Lo' everyone everywhere. More stuff to burn off writers block but this is going to be a new chapter story

Dedicated to Stacey for finally starting to read the books.

Special thanks to:

Stephanie- Thanks so much for helping decide all the stuff for the plot I seriously don't think I could have decided between Dom and Neal for the pairing in this if you hadn't helped. Also for choosing all the other things out of my mess of ideas.

Matt- Thanks for the help. When I've had pop I get too many ideas and I just can't choose so I get stuck.

Disclaimer: You all should know what this is for and if you don't go read someone else disclaimer.

Chapter 1

Attack

It was late in December, and the temperature had dropped considerably below the usual cold of the winter months on the border. It had been a hard winter at New Hope; the Scanrans just kept attacking, especially in the cold weather. Neal had informed Kel not to long ago that he suspected the Scanrans either had a heating spell, which he would like to get his hands on, or were behind the freezing weather. For Kel it didn't matter which it was, she just bundled up in as many layers as she could while still being mobile.

Shivering, Kel walked quickly to the mess tent. The quicker she got into the building, the quicker she would be almost warm again. While she was outside, only the walls around New Hope stopped the cold wind from hitting full force. The walls couldn't keep out to cold temperature, however.

"Kel, over here," Merric called from a table near the back of the room. Kel never sat at the front table for breakfast.

Kel walked over to the line for food and grabbed a tray. Quickly she grabbed her food and then walked over to where Merric sat.

"You're up early, aren't you, Merric?" Kel asked as she sat down across from him.

"Couldn't sleep," Merric said. "It's too gods-cursed cold to sleep."

"I agree. It is worse for the refugees though," Kel replied, eyeing the few refugees that were in the mess hall.

"You always did care a lot about commoners oh mighty Protector of the Small," Merric said, looking at the refugees too.

Kel didn't get a chance to respond to this because at that very moment a man ran into the mess yelling that the fort was under an attack. Kel and Merric leaped to their feet and ran toward their different rooms to get their weapons.

Tobe met Kel halfway there, carrying her glaive and sword. "Tobe, saddle Peachblossom up for me. I'll need him ready if we have to ride out to get rid of the Scanrans," Kel ordered him as she ran toward the stairs that lead up the wall.

"How many are there?" Kel asked a very rumpled-looking Neal as she reached the top of the stairs.

"Three hundred or so," Neal said worriedly. "There could be more in the woods, though."

"You take command; I'm going out with two squads. Have the archers ready to cover us," Kel said, running back down the steps before Neal could object.

"Sergeant Tager, Sergeant Ruben, get your squads and meet me at the gate," Kel said, heading toward where the gate where Tobe was waiting with Peachblossom.

"Lady, you be careful out there," Tobe said worriedly as she approached.

"Don't worry, Tobe; I will be. Now, please, go up on the wall and see if Neal needs you for anything," said Kel, mounting Peachblossom and taking her glaive back from Tobe who had been holding it while she mounted up.

"I'm on my way, lady," Tobe said, scrambling to do as he was told.

Kel watched her young charge run up the stairs on the wall, and then she turned to the squads assembled around her. "Open the gate. Move out, men," Kel said, turning Peachblossom to face the gate as it was slowly opened.

Once the gate was open Kel whispered a command to Peachblossom, and the big gelding immediately took off through the gate. The enemy attacked the squads as they came closer. Several of the Scanrans separated Kel from the rest of her men. There were four of them, all looking scraggly and in poor health.

The first one to attack had a long, rusted sword that he tried to run her through with. Kel blocked the attack and hit the man behind her in the belly as he tried to stab her with dagger. Then she used her glaive to slit the first man's throat and gut the second man. The other two men quickly advanced as their comrades fell.

One of them tried to drag her from her saddle, while the other made a quick motion with his blade. Suddenly Kel's saddle slipped, and she was falling. The man had cut her saddle from Peachblossom's back. Kel quickly tried to grab something to keep her on the big gelding, but there was nothing for her to grab.

She hit the ground on her side, but her head came down hard onto a rock. There were a few moments of time that passed as Kel lay there, her vision becoming blurry. Then she saw a figure lean over her and pry her glaive from her hand. She saw the blurry figure throw the weapon away, and then everything went black.

A/N I hope you like it, and will go review. I would really like it if you did.

-Krissy-