Disclaimer: You know the drill anything familiar goes to Tamora Pierce, otherwise its mine.
WARNING! Contains rape and assault, if you are sensitive to this sort of thing, then do NOT read. Rated M for safety.
Joren and his friends grinned at each other when they noticed that Kel was alone. They had come upon her by chance seeing her enter the woods, wondering when they could implement their final plan to try and drive her away from her knighthood. Joren had never thought that an opportunity to act upon this would have presented itself so readily. Silently, one of Joren's friends stalked forward and grabbed Kel from behind, imprisoning her arms in his iron grip.
Kel cried out in surprise and struggled to get herself into a position in which she could fight back, or at least weaken his hold. "Now, now, now, I won't have any of that Keladry." Joren told her as they dragged her deeper into the woods.
Unseen by either Kel or Joren a small bird darted away after following the two. It was all but a blur in its hurry to get wherever it was going.
Vinson threw her to the ground when they were deep inside of the woods. He smirked, this was far too easy, he had known that girls couldn't cut it. Joren leaned against a tree as he watched his friends begin the assault.
Kel scrambled to her feet and prepared herself to fight back. As soon as one came close enough she struck him, however, her hit was deflected. Seemingly out of nowhere his hand flew out and smacked her across the face. Kel's cheek turned cherry red from the impact. She fought the panic that was beginning to rise as she continued to defend herself from their attacks. Nothing she did seemed to be able to stop them permanently, they kept attacking and she was just getting weaker from their constant barrage of attacks.
Vinson stuck his foot out and sent Kel falling to the floor, she tried to get up but he shoved her and pinned her down to the ground with his foot. Kel cringed away from him, still futilely trying to escape from him. He grinned mercilessly down at her - he relished in her fear of him - and broke her arm, grinning at the crunching sound underneath his left foot. Kel cried out in pain and moved her other hand to jab him in the eye. She was successful and rolled him off of her. Before she could get up, someone kicked her in the ribs, most likely cracking the bones.
"Maybe this will drive you away, since nothing else seems to have been able to, slut." An unfamiliar knight spat at her. Kel was stuck on the ground, beaten, cringing, waiting for the next rain of blows, silently praying to the Goddess for help.
"That's enough boys, why don't you run along. This little slut and I have something to take care of, something that has been a long time in coming." Joren drawled, but the request was more of command. His gaze was icy as he stared down into her face.
Once his friends were out of sight Joren began his own version of assaulting Kel. Joren reached down and tore her tunic off. Kel lost all hope of escaping this as he continued to remove her clothing. She tried to keep herself calm, at least on the outside, not wanting him to have the added pleasure of seeing her in tears. He did not stop removing her clothing until she was completely naked. Kel fought him the entire way, attempting to save herself. To stop her, he pinned her to the ground by sitting on her stomach, holding her arms in one hand above her head.
He taunted her, dragging his hands slowly up and down her body, lingering at her chest. Kel, attempting to take him by surprise, attempted to roll over to try and knock him off of her body. "Keladry, is that the best you could do? I can't say that I'm surprised, I always knew all women were weak, even you." Joren taunted her.
"Get your filthy hands off of me you asshole." Kel spat at him. This just made Joren grin wider, and continue his ministrations with vigor. Every touch was torture, but she knew it would be nothing compared to what was coming next. Kel saw Joren reach to unlace his trousers and renewed her struggles, even more desperate than before to escape him. He, however, stopped her and removed his trousers. He positioned himself and thrust.
Kel, trying to distract herself from what was being done to her, stared at the branches of the trees overhead, straining to hear something other than her own gasps of pain and Joren's grunts. Just as this torture was starting to draw to a close she heard footsteps running through the woods, coming closer. "Help! Please help me." Kel begged to whoever was approaching. "I'm over here! Help!" Kel couldn't stop her distress and desperation from showing in her voice.
Joren's hand snaked up to cover her mouth, "Now, now, now, we wouldn't want your rescuer coming too soon would we?"
Kel bit the hand covering her mouth and continued to call out. She wriggled her body underneath Joren, straining to see who was coming. She saw Dom, thankfully not someone else coming to hurt her. Joren finished up his assault and turned to face Kel's rescuer.
"Well, well, well, looks like our lady's rescuer has finally come, but I'm afraid you're a little late." Joren taunted Dom, on his face a smirk that showed his satisfaction for the atrocity he committed. "I've finished with her, she may be a little worse than how we found her. But you can have her now, she may be damaged, but its nothing that will kill her if you want a go."
"Get the hell away from her." Dom seethed at Joren. Anger and hatred were radiating from his body. He approached, getting ready to swing.
"No problem," Joren said casually as he began to walk away. "As I said I'm done here, I'll leave you to pick up the pieces."
Dom punched Joren straight in the nose before he could get away. "Kel?" Dom moved very slowly, not wanting to frighten her. "He's gone, I'm here to help you."
"Help me, get me out of here, please." Kel's voice and eyes were dead; she had her Yamani face on keeping all emotion from showing. "I just want to leave."
Ever so carefully, Dom approached, still trying not to spook her. "Kel, where are your clothes? Are they still usable?"
"I've got them, and yes, I can still use them for now." Her voice still gave away nothing of what she was feeling, she had effectively cut off her emotions, not allowing it to surface.
Dom turned to give Kel privacy as she got back into the rags that were her clothes. "Come with me, you need to see a healer," he urged. "Let's go see Neal, he'll ask questions, but at least we know he won't spread rumors around."
"NO!" Finally, she let emotion color her voice, even if it was only to be obstinate. "I can't go see him, not this way. He would want to know what happened and I-I don't think that I could tell him."
"You need help, and we know that he is trust worthy. If you don't come willingly I will carry you." Dom knew it was low to threaten her, especially considering what had just happened, but they didn't have the time to debate this. Kel needed a healer as soon as possible.
"Fine," Kel snapped. "I'll go." Dom was amazed that she even had the strength to try and argue with him let alone walk to Neal's tent, but she managed both, with a little help. They paused outside of Neal's tent for a few seconds, both stealing themselves for Neal's reaction. Dom pulled back the tent flap and called out, "Neal, you here?"
"Here!" Neal's voice came out of the tent. "Come on in! To what do I owe this pleasure cousin? Oh, Kel too well this is just gr-" Neal abruptly cut off his sentence when he saw the bruises and lacerations on Kel's exposed skin. Kel lifted her head up and Neal saw even more of her injuries. "Gods." He breathed, eyes wide, unable to process what he was seeing. "Kel, sit, please, let me help you. What happened?" Kel looked to Dom to explain for her while she moved to sit down.
As Neal started healing Kel's injuries Dom began to explain what happened. "Kel, hold on, you've got fractured ribs and your arm is definitely broken, this is going to sting." Kel winced as each bone was mended, sighing with relief as the pain faded. Neal moved to heal the larger cuts and her split lip, leaving only the small scratches and bruises to heal on their own.
Neal swayed, his skin had turned a pale gray from the use of so much of his gift. "That should be good for now, it's all I can do without completely draining myself. Dom, take her back to her tent to get some sleep and make sure she gets a lot of food when she wakes up."
"C'mon Kel, let's get you back and in bed before you pass out on us." Kel too was swaying as Dom began to lead her away. They made it to her tent without encountering anybody and Dom made sure she was in safely in her bed before going into Raoul's tent next door to tell him what had happened.
"WHAT?" Raoul shouted, when Dom told him what had happened. "I'm going to kill that bastard, I don't care if the Stone Mountains are one of the more powerful families in the realm, he is going to pay!"
"Quiet, I don't want you to wake her. She needs the rest from all of the healing Neal did on her. Gods, I would have gone after the bastard if I could have, I did get a good punch in though before he fled. However, I couldn't have left her there all alone, practically defenseless." Dom stated, trying not to let his anger get the best of him. "I've been thinking, he couldn't have done it alone, there is no way. I don't think Kel could have been bruised so badly without fighting back and leaving plenty of injuries herself, he must have had help."
"I agree, there is no way he could have gotten away unscathed." With that the two began to devise a plan to get Kel to tell them who else had attacked her, before Joren had molested her.
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Kel had slept for two days straight. In those two days a lot had happened. For starters, she had been moved from her tent adjacent to Raoul's into a room in the castle they were staying near. When she woke up she saw her mother and old friend Yuki sitting at her bedside. Kel remembered what had happened before she had slept and was horrified all over again.
"Do you know? D-did Dom tell you?" Kel asked with uncertainty coloring her voice, trying to keep a lid on her emotions. She studied her hands, carefully avoiding their gaze.
"Yes, he told us how he found you, but he didn't go into specifics, he said that if you wanted us to know he would let you tell us." Ilane responded to her youngest daughter, concern showing in her expression. "Also, they arrested the men that attacked you, all you need to do is verify that it was each of them and name any of those that were missing. After that they will be sentenced."
"Thank you, Mamma." Kel said, squeezing her eyes shut, trying desperately not to cry at the thought. "I-I want to get this behind me as quickly as possible." Kel had thought that she would be mad at Dom for interfering so much with the incident, but she ended up feeling relieved. She was glad that she didn't have to actually say what had happened to her. It was easier this way. This way she didn't have to let them see how truly broken inside she was.
"I know baby, I know." Kel's mother moved to sit on Kel's bed and embraced her. "It's okay to cry. Let it all out." Kel couldn't however, her eyes remained dry, she felt numb for the moment, still trying not to feel what was deep inside of her.
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Ilane and Yuki stayed with Kel for much of the day, but left when Dom came in to check up on her. Ilane stopped at the doorway before she left the room and gripped Dom's shoulder.
"She's not dealing with it, Dom. I'm worried about her, she's my baby girl and I don't know how to help her!" Ilane whispered into Dom's ear. "Please, if you can, help her!"
Dom placed his hand on top of hers, looked her strait and nodded in assent, silently promising to do his best. Ilane left the room, giving the two of them some time alone.
"Hi." Said Dom, wary, unsure of how she felt towards him at the moment. She was sitting on the ground, playing with Jump. He saw the blankness in her stare as she turned to look at him; it worried him. "I just wanted to see how you were holding up."
"I'm fine, see?" She said putting fake enthusiasm into her words. She smiled up at him, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "I'm healing, look my bruises are fading and my bones are fine after the healing Neal worked on me."
"Kel, that is not what I meant and you know it." Dom sighed, slightly aggravated, Ilane had warned that she was not dealing with what had happened. He slowly walked forward and knelt down next to her, staring into her downturned face. "Please, Kel, tell me what you are feeling." He begged, desperate to get inside her mind. He hated that blank Yamani face she put one whenever there was something truly bothering her, he hated that she would hide her soul away with that face.
"I told you," she replied stubbornly. "I'm fine."
"If you insist, Kel." Dom sighed wondering how long she was going to pretend to be ok.
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Dom visited Kel everyday after she came around. After two weeks of the same unresponsiveness he began to lose his patience.
"Kel, you need to stop ignoring this. You need to talk about it." He tried to reason with her.
"I told you, I'm not ignoring anything, I'm fine." Kel insisted yet again. Dom was sick and tired of this routine they had gotten into.
"Fine, if that's the way you're going to be maybe I won't try to help you any more!" He snapped at her. "I'll just leave and let you deal with this on your own!" Dom stormed out of the room not looking back.
Kel looked down at her hands. She was happy that she could avoid a longer confrontation about what had happened, but for some reason she was also upset. She actually wanted Dom there, around her, even though he was a constant reminder of what had happened. It was better just to push him away.
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Dom didn't return for two days. When he finally did, he looked as if he hadn't slept at all. His hair was mussed and his eyes were bloodshot.
"Kel, will you talk about it now?" Dom demanded as soon as he stepped through her doorway and shut the door. He saw that her Yamani face was still on, even as she took in his ragged appearance.
"There's nothing to talk about." Kel stated emotionlessly, she hadn't even shown surprise at his abnormal appearance. "I told you this before, I'm fine." She looked at her lap as she spoke to him; she hadn't met his eyes since before she had been attacked.
"Please, Kel. Stop hiding your emotions," Dom begged. "This isn't good for you. You're letting them win."
"I'm not hiding anything." Kel denied, still not allowing emotion to escape her grip on it, glancing up at him. "If this bothers you so much you can go and leave me alone."
"No, I'm not leaving again, Kel." Dom stared down into her blank hazel eyes. They didn't have their usual dreamy happiness gleaming through anymore.
"I don't need to talk about it. Just leave." Kel looked down at her lap once again, refusing to meet his eyes as she spat out her next words. She knew she wouldn't be able to do it if she had to look him in the eye. "I don't need you. I need you to stay away from me. I don't want you to come see me anymore. I don't want you here."
"Stop it! Tell me you don't mean that!" He yelled. "Don't you see what you're doing to me?" Agony ripped through him, he couldn't believe how much her words were tearing him apart. The pain in his voice caused Kel to look up at him. His sapphire eyes were smoldering with the emotions running through him. "I LOVE you, Kel. I can't stand to see you this way, shut off from everyone who gives a damn about you."
"What?" This broke through her mask. Her eyes widened with shock, this was the last thing she expected to hear from him. Especially after the way he had found her in the woods.
"Shit, Kel, I-uh-I didn't want to tell you this way, Kel." Dom blushed beet red; embarrassed that he let it slip. He ran a hand through his hair, looking down at his feet.
"Why?" She demanded. "Why do you love me? I'm tainted. Why would you want that?" Finally, emotion from that night was beginning to show through. Tears welled up in her eyes threatening to spill over. Dom reached forward around pulled her to his chest.
"I love you because you are a strong, beautiful girl who won't let anyone walk over you." Dom whispered in her ear.
"But I'm broken, they wanted to break me. Make it so I wouldn't continue trying for my knighthood." She whispered back. Not wanting to believe this was really happening as she began to cry, burying her face in his chest.
"You're not broken, just damaged. We can fix that." Dom assured her. Stroking her hair to attempt to comfort her. "You're unbreakable."
"No one's unbreakable, Dom." Kel sobbed, unable to accept what he was saying for a moment.
"Not by themselves, but with friends and family, we won't let each other be broken." Dom contradicted. "We won't let you break Kel, you're too good to let those monsters win." Kel looked up at Dom, wanting to believe him.
"I won't let them win." Kel said resolve hardening her voice and drying her tears. "I won't quit. I won't give up. They can't make me. I will do everything I can to make sure they never do anything like this again."
"And that is why I love you." Dom smiled down at her and cupped her tearstained cheek. He leaned forward and gently kissed her on the lips.
A/N: Sorry I haven't posted anything in about a month, one of my friendsconvinced me to do NaNoWriMo. The same friend who also proofreads all of my stuff, *cough, cough* Oletta. I love her to death, even when I am harassing her to finish proofreading so I can post. If any of you are reading my other story, hopefully I should update within the next two weeks, the next chapter is almost ready.