This is a fan made story. I don't own the rights to the Protector of the Small series, any of its characters belong to Tamora Pierce… Much to my disappointment. This goes AU about midway in the book Page. Fair warning. Constructive criticism is welcome but if you don't like it simply because you don't like the line of thinking, please don't attack me for it. This is mostly centered on Joren. This is also a slow build Kel/Joren.

Author's Note: I am diverging from the series starting here in a way. This is starting from just before the point where Joren should have gone back to Corus with Sir Paxton during Kel's third year. Instead, I had them go to Fief Trebond before going to Fief Nond and then on to Corus. So, Joren doesn't give his fake, dishonest apology but an honest one instead. Also, since I still wanted to still follow the general plot of the series, while it is AU it is mostly AU for Joren only, in part because it is from his perspective but there are points where I will be pulling directly from the books and I fully attribute those parts to Tamora Pierce.

Part 1: To Change One's Fate: Autumn 454

Joren wandered through the castle his knight-master had them stopped at for the next few days. He huffed at the location. It was a definitive progressive stronghold, Baron Coram Smythesson of Trebond had practically raised the Lioness and Baroness Rispah of Trebond was cousin to Baron George Cooper of Pirate's Swoop who was the Lioness's husband. Trebond was the birthplace of the Lioness as well. Joren practically sneered as he entered the library. His knight-master, Sir Paxton of Nond, had ordered him to find a book to entertain himself with while they were there.

The Nond family was supposed to be conservative, so Joren really would be a bit confused if he hadn't realized his mistake with choosing his knight-master only a few weeks into his time as a Squire. Sir Paxton was all for female knights, as it turned out, much to Joren's disgust. The man also went on and on about the necessity of having every fighter available being put to use with the newly returned immortals. He had even praised Sir Alanna's fighting prowess. Joren shuddered in distaste over his misfortune of accepting the wrong knight-master but decided that he would simply have to stick it out for the next four years until his Ordeal and do his best to maintain his principles until then.

This thought turned his mind to another female who still hadn't learnt her place. Keladry of Mindelan was still serving as a page, aiming for knighthood despite his best efforts. He wondered where his plans should go next to eliminate her when a voice startled him.

"I wouldn't keep up with that line of thought," The masculine voice held both power and humor, causing Joren to jump. It was also distinctly unsettling.

He quickly turned, expecting to see a servant or such who he would berate for addressing him without permission but instead found a glowing figure dress rather bizarrely in a sarong and wrap of all things. Joren immediately froze, his mouth half open from his intention to speak being stifled from shock.

"Not who you thought I would be, mhh?" the obvious god-like figure's voice still held a great deal of humor. Joren merely shook his head, too in awe now to speak. "Yes, well, that does happen when you meet a god for the first time. It also doesn't hurt that you have done quite a bit to honor me. Even if you didn't realize it, it still stands. I'm Kyprioth, in case you couldn't figure that out on your own."

Joren seemed to finally find both his voice and his courage but also his arrogance all at the same time, "Well, what do I owe to honor of the Trickster's attention? I'm not a thief so I can hardly see the purpose of drawing your attention." He realized as soon as he spoke these words, that they were a mistake but Kyprioth merely smirked.

"Oh, I cover much more than just thieves, my dear boy. Every time someone pulls a prank or practical joke, they honor me. Every time they cause mischief, they add to my glory. You and your friends have done quite a bit of that. You have even done it so much that you didn't just draw my attention but also the likes of Mithros and the Mother. Only, you see, my brother and sister, they aren't pleased in the slightest by your mischief. They have even taken to planning a punishment for you if you go too far. So, as your patron god, even if you didn't realize your actions made me such, I felt it was my duty to warn you of the dangers of the path you are on.

"Plus, it is annoying for me with my siblings glaring at me every time you prank Keladry of Mindelan. I really don't need their attentions too focused on me at the moment. It interferes with my own pranks. So, change your ways. Obey your knight-master. Do all the little things you are supposed to, learn your lessons and steer clear of messing with the girl," Kyprioth finished with a flourish but didn't leave immediately. He was far too used to his followers being irreverent and disobedient to actually expect the boy to simply listen to him and do as he was told.

Joren laughed, much to Kyprioth's amusement before asking, "What's it to me? It sounds more like you're planning some sort of mischief and don't want the other gods to pay any attention to you. Why would you care what happens to me? Besides, I seriously doubt that Mithros would be disappointed with my plans to right the imbalance of women becoming fighters, it isn't natural. For all I know you are trying to thwart Mithros's plans by driving me from my path." Joren had become more confident as the god in question didn't seem to care about his insolence at all.

Kyprioth shrugged before gesturing for Joren to follow him. He led the 14-year-old boy to a fire and waved his hand above the fire, "I am actually doing this as a favor to you as one of my followers. Believe it or not, I don't have so many of you that I would just let one who has been so dedicated to simply get himself killed by sheer stupidity. This is your fate if you disregard me. Look long and hard at it. I like your mischief, just direct it into less harmful avenues or you will regret it."

With this the god vanished, leaving an image of the chamber of Ordeal opening on Joren's dead body shimmering in the fire. Joren, for the first time since he recovered from the fact that he was in the presence of a god, was visibly shaken. As he stood there staring into the flames, he heard the god's voice one last time, "Also, I recommend actually thinking about why you are so obsessed with the girl. After all, it isn't just her gender since you know there isn't any real way to stop her or others like her from gaining their knighthood."

After the god's parting words, the image in the flame vanished but the boy continued to stare at the fire contemplating the words of the god and the knowledge that if he didn't change his path, he would be dead in less than four years. A good half hour of his staring passed before a noise startled him again, this time he looked like he had seen a ghost when he turned to face the person interrupting his thoughts. It was Baroness Rispah, setting some books on the nearby table.

"Sorry about that. I know Kyprioth visited you. He paid me a visit as well. Although, I suspect I am a little more comfortable with him. He has never been shy with his followers, unlike some other gods. Anyways, if you're looking for a place to start, these books should help you. Also, listen and follow your knight-master's instructions. Take what he says to heart. He grew up in a conservative family but still learnt to adapt to the need of looking forward. You can as well. You can keep these books. They see little use here at the moment," With this the Baroness left, the books laying the table.

Joren walked over to the table and picked up the books. The first was the code of Chivalry. The fact that it was at the top of the list struck him as surprising since it was something that had been drilled into him and his peers during their page years. The second book was a history of female knights. This one made him sneer but he ignored the distaste and looked at the third and final book. It was, surprisingly, a rather old, dusty, and musty copy of a book simply entitled How to Court a Lady Knight Without Causing Offense.

This was the most offensive of the three books but after a moment's hesitation, Joren collected all three and, careful to avoid others, made his way back to his rooms. The book on chivalry stayed out so he could present his 'reading choice' to Sir Paxton, but the other two carefully and artfully were concealed within his personal saddle bags. It was more a matter of embarrassment about them that he hid them rather than any guilt. After all, the Baroness had literally told him to keep the books.

He then decided that if he really didn't want to die because of his own actions, he had best get to his god-assigned reading and opened up the first page of the book on chivalry and began studying it in a way that he never had as a page. An hour later, when Sir Paxton came to check on him, he asked Joren what he was reading so intently. When the boy replied, Paxton, much to the boy's surprise, offered to explain anything that confused him and showed pride at the reading material and left the boy to his studying.

Joren realized that this was the first time Sir Paxton had shown his absolute approval of his actions and that caused him to think back over the past two months and realized that the man had only shown clear disproval over much of his reading material and opinions. This impressed on him to push further into reading the book. As he did this, he realized that much of his actions as a page had, in truth, been the very opposite of chivalry. As such, he had been going away from rather than towards his knighthood. He ended up reading until Sir Paxton collected him for dinner and he then started to ask questions of both Paxton and Baron Coram.

In the end, most of the conversation over the course of the next few days involved the basics of chivalry. Baron Coram even shared a few anecdotes about the time Sir Alanna spent as a page and squire. Joren was surprised that, unlike Keladry, who seemed to be a natural with both fighting and weapons and was naturally tall and big-boned, the Lioness had to work against her much smaller stature in building strength and put in extensive practice with weaponry beyond her normal training.

Coram explained that while females were typically naturally smaller due to their bone structures, they could often times overcome this with building up agility and stamina making them more than capable of holding their own against others. Doing so could often actually put them at an advantage to some men who merely rely on their brute strength rather than genuine skill to win a fight. Joren took this information to heart because such could also be applied to smaller fighters in general.

By the end of their stay, while Joren still felt that women in general shouldn't be warriors, it was simply too soon for him to completely change his stance, he felt that it was possible for there to be some exceptions to that rule. Sir Alanna had obviously had the Goddess's permission to do so and thus was one such example. Page Keladry, he conceded, could be another since she was clearly built more in the scale of a man and had never really been raised to behave as a lady should. He used this to reconcile the fact that he would no longer interfere with the girl. Peasant women could, of course, choose to join the Queen's Riders if they wished, since they were never raised delicately in the first place. As for the rest of the noble women, well, he decided that they clearly knew that a warrior's life wasn't for them.

Despite all this, he completely ignored that fact that many noble women did fight to defend their homes when their husbands were away, his mother included. In the end, Kyprioth sighed. He knew that even if he had lost a follower, the boy was clearly on the path to be a strict follower of Mithros now, he had also caused a great deal of mischief for his siblings to sort through. The two other gods had not paid any mind as to why the boy had behaved as he had, only that he had behaved in such a way. He hoped that the young man actually would follow his heart and the path that Paxton of Nond would walk him down since those were the best odds for confounding his siblings and a good source of amusement for him as well.