Uncommon Attraction
Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce owns all of PotS and everything else in Tortall. We just like to play around in her world. Everything you recognize is hers and everything you do not recognize is ours.
A/N: This story is a collaboration between Lotti's Lot and Ally-Marty, writing as Dawn of the Sky. We ask and answer the question: "What if the Mindelan family had remained common, but a certain blue-eyed blond noble became involved with the youngest girl in the wealthy merchant family?" Join us on a different type of adventure, filled with familiar friends, as well as some original characters!
They left the marketplace, taking the Market Way up a long, sloping hill. This led them through districts where rich merchants lived, up past the villas of even richer nobles. The crossing of Market Way and Harmony Way marked the beginning of the Temple District. Here the Market Way changed its name, becoming the Palace Way.
... She had heard that a hundred gods were worshiped in Corus. There were enough temples for that many, she thought. She even saw a troop of women dressed in armor, the guard of the Temple of the Great Mother Goddess. These women were armed with great double-headed axes, and they knew how to use them. Their duty was to keep men from ever setting foot on ground sacred to the Great Mother.
--Tamora Pierce, Alanna: The First Adventure
Prologue: An Uncommon Meeting
The Moon of Truth Temple of the Great Mother Goddess
Autumn, 452 H.E. (Human Era)
The impeccably dressed, steely-eyed Archpriestess Danayne peered across the desk at the tall and stocky ten-year-old girl, who stood at attention, her long-lashed hazel eyes staring directly ahead. Neither person gave any indication of outward emotion. The girl's newly-shaved head and her loose, dark brown gown with the light brown apron and head cap identified her status as a novice temple guard. The apron and head cap would have been white if the girl was in training to become a priestess.
The Archpriestess pressed the long fingertips of her slender hands together as she considered the case before her. Earlier that morning, just prior to the Morning Prayer service, one of the senior priestesses had nearly slipped in a puddle of puppy piddle. The untrained dog belonged to this novice guard, who had taken in the orphaned animal, and it had escaped from her room. Many of the priestesses and temple guards kept pets, and several cats roamed freely throughout the temple halls, but the rule was that no dogs were to be loose within the temple at any time.
After a severe scolding, the Archpriestess issued the standard punishment for such an occurrence: the novice guard would scrub the white marble front steps of the temple until they gleamed - without assistance and during what would have been her free time on the following Saturday afternoon. A day's hard labor was a small price to pay for being able to keep the pet and the girl wouldn't have any difficulty with the punishment. She loved animals and she added the white puppy she had named Jump to the assortment of wild birds and squirrels she had begun to feed around the temple grounds.
Swish ... splash ... swish-a-swish-a-swish. The sound of the scrub brush was vaguely comforting to the girl as she diligently carried out her punishment. She had grown accustomed to such work during the three years she had fostered with her oldest sister, who was married to a merchant in the Yamani Islands. Her hands were red and raw from the harsh and gritty soap used to scour the steps, but she hardly noticed. She let her mind wander as she scrubbed the long marble stairway - fifteen steps in all.
The novice guard thought about her family. Her father was a prominent cloth merchant who had offices in Corus, Port Caynn and Yaman, as well as a homestead near Tortall's northern border with Scanra. Her mother was the third daughter of a noble House, who had married outside of her social class for love. The Mindelan home was filled with much laughter and affection.
There also were several brothers and sisters, but the girl adored her oldest sister and she truly had enjoyed caring for her three young nephews in Yaman. During her time abroad, she'd helped with chores and childcare while her sister recovered from a difficult pregnancy. It had been painful to leave them and return to her homeland, but it was a great honor for the girl to be chosen to train as a temple guard.
Swish ... splash ... swish-a-swish-a-swish. This punishment wasn't so bad for the novice guard; she truly didn't mind spending her time outside on such a glorious autumn day. She'd been back in Tortall for only four months and she still marveled at the sights in Corus. The royal palace was nearby and a steady stream of people strolled along the cobblestone lane outside of the temple gates.
The girl shielded her dreamer's hazel eyes as she looked out at the view. Colorful leaves rustled in the light breeze and there were very few clouds in the bright blue sky. Several families and young couples picnicked in the park across the street from the great temple and she could hear the squeals of a happy toddler not too far away. The sound reminded the girl of her nephews.
"Joreena!" A young woman shouted. "Come back!" The toddler only giggled in response.
"I'll get her!" A boy's voice answered the young woman. "Joreena, Uncle's got to go back to the palace. It's time to go home."
The novice guard gazed across the wide lane to the park and saw a tiny blond girl running toward the street. A handsome, blond boy - a royal page from the look of his scarlet and gold tunic - was chasing the toddler, whose chubby legs were moving very quickly. She could see that neither the page nor the little girl noticed the mounted courier cantering down the lane toward the palace.
"This is not a game, Joreena - stop running from me!" the page yelled. "Come back here right now."
"Oh, no!" cried the young woman as she saw the horse and its rider. "Stop her!"
The novice guard gasped, horrified, as the moments of time seemed to slow to a crawl. She clambered down the steps, knocking over her bucket as she ran across the courtyard, out through the temple gates and into the street before the Temple Guards could move.
Several things happened at once. The young woman screamed as she saw the horse bearing down on the child. The courier's mount reared at the sudden noise and movement. The novice guard scooped up the toddler and tumbled to safety in the lush grass of the park. The page skidded out into the street and one of the horse's flailing hooves grazed his shoulder, knocking him onto his backside, but not really injuring the boy. The child in the girl's arms wailed in distress.
"Are you all out of your minds?" the courier yelled at all of them once he forced his horse to stand on all four legs. "Miss, you'd best keep a closer watch on your child." He chided the girl and then continued on toward the palace, patting and comforting his horse as he went along.
"Thank you! Oh, thank you!" cried the young woman as she took the sobbing child from the girl's arms and cradled her against her bosom. "Shhh, Joreena. Everything's alright. Mama's here now."
The novice guard sat in the grass, catching her breath. She knew she'd have a bruise on her hip where she hit the ground. She also knew be in even more trouble for leaving the temple grounds without permission. She could see the Temple Guards glaring at her from across the lane. She also saw one of the senior priestesses standing on the steps, grimacing at the mess from the overturned bucket. A shadow suddenly fell over the girl.
"What do you think you were doing there, girl?" asked a cold, aristocratic voice. "You almost caused me and my niece to be seriously hurt!"
The girl looked up into the scowling face of the royal page. She had never seen a more beautiful boy. He had the same white-blond hair and rosy cheeks as the little girl she had just rescued. His sky-blue eyes would have been gorgeous if the he hadn't been glaring down at her and she quickly scrambled to her feet.
"I was only trying to help," she said quietly, as she looked at him directly, "When I saw the horse coming so fast, it looked like you wouldn't--"
"I neither requested nor needed your help," the page said through clenched teeth, "What is your name, novice? I wish to report you - everyone knows you girls are not supposed to leave temple grounds unless escorted."
"Joren, please," pleaded the young woman, gently pushing the angry boy aside. "She just saved Joreena's life."
"Bah! I'll never need any help from a girl, Caelyn" the blond page complained, "I would have saved Joreena without her interference. Mithros! Now I'm going to have a sore shoulder."
The young woman ignored the page and nodded toward the girl. "My name is Lady Caelyn of Glenmont and this is my daughter, Joreena. She's named for her normally doting uncle here, Joren of Stone Mountain - he a royal page at the palace. What is your name, novice? I promise, we won't report you." And she turned to give her brother a warning glance.
"I ... I am Keladry Mindelan and I apologize for any trouble, my lady." replied the girl, curtsying, "And I'm a novice guard, not priestess. I am allowed to leave the temple grounds." She stared at the still-glaring page, silently challenging him to contradict her, even though today he happened to be correct - while she was being punished, she wasn't supposed to leave the temple grounds at all.
"Pay no attention to my brother," soothed Lady Caelyn, her daughter was now quietly sucking her thumb and watching the grown-ups through wide blue eyes. "We're all just a bit rattled, isn't that right my little sweetling?" She crooned into the toddler's corn silk hair.
"I'd better get back to the temple," Keladry said, "I ... I have work I must finish. It was good to meet ... all of you."
She quickly curtsied again and ran back across the lane after she checked in both directions. It didn't matter whether or not the nobles reported her; the novice guard already knew she was in plenty of trouble when she saw the Archpriestess come out onto the steps of the temple. It would be quite a long time before Keladry Mindelan would have a free afternoon again.
A/N: Okay! Please let us know what you think. Thanks! ~~ Dawn of the Sky