IF YOU DIDN'T READ PART ONE YOU MUST READ IT FOR THIS TO MAKE SENSE.

Whew…. This took a long time to get this story out. Sorry about that. So, this is the continuation of What You Let Go. And if you read that story, which you have to to understand what this story is all about, then you know that I put a list of things in one of the chapters that Kel can do with her gift. If you remember the list write it down on a piece of paper and throw it out. Yep, that's right, I'm changing what it is she can and can't do. She can still do all the things she did in the first part but on the advice of my wonderful reviewers I am expanding on her gift. This should be fun. You'll have to excuse me though because I haven't thought any farther about how this story will end or where I'm going with it. I'm hoping I get a flash of brilliance some time soon and I sit down and write the whole thing.

I will be alternating between updating for this story and my other story titled… The Undeveloped Story… I've put up chapter one for that already so go review for it. I'm swamped with work and University right now so I will try to update at least once every two weeks but I am going on the record to say I MAKE NO PROMISES.

ALSO, I AM LOOKING FOR A RELIABLE PERSON TO DO GRAMMER/SPELLING CHECKS FOR MY STORIES FOR ME. I WOULD PREFER SOMEONE WHO HAS READ MY OTHER STORIES AND HAS BEEN A FAITHFUL REVIEWER (JUST SO I KNOW YOU A LITTLE BETTER). SEND ME A PM IF YOU CAN DO IT FOR BOTH STORIES. A couple of people said they could do it in reviews for my other story but I haven't picked anybody yet because I wanted to give everyone a chance to put in their 'applications'. Anyway, Enjoy.

What You Let Go, Part 2.

Chapter 1

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Keladry of Mindelan the Shang Griffin breathed in deeply the cold autumn air, filling her lungs with it. Her hazel eyes, filled with gold from her unique Griffin Gift, caught sight of dead leaves being carried off in a strong twirling gust of wind. Cursing the early morning chill she pulled her scarf over her face covering her delicate freckle dusted nose and determined chin. Pulling her riding gloves firmly onto her scared hands she tucked her hair, which had been braided close to her skull in long rows, down the back of her jacket and pulled it tighter around her neck. Keladry, known as Kel to her friends, went over a mental checklist trying to remember if she had forgotten anything important. Since she would be riding with the Kings Own, a special fighting force made up of younger nobles sons, rich merchants, and Bazhir, for three months she didn't want to leave anything undone.

Kel sat tall atop her new glossy brown mare petting her solid neck. She was smaller than her war horse Peachblossom and was a gift from her parents. She had a white star on her forehead and snow white socks. The mare had an affectionate manner and Kel had found out that she had a sweet spot for carrots. When Kel had seen the mare she lovingly stroked the star and came up with a name for her on the spot. "Hoshi." She whispered to the mare who tossed her head in what Kel had hoped was agreement.

Turning in her saddle Kel saw her young man servant Tobe riding on Peachblossom. Kel smiled to herself when she saw that he was half asleep. I hope he doesn't fall Kel thought. She noticed Peachblossom was standing perfectly still and was relieved for the time. Thanks to Tobe's wild magic with horses Kel knew that she wouldn't have to worry about Peachblossom who was known for his terrible temperaments. She could see the outline of a book through Tobe's heavy jackets and knew that it was the book that Yuki had given him to continue learning to write while he was gone.

Kel let her gaze travel over to her other companions. Gaven, like Kel, had donned his traditional Shang traveling outfit which was designed to let others know who he was. His Shang insignia was embroidered on the collar and front breast pocket. Gaven had gone the extra step and employed someone to embroider ravens on the back on all of his vests. On his person he carried few weapons but had most of them strapped in easy reach to his horse.

Beside him was Kaven. Kaven was a Black Robe mage but he knew how to use a sword well and had spent several summers practicing with the Shang. Kaven knew that he could use his gift to protect himself but disliked using it in armed combat against giftless people. Kel understood his reasoning and respected him even more for it.

All together Kel counted a total of 40 men she would be traveling with. Most of them were trained men of the Own but a handful were new recruits Kel had personally helped pick out a week before. Even if she hadn't been told anyone could pick them out. They were standing nervously between their horses, their uniforms immaculately clean even if hastily put on. To test them Raoul had not told them the time or day they would be leaving and had given them a notice at the forth bell to have their horses saddled, their uniforms on, and be in the courtyard in an hour. Waiting for them had been Raoul, Dom, and all of the captains who were at the palace. Raoul divided them into groups and assigned each group to a captain to disperse as he seemed fit. Kel knew of two who had ignored the call to muster and had been kicked out of the Own and fined money for their training by the Crown just that morning. She could tell that a third of them wouldn't make it through their first year.

Kel drew her eyes away from the new recruits and let them fall to the sight they had been looking on before she has started her inspections. She let her eyes drink him in trying to take in as much of him as possible. She started at his straight brown hair which was constantly falling into his eyes, to his slightly hooked nose, the lips which had occupied so much of her time over the last two weeks, to his muscled chest. Kel looked at his hands and remembered every scar and callous on them, and loving him for having them. Her eyes were traveling lower when he turned in the middle of a comment to Raoul and looked at her. Kel hid her blush and returned his gaze knowing that this might be the last time in months that they would be able to truly look at each other and thought of another reason she loved Dom, because he was the only one who could look into her eyes and be unaffected.

Raoul followed Dom's gaze and knew there was no point in continuing the conversation but instead walked away shaking his head.

Dom walked to Kel longing filling his blue eyes. He didn't know if he would be able to go three months without seeing her. When Dom had first set eyes on Kel he had felt an empty spot in his heart that he had never known before and would never be filled again unless she was with him. When she was gone she took that section of his heart and more with her leaving him not with a hole to be filled but with nothing so that it couldn't be whole until she was back. It's a small price to pay he thought when he had reached her. He looked up and saw that Kel was looking at him intently; her eyes were showing nothing of what she was feeling, something that Dom disliked her doing around him. He realized that it was her Yamani training as much as her need to control her uncanny Griffins gift that left her face so blank and did his best not to try to take it personal. Instead he took it as a challenge to make her show some kind of emotion when ever he could.

Looking at her thoughtfully Dom decided on his best tactic. "If you come back dead I'm going to kill you." He told her seriously gripping her knee. Kel looked down at Dom trying to not smile and loosing terribly. She couldn't keep the small smile from slipping onto her lips and completely gave up when Dom grinned back at her knowing that he had won. "So are you going to come down so that I can kiss you goodbye?" he asked her quietly. Although Dom was also leaving today he was taking his troops in the opposite direction as Raoul was.

Kel immediately jumped down from Hoshi and landed softly on the ground. Dom pulled her in close and cradled her in his arms before kissing her softly on the lips. Around them the men were mounting up and forming ranks preparing to leave. Kel and Dom gave each other one last kiss before they both mounted their horses and rode to the front of the companies with Raoul.

The men were split in two Dom's on one side and Raoul's on the other. When they got to the front Kel rode Hoshi to her spot behind Raoul and let her eyes linger on Dom as he took his place at the front of his company.

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The companies had split around midday Raoul's heading down Conte Road towards Pirate's swoop and Dom's veering off west towards Tyra. Kel was glad that she and Dom had said their goodbyes earlier because all they had time for before he left was a lingering handhold and a few stolen looks. For the rest of the day Kel rode quietly, listening to the men tell stories and sing riding songs. Though she knew the words to most of them she rarely joined in and when she did it was just a soft humming.

That evening they stopped at a crown supplied inn that had more than enough rooms available. The men who didn't get rooms set up tents in the courtyard and started fires.

After the meal Kel found herself sitting with Gaven, Kaven, Raoul, and several of his sergeants at the main fire. There was still light outside and Kel was full of energy. She was doing her best to not let it show with anxious twitches but Gaven could tell. He felt bad for Kel; he knew how she was feeling because he had been in love once. Looking into the sky he figured they had another hour before it was to dark to see outside. He got up and walked around behind Kel putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's practice time." He said simply. Kel gave him one nod and got up folding the blanket she had around her shoulders and placing it on the log she had been sitting on.

While they were walking to a clear spot away from the fires and people they discussed what to do. "First we should work on some kicks, blocks, and punches, then maybe some strength training if there is time." Kel suggested.

"How about just a quick spar?" Gaven asked.

"Alright." Kel agreed. "But tomorrow morning we do the actual training. Just because we are Shang doesn't mean we don't train."

Gaven shook his head in understanding. "Yes mother." He replied jokingly. Kel turned towards him and glared. I am never introducing Neal to anyone else I know she thought to herself as they started stretching. Kel removed her vest and jacket while Gaven stripped down to his bare chest.

Kel and Gaven took their stances taking only moments to clear their minds. Kel closed her eyes and pushed all of her frustration about being away from Dom and all of the emotions that plagued her over the last several months from her mind. She opened her eyes filled with the familiar calm that she had grown to love and waited for Gaven to open his. Breaking their stances they placed their hands palm flat on their thighs and bowed to each other. They once again resumed their fighting stances and Gaven counted down from three just loud enough for only them to hear.

After Gaven finished the count Kel waited for him to attack. He didn't fail her and came at her with a low kick to her thigh, bringing his leg up and hitting the outside of her thigh with the top of his foot. Kel heard and felt the impact but didn't falter. Instead she brought her own leg up and brought her left foot around his knee kicking it, then using her foot to pull back adding pressure to his knee causing it to bend. Kel quickly stepped back as Gaven faltered going halfway down with one knee. He caught himself before it touched the packed dirt and sprang back up his face emotionless. Kel knew Gaven, not being Yamani from birth nor taking up their emotionless way of life, only let his face go blank during a fight or meditation. Gaven quickly swung his foot at a wide upward arch towards her head. Kel knew if she let the blow land his foot would impact with her temple. She quickly brought her arm up blocking the blow with her forearm. She stumbled back letting the blow push her so that she didn't take its full weight only on her arm.

They both stepped back, circling each other, looking for their next moves. Kel didn't always let Gaven attack first but she knew he always tried to no matter who he was fighting against so she watched him for the signs as to when or how he would attack. There it was, Gaven came at her with a punch aimed at Kel stomach. She reacted by turning her torso slightly and bringing her left forearm down on top of The soft spot on Gaven's wrist sending his punch uselessly towards thin air. Gaven brought his arm back again making a fist and bringing it back so that it was level with his torso. Bringing the first forward he rotated it and punched her in the abdomen. Kel felt the air leaving her lungs and stepped back slightly. Breathing in deep Kel attacked Gaven, mad at herself that she had let him get the punch in. Quickly she got in close to him grapping his wrist and brought her right arm up over his neck and brought it down forcefully. The blow made Gaven's shoulders slump and Kel grabbed them bringing him down as her knee came up into his stomach. The whole time Gaven was repeatedly punching her in the stomach. Kel could hear the breath whooshing out of his lungs.

Gaven let his knees down on the dirt and held his hands up. Gasping he looked up at Kel and smiled. "You cheated."

"I did not," she replied indignantly out of breath herself. "You just didn't expect me to attack because I usually don't."

"And you let me get in a simple punch to your stomach." Gaven answered. Kel folded her arms and looked down at him. "I still won." She said keeping her voice calm while she tried to not laugh.

"Is the great Shang Griffin gloating?" Gaven asked in fake astonishment. He grunted as he got up from his knees using Kel as a support.

"I might be." She said letting a little bit of the laugh she was hiding come into her voice. Kel looked around at the quickly growing dark and walked with Gaven back to the camp fire. "It gets darker so much faster here." She commented idly. Kel gathered the discarded blanket around her shoulders and sat with her arms around her knees listening to the men talk.

Raoul sat listening to one of his sergeants tell Kaven and Gaven about their part in the war when his attention was drawn to Kel. She looked as miserable as her emotionless face would allow. Raoul credited it to the cold and the fact that Dom wasn't with her anymore. He could imagine his Second was sitting in a similar position as she was and could almost see it in his mind. He had to admit that there was something special about the love that Dom and Kel shared for each other. He had never seen two people fall in such love for each other so quickly and fully. It wasn't just infatuation it was pure unadulterated love. If he believed in the tales that he had heard from minstrels Raoul would swear that they were a god blessed couple. True soul mates in every sense of the word put in the Mortal Realms to find each other and bless all realms with their union. That's absurd, Raoul told himself as he continued looking at Kel. She was gazing intently into the fire when suddenly her eyes flashed a bright gold and the hazel was completely gone from them. She leaned forward farther drawing herself closer to the fire until her braids were almost touching it.

Raoul stood up from his seat quickly to pull her back when in the air above them he heard an unmistakable shriek of several adult griffins. Looking up he saw three fully grown griffins flying above them circling the camp. Kel glanced up quickly at them and frowned ignoring them for the moment. She had eyes only for the small object that was floating suspended in the middle of the leaping flames of the fire. She pushed her sleeve up past her elbow and gingerly reached into the flames. They licked her flesh but didn't feel hot at all. She wiggled her fingers and the flames slid in between each of them like liquid. A griffin shrieked again and she quickly closed her fingers around the object and pulled her hand from the fire.

Kel stood up and looked into the sky at the griffins flying in a tight circle around the camp not five feet from their heads. The biggest of the three griffins disengaged from the circle and flapped his wings so that he stayed in one spot. He looked down at Kel meeting her eyes in what she instantly knew was a challenge but she read confusion in them also. For all that Kel was similar to griffins she had never met one and she was as startled to see them as the griffin was to find what he had thought was a baby griffin in the form of a two-legger.

The griffin tilted its head to the side without breaking the gaze and emitted a quieter but still forceful shriek. Kel didn't hear a shriek but instead a booming voice inside of her head. Give us the baby or we will tear you all to pieces. You will no longer steal our young. Before Kel could even think of an answer the griffin dove down at her his talons going straight for her head.

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Ohhhhh, a cliff hanger. Great way to end the first chapter right? pause No? You don't think so? shrugs shoulders Ehh, it'll have to do. Hope you like it thought. Please review.

Oh, and the line that Dom said to Kel about if she came back dead he would kill her, I think Raoul said something to that effect in the book, so its not mine.