Disclaimer: I Don't own PotS. So don't sue.
A Daughter's Pride
Part one: Arrivals
It was raining the day they walked off the ship; and not easy rain, either. It was hard rain. And it was thick, and it was depressing. To Duvin, who watched the group walk down the ramp, it seemed like the rain was a signal of sadness, of tears.
"It looks like a delegate ship," said Marcu, coming up next Duvin and gesturing towards the boat. "Yamani Islands by the looks of it."
"You think the delegations come back?" Caleb asked, pulling his hood back to let the rain hit his face.
"Probably," Marcu said.
Duvin frowned when he saw the large square, wooden crate being carried off of the ship. Everyone who had already climbed down the ramp stared at it as it was brought down. Two teenage girls, wrapped snugly in wool clothes and drenched to the bone, watched it be set down and stared at it for several moments before one of them cracked. "Can't be," Duvin said, referring to the ship, as the girl he watched kept crying, "Delegation's not due back for another two years." Duvin watched the girl cry and fall to her knees in grief. Her companion knelt down next to her and held her in her arms as she sobbed and shook with her tears. "And besides, if this is the delegation, than where's the Lady Knight?" he asked, shoving back his hood and pulling out his scarf from underneath his cloak. He wrapped it around his neck and head before finally pulling his hood back on.
"Good question," Marcu commented, just as the bell tolled for the third hour of the afternoon.
"C'mon, let's go," Duvin said, pulling on the reins to turn his horse around, "we've got work to do."
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Kaiei was not your typical girl. She looked like one, but she wasn't one.
That's the thought that wound its way through her head as she stared straight ahead and the training master looked her over.
"And you're how old?" Theron HaMinch said as he looked over the girl's recommendation from a warrior in the Yamani Islands.
"Thirteen and three months, sir."
"Hmmm…" Theron threw down the letters and stood up. He began pacing back and forth behind his desk, cracking his knuckles as he did so, and thoughts of how irritating he was began to pop into Kaiei's head.
"Why do you want to become a knight?" he finally asked, sitting down again and folding his hands in front of him on the desk.
"I want to serve my country," Kaiei said, breathing deep and thinking of stone, "and I want to keep its' people safe."
"No one's ever entirely safe, girl."
"I know," Kaiei said, "But I can try."
"Hmph," Theron said, staring down at the letter once again. Finally, he sighed and said, "Very well."
Kaiei nodded. "Thank you, sir."
"But be aware of the rules."
"Yes, sir."
"There are no boys in your room. If you are caught with one, you will be sent home."
"Sir." Like anyone would want me, Kaiei thought, remembering her first crush in the Yamani's.
"You don't fight. Period. Are we clear?"
"Yes."
"And don't give me crap about falling down, either. That excuse is over and no longer works." Theron sat back in his chair and said, "Now, there are other rules, but those two are the most important. The rest will be told to you by the servants and the other boys." Theron then sat forward and looked Kaiei straight in the eye. "Also, I would like to make one thing clear." Theron stood up, leaned forward, and almost touched noses with an unflinching Kaiei before growling, "I don't like female knights. I hate them. I think that your place should be at home, in a kitchen, but stupid laws say otherwise." Theron sat back in his chair and said, "You may go now, Lucsia will show you to your room."
"Yes, sir," Kaiei said, bowing Tortallan style and turning sharply before walking towards the door. Her hand was on the knob when he said, "Don't forget what I said, Page Kaiei. A woman's place is in a home."
"I know, sir. But my place is as a knight." She then opened the door and walked out, following the servant Lucsia to her room.
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"Did you hear?"
Michaela of Stone mountain looked up from his bowl of soup and asked, "Hear what?"
"About the girl," Darkin, another friend of Michaela's, said as he bit into a roll.
"What girl?"
"That girl," Rosgin, the first to speak to Michaela, said, pointing with his fork to the two figures walking through the mess hall door at that moment.
Michaela had to turn around to see, but when he did, he knew exactly whom they were talking about.
She was tall, and pretty. A pale, lightly tanned, girl of about thirteen or fourteen walked beside a boy slightly taller than she was, obviously her sponsor, who was talking to her at a rapid rate that involved many hand gestures and lots of exaggerated movement. She smiled at him and the guy grinned wider as he talked even faster.
"You think she's bait?" Darkin asked as he watched her walk by their table.
"No," Michaela said, looking at her as she passed and getting a chance to see her eyes. They were blue, and hazel, and a little bit of a softer color mixed in. "She's definitely not bait."
Everyone was awed and obviously surprised at his words and they all turned around to stare at the girl as she smiled at her friend's joke and continued to eat her meal, completely unaware that the entire mess hall was staring at her, and that all other conversation had stopped completely.
Eventually, after a while, Michaela got up out of his seat and slid into the one next to the girl. "Hi," he said, flashing his most charming smile, "I'm Michaela. Michaela of Stone Mountain. And you are?"
The girl smiled. "I'm Kaiei. Kaiei of Mindelan. And isn't Michaela a girls name?"
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A/N: Hello all. You know the deal, please read, and review, and be gentle because this is my first attempt at a Tamora Pierce fanfic. Thanks!