel searched for ways in which she could let everything out without anyone knowing. She would try and cry in her room, but it didn't hold the same level of comfort as it did with her parents. There was also a chance of being heard. In her parents' suite, they were left relatively alone, as they were very important to the emperor. Keladry, meanwhile, had no reason to be left alone, and was therefore constantly bothered by her friends and neighbors.
A constant visitor to her rooms was Shinko, or Cricket, and Yuki. A few years after her parents had returned to Tortall, Kel had discovered that Cricket was in fact a second princess! This had come as quite a shock, as Shinko had been her childhood friend.
Kel had first met Cricket in a market place when she was but seven years old. She had been hiding behind her mother's skirts, as she did often when out in public. Many commoners would stop what they were doing and watch this foreigner of the Emperor's Court.
There was, however, one girl who just kept on playing. She was running around holding a string, which she was waving behind her. A short while after she had run through, a little dog followed her. He was quite small, and yipped with joy as it chased the colorful string. The girl frequently glanced back at the dog as she made her way, as if assuring herself that he was still following. During one of these periods, before she could turn around, she ran straight into Ilane.
"Ouf!" the girl cried out as she ran head on into Ilane. She tried to keep from bursting into tears. "I'm awfully sorry, ma'am. I didna mean to crash!"
"Oh," Ilane couldn't help but be sympathetic on this poor street urchin, "that's alright."
"But I shoulda been watching where I was going, ma'am, the blame's all mine."
"No, no," Ilane tried to keep the pity from her face in front of the crowd, "Just run along and try and stay out of the way."
"Thank you very much, ma'am, I'll try and return the favor someday." And with that, the girl was off, her little dog following the string.
It was at this moment that Kel knew that if she ever came across this girl again, she would try and be friends.
Though Shinko was normally quiet and serene, this was only when she was in public. When she was with her friends, or masquerading as a commoner on the street, she was very energetic and hyper. Though it would not appear that she was anything but indifferent, those close to her could always tell when she was excited or sad.
"Kel, is there a boy that you like?" This was often a question that Shinko would ask when the conversation got dull. Kel would always put up a fight, and deny any feelings. One thing that Shinko was known for was for stirring up and getting excited by the smallest bit of gossip. The same went for Yuki, as long as it concerned boys.
"No!" Kel protested, all the while starting to blush a faint pink.
"Kel, is there a boy that you love?" Yuki threw in almost as an afterthought.
"There is most definitely not, and even if there was I wouldn't tell you!" Kel was starting to become so flustered that she pulled out her fan to keep them from probing further.
"Come on, Kel! There's nothing to talk about!" The second princess was never one to laze about. Currently she was trying very hard not to jump up and down at the prospect of finally getting something out of the steel walls of Keladry of Mindelan.
"We know you're hiding something!" Yuki's eyes were dancing. "Are you sure you don't want to tell us? You know we'll get it out of you eventually!"
"You guys never do give up, do you?" Kel looked like she was about to faint from embarrassment "Fine, I'll tell!"
"Ooh! Finally, Kel gives me something to work with!" Though the Emperor frowned upon it, Shinko often embroidered the dresses that she ordered from the seamstress, rather than get someone else to do it. Now that she would know the man that Kel wanted to draw the attention of, she could embroider Kel's dresses with the things that that specific man was known to like.
All right, here goes, Kel. "Though you may not believe me, as it seems very implausible and it has not been very long, I am currently courting Shang."
"Shang!" Yuki was astonished. Though she had always had high hopes for her friend, Shang was one of the most desirable men in the Emperor's Court. "When are you going to make this public?"
"I'm not sure. We are taking it slow and do not want to alert people yet. We will make ourselves known when we feel we are ready."
"I'm proud of you Kel!" Yuki was indeed very happy for her friend, though slightly fearful. There were many notorious men in Court, yet there were a few that none were sure about.
Suddenly the gong sounded, signaling the end of the meditation period. Kel was glad it had rung when it had. The rest of that memory was too painful to go through a second time.