Love is Forever
Seventeen-year-old Lady Squire Keladry of Mindelan sat in her fathers workroom reading her favorite book, Weapons of War. The room was small with a desk, three chairs, and a stool. The last time she was at Mindelan, Kel had only gotten through half of the book, and now she was looking forward to finally finishing it. She looked out the window at the sunny courtyard, and was so lost in thought that she lost her page and the book flipped to the near back pages. Kel glanced at it and her eyes widened. The two pages before her were filled with written and drawn pattern dances of the ancient Light Ones. The book was old and clearly had once been buried in earth. She wondered how her father had come upon it.
Kel began to study the advanced dances with fascination, until she was interrupted by a soft pounding on the door. "Come in." She called. Her mother, Ilane of Mindelan, poked her head in the doorway. "Kel, dear. You have a visitor. I'll send 'em in." With that, she left, leaving Kel to wait for this unexpected arrival. Kel did wait, and wondered as she sat. Who would come to visit her? And how would they know her knight master, Lord Raoul, had given her a week-long summer break? She heard the door open and Kel saw a person she hadn't expected to see at this time of year. "Neal!" She cried happily. "Kel! How are you?" She was swept up in a huge Meathead-hug, which she returned gratefully. "I'm fine. Lord Raoul ordered me to go home and take a break for a while. What about you? I though you would've been riding with the Lioness." Kel replied. "Lady Alanna threatened to leave me at Pirates Swoop as the caretaker of her evil twins if I didn't go somewhere else for a time. I read philosophy to her the entire way of long riding, hoping to soothe her temper. My method seemed to get worse as we rode and I don't understand why." Kel raised an eyebrow. "She told me to come back in two days where we will be joining the Own." "That's great, Neal. We can talk and catch up if you are riding with us. You will stay here for two days, won't you?" She gave him a pleading look as he looked down at her. "Well, if your parents don't mind---" He began. "They won't." She quickly assured him. "Stay here. I will get you some rooms next to mine." Kel walked out of the room and into the corridor. When she was away from the room, she ran full out all the way to the dining room, where her mother sat drinking tea with her oldest brother, Anders. "Mama?" Kel asked. Ilane looked up and smiled. "Can Neal stay in the rooms next to mine until we leave tomorrow evening?" " I had a feeling you would ask. Yes, the rooms next to yours are already made up from your uncles last visit. I had a hot bath sent up. You'll be leaving tomorrow with him? Such little time spent here." "Yes, I must attend my knight master. A week isn't long, but I was glad to come home and see you all." Kel replied. "Alright then, see you at supper." Ilane said. "Thankyou, Mama." Kel said, and went back to Neal. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Come on, laddybuck, I'll show you your rooms." Neal followed Kel to a suite next to hers. At his door, she said, "The dinner bell is in one hour, I'll see you there." "Thankyou, Kel." He said, and she smiled.
Kel cursed as the bell rang. She scrubbed faster and then got out of the tub, drying quickly. She pulled on a blue gown and raced down the stairs. "Sorry I'm late." She said breathlessly sa she plopped down beside Neal. "Where's Inness?" "He will be here by nightfall. The king called him out yesterday." Her father answered. The dinner went by painfully slow for Neal and Kel, whose parents bombarded her friend with questions. After dinner, they headed towards their rooms and Kel apologized, " I'm sorry about my parents. They like to know what is happening at Court." "It's alright," Neal replied. "My mother is the same way." Kel had an idea. "I'm going to be reading in my room, do you want to join me?" She asked. "Sure, Neal replied. "I'll be right back." Kel nodded. She entered her room and sat under the covers of her bed. She heard a knock on the door. "Come in Meathead." She said laughingly. He did. "That's 'sir' Meathead to you." She patted the other side of the bed and he sad down next to her.They read until just after dark, when Kel thudded Neal with a pillow. "You don't have to read your philosophy aloud, Neal." He grinned and prepared himself to throw the pillow back. Kel jumped up to avoid the airborn pillow. She jumped down to the side of the bed, using it asa shield. As soon as her pillow hit his face, she stood on the bed, another ready in her hand. Instead of throwing it back, he wrapped an arm around her ankles and brough her crashing down on the bed. He pinned her on the bed smiling cheekily. "Finally I beat you at something, Kel." He said proudly. "Oh yes," Kel scoffed. " You must tell your newest court flower about how brave and strong you are, beating your friend with pillows."
Inness took that moment to walk in so he could greet Kel. He stopped, eyes flicking back and forth between the two. Kel blushed. She could imagine what this had to look like to him. Pillow feathers flying everywhere, their clothes and bed rumpled, red-faced, with Neal on top of her. Her best friend turned red and rolled off, straightening his clothes. "A word, Kel?" Inness asked. She nodded, still blushing, and followed him outside the door. Neal couldn't help but to listen in. "So, um, who is he? Inness asked. Kel's mind raced trying to think of some way to explain what happened. "It's not what you think."She said quickly. Her brother raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "We, ah, had a pillow fight over philosophy. That's my best friend, Neal." "Best friend, eh? Who won?" He asked in amusement. Kel glanced at him sharply. "I would have thought it would have been fairly obvious when you walked in without knocking." He blushed. "Oh well, have a nice night, Kel." He said slyly and walked off to his rooms. "'Night, Inness." She said loudly, reprimanding his slyness. When Kel returned, they both began laughing. The squires read far into the night, free of any more pillow fights. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She woke up at dawn. Turning over, she sa Neal sprawled out beside her. Apparently it had gotten very late, and they had both fallen asleep with a book in front of them and the lights still lit. "Neal." Kel whispered. He didn't stir. "NEAL!" This tiem he sat straight up, looking confused. She shoved his boots at him. *If Inness had walked in a little earlier, he would have absolutely no reason to believe our innocence.* She thought.
Kel and Neal walked and talked for hours. They ended up by the Domin River, and sat on a log. "When I was a little girl, I came her to think about my future life. I wanted to be a page, but my parents told me about the Stump and my probation. You know, Neal? I wasn't going to become a knight at all because I didn't want to take second best. And then something happened that made me change my mind. Some village boys tossed a bag of kittens into the river. I went after them, and I found myself in the middle of the rushing water, in between the bag of kittens and a spidren. It reeled them in, and stupidly I went after the thing with rocks, nearly getting myself killed." She laughed softly at the memory. " After that, I knew I wanted the training. I never would have known you or Cleon or Merric, or Joren, which I could have lived without knowing. And then I came to the palace and we spent our first year together, just you and me. You were the only person who accepted me at first. Just us, the fifteen-year-old scholar and The Girl." Neal grinned at that. "And I don't regret any of it." She said, smiling. "I'm glad you don't. Want to go swimming?" He asked. Although it was the middle of summer, the Domin River could still have been pretty cold. "That's alright, Neal. I'd rather watch you freeze." Neal peeled off his shirt, making Kel blush. Although he noticed, he said nothing. He jumped in, practically making a tidal wave. "Come on, Kel. It's not that bad." She shook her head, warming herself in the sun. Kel laid down across the log with her eyes closed, enjoying the warmth. Then she felt something wet on her cheek, and opened her eyes to see Neal standing over her, dripping. "Let's go have a dip, my Lady Squire." He said grinning mischieviously. Kel began to scramble away to the safety of a bush she could hide in, but she was crawling on her hands and knees, and Neal had the advantage. He scooped her up in two muscular arms and waded into the water. "No, Neal!" She screeched, her arms looped around his neck, not willing to let go and be dropped into the icy water. "Put me down." "You want down?" He asked happily. "NEAL!No." Kel screamed and went flying to plunge into the freezing water. Kel surfaced gasping. It wasn't as cold as she had expected, but she still needed revenge. "You are going to get it for that, Neal." She said and swam after him. "What's the matter, love. Don't like refreshing water?" He called. Love? Kel thought. Where did that come from? Quickly her mind retured to revenge. "Refreshing my ass, Neal, you are going down." Kel laughed as she dunked him. She began to swim away, but Neal caught her by the waist. A cough made them look up. "Hello Cleon."
Both of them looked guilty, and they knew it. The two climbed out, sopping wet. Neal retrieved his shirt. "Kel, Neal. I want you to meet my betrothed Ermelian of Aminar." He smiled lovingly at her. Kel looked the girl over. She was a little shorter than Cleon, with chestnut hair and beautiful blue eyes. She was a pretty thing, thin at the waist with small hips. Kel looked back at the lady's stomach and bit back a gasp. Ermelian was almost all the way pregnant, and she and Cleon had only been betrothed for three months. Neal had seen also, and was glaring deathly at Cleon, hands clenched by his sides. "It's nice to meet you," Kel said as nicely as she could manage. "Cleon, my I speak with you?" She lead him away from Neal and his betrothed, then spun around advancing on him. "What the hell is that about, Cleon?" She asked angrily. "What are you talking about? You knew I was betrothed." Cleon replied coolly. "I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about that lump on her stomach!" "We're going to be married, Kel. It's expected." He said defensively. "Cleon, she is about ready to have that baby NOW and you have only been engaged for three months. You cheated on me five months ago when we were together. You got her pregnant! How do you even know each other? You said you loved me, dammit!" She was in a rage now, and everything she learned in the Islands was put aside. "We were friends when we were young. Kel, I can explain." He said desperately. "No you can't, Cleon! We were together and you didn't even tell me it was over with us!" She ran to her rooms, a stormy look growing on her face.
Kel glared daggers out her window, a few tears streaming down her cheeks. There was a knock on her door. "Kel, open up." Neal said gently. "No." She just wanted to be alone. Neal walked in despite her weak protests and sat on the bed beside her. "I'm so sorry, Kel." He pulled her into a hug, and she cried silently into his shoulder before falling asleep. He removed her boots and socks, and gently laid her under the covers of the tall bed.
Kel woke an hour and a half later, pulled on her boots, and left a note for her parents on the dresser. Neal was in the practice courts.
He stopped when he saw her, and walked over. Kel squirmed inside. "Um, about earlier..." She said carefully. "Thankyou." "You're welcome. What Cleon did was wrong. It isn't your fault, it's his. Would you like to rejoin the Own now?" She nodded, and hugged him tightly. "I left my parents a note saying we were leaving right away. You are the best friend anyone could have, Neal, for all you are a bit silly sometimes." *And only a best friend I shall stay*, he thought sadly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The ride to the Own near the Palace was short and silent, Neal knew better than to talk to Kel. She was still getting over Cleon, or so he thought. And then on the last day of the ride, Kel surprised him and said, "You still haven't asked me any questions. What's wrong?" Neal looked surprised but answered seriously, "If you are still getting over Cleon I don't want to bother you." Kel shook her head. "No, Neal. I got over Cleon after he told me he was betrothed. I can understand that because he didn't have a choice. But what he did wasn't forced on him. He did it all on his own." She looked down at her saddle horn clenching hr teeth, and whispered, "He said he loved me."
"Kel, Neal. I'm glad you arrived so quickly. We will be going to the Scanran border to defend it." Raoul grinned cheerfully. "Why don't you join us." The squires nodded and joined the Own. "So, my dear Meathead and our Lady Squire have decided to accompany us." A familiar voice drawled. They both looked up and greeted Dom.
Seventeen-year-old Lady Squire Keladry of Mindelan sat in her fathers workroom reading her favorite book, Weapons of War. The room was small with a desk, three chairs, and a stool. The last time she was at Mindelan, Kel had only gotten through half of the book, and now she was looking forward to finally finishing it. She looked out the window at the sunny courtyard, and was so lost in thought that she lost her page and the book flipped to the near back pages. Kel glanced at it and her eyes widened. The two pages before her were filled with written and drawn pattern dances of the ancient Light Ones. The book was old and clearly had once been buried in earth. She wondered how her father had come upon it.
Kel began to study the advanced dances with fascination, until she was interrupted by a soft pounding on the door. "Come in." She called. Her mother, Ilane of Mindelan, poked her head in the doorway. "Kel, dear. You have a visitor. I'll send 'em in." With that, she left, leaving Kel to wait for this unexpected arrival. Kel did wait, and wondered as she sat. Who would come to visit her? And how would they know her knight master, Lord Raoul, had given her a week-long summer break? She heard the door open and Kel saw a person she hadn't expected to see at this time of year. "Neal!" She cried happily. "Kel! How are you?" She was swept up in a huge Meathead-hug, which she returned gratefully. "I'm fine. Lord Raoul ordered me to go home and take a break for a while. What about you? I though you would've been riding with the Lioness." Kel replied. "Lady Alanna threatened to leave me at Pirates Swoop as the caretaker of her evil twins if I didn't go somewhere else for a time. I read philosophy to her the entire way of long riding, hoping to soothe her temper. My method seemed to get worse as we rode and I don't understand why." Kel raised an eyebrow. "She told me to come back in two days where we will be joining the Own." "That's great, Neal. We can talk and catch up if you are riding with us. You will stay here for two days, won't you?" She gave him a pleading look as he looked down at her. "Well, if your parents don't mind---" He began. "They won't." She quickly assured him. "Stay here. I will get you some rooms next to mine." Kel walked out of the room and into the corridor. When she was away from the room, she ran full out all the way to the dining room, where her mother sat drinking tea with her oldest brother, Anders. "Mama?" Kel asked. Ilane looked up and smiled. "Can Neal stay in the rooms next to mine until we leave tomorrow evening?" " I had a feeling you would ask. Yes, the rooms next to yours are already made up from your uncles last visit. I had a hot bath sent up. You'll be leaving tomorrow with him? Such little time spent here." "Yes, I must attend my knight master. A week isn't long, but I was glad to come home and see you all." Kel replied. "Alright then, see you at supper." Ilane said. "Thankyou, Mama." Kel said, and went back to Neal. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Come on, laddybuck, I'll show you your rooms." Neal followed Kel to a suite next to hers. At his door, she said, "The dinner bell is in one hour, I'll see you there." "Thankyou, Kel." He said, and she smiled.
Kel cursed as the bell rang. She scrubbed faster and then got out of the tub, drying quickly. She pulled on a blue gown and raced down the stairs. "Sorry I'm late." She said breathlessly sa she plopped down beside Neal. "Where's Inness?" "He will be here by nightfall. The king called him out yesterday." Her father answered. The dinner went by painfully slow for Neal and Kel, whose parents bombarded her friend with questions. After dinner, they headed towards their rooms and Kel apologized, " I'm sorry about my parents. They like to know what is happening at Court." "It's alright," Neal replied. "My mother is the same way." Kel had an idea. "I'm going to be reading in my room, do you want to join me?" She asked. "Sure, Neal replied. "I'll be right back." Kel nodded. She entered her room and sat under the covers of her bed. She heard a knock on the door. "Come in Meathead." She said laughingly. He did. "That's 'sir' Meathead to you." She patted the other side of the bed and he sad down next to her.They read until just after dark, when Kel thudded Neal with a pillow. "You don't have to read your philosophy aloud, Neal." He grinned and prepared himself to throw the pillow back. Kel jumped up to avoid the airborn pillow. She jumped down to the side of the bed, using it asa shield. As soon as her pillow hit his face, she stood on the bed, another ready in her hand. Instead of throwing it back, he wrapped an arm around her ankles and brough her crashing down on the bed. He pinned her on the bed smiling cheekily. "Finally I beat you at something, Kel." He said proudly. "Oh yes," Kel scoffed. " You must tell your newest court flower about how brave and strong you are, beating your friend with pillows."
Inness took that moment to walk in so he could greet Kel. He stopped, eyes flicking back and forth between the two. Kel blushed. She could imagine what this had to look like to him. Pillow feathers flying everywhere, their clothes and bed rumpled, red-faced, with Neal on top of her. Her best friend turned red and rolled off, straightening his clothes. "A word, Kel?" Inness asked. She nodded, still blushing, and followed him outside the door. Neal couldn't help but to listen in. "So, um, who is he? Inness asked. Kel's mind raced trying to think of some way to explain what happened. "It's not what you think."She said quickly. Her brother raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "We, ah, had a pillow fight over philosophy. That's my best friend, Neal." "Best friend, eh? Who won?" He asked in amusement. Kel glanced at him sharply. "I would have thought it would have been fairly obvious when you walked in without knocking." He blushed. "Oh well, have a nice night, Kel." He said slyly and walked off to his rooms. "'Night, Inness." She said loudly, reprimanding his slyness. When Kel returned, they both began laughing. The squires read far into the night, free of any more pillow fights. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She woke up at dawn. Turning over, she sa Neal sprawled out beside her. Apparently it had gotten very late, and they had both fallen asleep with a book in front of them and the lights still lit. "Neal." Kel whispered. He didn't stir. "NEAL!" This tiem he sat straight up, looking confused. She shoved his boots at him. *If Inness had walked in a little earlier, he would have absolutely no reason to believe our innocence.* She thought.
Kel and Neal walked and talked for hours. They ended up by the Domin River, and sat on a log. "When I was a little girl, I came her to think about my future life. I wanted to be a page, but my parents told me about the Stump and my probation. You know, Neal? I wasn't going to become a knight at all because I didn't want to take second best. And then something happened that made me change my mind. Some village boys tossed a bag of kittens into the river. I went after them, and I found myself in the middle of the rushing water, in between the bag of kittens and a spidren. It reeled them in, and stupidly I went after the thing with rocks, nearly getting myself killed." She laughed softly at the memory. " After that, I knew I wanted the training. I never would have known you or Cleon or Merric, or Joren, which I could have lived without knowing. And then I came to the palace and we spent our first year together, just you and me. You were the only person who accepted me at first. Just us, the fifteen-year-old scholar and The Girl." Neal grinned at that. "And I don't regret any of it." She said, smiling. "I'm glad you don't. Want to go swimming?" He asked. Although it was the middle of summer, the Domin River could still have been pretty cold. "That's alright, Neal. I'd rather watch you freeze." Neal peeled off his shirt, making Kel blush. Although he noticed, he said nothing. He jumped in, practically making a tidal wave. "Come on, Kel. It's not that bad." She shook her head, warming herself in the sun. Kel laid down across the log with her eyes closed, enjoying the warmth. Then she felt something wet on her cheek, and opened her eyes to see Neal standing over her, dripping. "Let's go have a dip, my Lady Squire." He said grinning mischieviously. Kel began to scramble away to the safety of a bush she could hide in, but she was crawling on her hands and knees, and Neal had the advantage. He scooped her up in two muscular arms and waded into the water. "No, Neal!" She screeched, her arms looped around his neck, not willing to let go and be dropped into the icy water. "Put me down." "You want down?" He asked happily. "NEAL!No." Kel screamed and went flying to plunge into the freezing water. Kel surfaced gasping. It wasn't as cold as she had expected, but she still needed revenge. "You are going to get it for that, Neal." She said and swam after him. "What's the matter, love. Don't like refreshing water?" He called. Love? Kel thought. Where did that come from? Quickly her mind retured to revenge. "Refreshing my ass, Neal, you are going down." Kel laughed as she dunked him. She began to swim away, but Neal caught her by the waist. A cough made them look up. "Hello Cleon."
Both of them looked guilty, and they knew it. The two climbed out, sopping wet. Neal retrieved his shirt. "Kel, Neal. I want you to meet my betrothed Ermelian of Aminar." He smiled lovingly at her. Kel looked the girl over. She was a little shorter than Cleon, with chestnut hair and beautiful blue eyes. She was a pretty thing, thin at the waist with small hips. Kel looked back at the lady's stomach and bit back a gasp. Ermelian was almost all the way pregnant, and she and Cleon had only been betrothed for three months. Neal had seen also, and was glaring deathly at Cleon, hands clenched by his sides. "It's nice to meet you," Kel said as nicely as she could manage. "Cleon, my I speak with you?" She lead him away from Neal and his betrothed, then spun around advancing on him. "What the hell is that about, Cleon?" She asked angrily. "What are you talking about? You knew I was betrothed." Cleon replied coolly. "I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about that lump on her stomach!" "We're going to be married, Kel. It's expected." He said defensively. "Cleon, she is about ready to have that baby NOW and you have only been engaged for three months. You cheated on me five months ago when we were together. You got her pregnant! How do you even know each other? You said you loved me, dammit!" She was in a rage now, and everything she learned in the Islands was put aside. "We were friends when we were young. Kel, I can explain." He said desperately. "No you can't, Cleon! We were together and you didn't even tell me it was over with us!" She ran to her rooms, a stormy look growing on her face.
Kel glared daggers out her window, a few tears streaming down her cheeks. There was a knock on her door. "Kel, open up." Neal said gently. "No." She just wanted to be alone. Neal walked in despite her weak protests and sat on the bed beside her. "I'm so sorry, Kel." He pulled her into a hug, and she cried silently into his shoulder before falling asleep. He removed her boots and socks, and gently laid her under the covers of the tall bed.
Kel woke an hour and a half later, pulled on her boots, and left a note for her parents on the dresser. Neal was in the practice courts.
He stopped when he saw her, and walked over. Kel squirmed inside. "Um, about earlier..." She said carefully. "Thankyou." "You're welcome. What Cleon did was wrong. It isn't your fault, it's his. Would you like to rejoin the Own now?" She nodded, and hugged him tightly. "I left my parents a note saying we were leaving right away. You are the best friend anyone could have, Neal, for all you are a bit silly sometimes." *And only a best friend I shall stay*, he thought sadly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The ride to the Own near the Palace was short and silent, Neal knew better than to talk to Kel. She was still getting over Cleon, or so he thought. And then on the last day of the ride, Kel surprised him and said, "You still haven't asked me any questions. What's wrong?" Neal looked surprised but answered seriously, "If you are still getting over Cleon I don't want to bother you." Kel shook her head. "No, Neal. I got over Cleon after he told me he was betrothed. I can understand that because he didn't have a choice. But what he did wasn't forced on him. He did it all on his own." She looked down at her saddle horn clenching hr teeth, and whispered, "He said he loved me."
"Kel, Neal. I'm glad you arrived so quickly. We will be going to the Scanran border to defend it." Raoul grinned cheerfully. "Why don't you join us." The squires nodded and joined the Own. "So, my dear Meathead and our Lady Squire have decided to accompany us." A familiar voice drawled. They both looked up and greeted Dom.
