Finally, Kel was coming home for Midwinter.
"Aunty Kel!" Lachran called, bringing down his younger siblings. At twelve, he was the oldest of his generation.
"Hey Lach," Kel said, dismounting Hoshi. "How's page training?"
"Great! I'm sponsoring the new girl. The boys don't bother her too much, not after you, Protector of the Small." He said the title teasingly, as Neal would. Kel grinned at her favorite nephew.
"You're really the Protector of the Small?" one of Kel's younger nieces asked.
"But I thought you're Aunty Kel!" her nephew demanded.
"I thought you were Lady Knight!" Her other niece exclaimed, confused.
"But you were a Squire last time, doing all that icky stuff with Cleon. Why are you a Lady Knight now?!" her eight year old niece said, tugging Kel's tunic.
"Yes, I am the Protector of the Small, and a Lady Knight, and I will always be your Aunty Kel." Kel said, trying to answer everyone.
"I wanna be a Lady Knight! Lady Knights are all heroes! The Lioness and Aunty Kel are the best Lady Knights ever!" her four year old nephew said, flinging a stick around like a sword. Kel had a mini heart attack, thinking of how angry Orrie would be with Kel and her son.
"You can be a knight, but you are a man, and men can't be Lady Knights. Only ladies can be Lady Knights!" Kel tried to explain.
"But I wanna be a Lady Knight! Lady Knights are special, and regular knights are boring!" Her nephew tried to explain.
"Are you saying we're boring?" Kel's older brothers asked, coming behind the children. Inness and Conal picked the boy up, and Anders tickled him mercilessly. "Welcome home, Kel!" Anders managed to shout over the child's squealing as his uncles held him hostage.
A/N: This is for the Seven Days of Midwinter- Family Gatherings, on the TPE.