Chapter 3 – Winter

It was as Kel had suspected. Over the next few weeks, raids on the fortified town slowed to a trickle. With the winter approaching fast there were less outdoor tasks to be completed to ensure the survival of the people of New Hope. Their crops had been brought in prior to Kel's departure for the wedding and, in her absence, the farmers had seasoned the ground so that next year's planting could begin with the first days of spring. There were still patrols to be made and hunting to provide some additional supplies, and of course, regular trips into the surrounding forest to collect enough firewood to see the entire town through the bitter winter nights. Time was also given to such repairs as could be made indoors and the women, freed from labouring to provide their community with food, now gave their attention to weaving and spinning such materials as would be needed to provide everyone with sufficient warm clothing for the months ahead. While she had worried that too much time indoors may cause extra conflict among the closely quartered townspeople, they were used to long winters and bore up well. However, some of the soldiers, largely those from southern areas of Tortall, found the extended confinement overwhelming. Kel ensured that each soldier spent time outside of the camp on some form of duty each day that the weather permitted.

Training filled the rest of the waning daylight hours, both weapons training and, for any who desired, lessons in reading, writing and figuring. Kel was surprised how many adults joined these classes when time permitted them to. It seemed that in some of the more distant settlements, nobles had not been as consistent in meeting the royal requirement that all people have access to a basic level of education. The edict had been made soon after King Jonathan and Queen Thayet began their reign so most of the younger adults should have been able to read and write. Kel herself was good at mathematics and enjoyed teaching the children enough that she often supervised those lessons and Master Terrec and his scribes offered their services whenever they were free to those who wished to learn reading and writing.

"I thought the King valued his people," she raged to Terrec after the first group of adults had tentatively approached the classes they had been holding for the children in the dining room. "Why haven't these people been taught before?"

"Lady Knight, your passion for the people in your care is admirable," Master Terrec soothed her. "You must know that it is somewhat, unusual, for one in your position?" Kel sagged. It was a hard truth that she had been forced to acknowledge years before. No matter what laws the King might pass, as long as noble privilege prevailed, in the fiefdoms of Tortall the Lords of the realm would continue to enforce the laws as they saw fit. "This is an oversight perhaps, or a result of the ongoing war. It is even possible that they were not interested earlier. Whatever the case, they have the chance to learn now."

"And we will make sure they learn well," she promise him solemnly. "It is good that we have the time and the expertise," Kel bowed to the head scribe, "to give them the opportunity they have not had before." It was one of several projects that made Kel more optimistic about the long house-bound days ahead of them.

As promised, Yuki joined Kel in her daily pre-dawn glaive practice and both enjoyed the peaceful time when there were fewer people around. During all her other training times, Kel was surrounded by soldiers and civilians and she would spend much of the workout correcting stances, handholds and strikes. She did not begrudge taking the time to teach them, but it did sometimes make it hard to keep her own skills honed. She was proud of the way the townspeople continued to train in spite of the overwhelming belief that the war was as good as over. While they enjoyed the lull in attacks by raiding parties, Kel encouraged those who were starting to become proficient in archery for the first time to practice their abilities by joining in the winter hunting parties. It increased their confidence and allowed them to experience the different skill of hitting a moving target.

The long nights were both easier and harder to bear. There was less fear that an attack would take them by surprise and as a result, the commanders slept more easily. For those with family around them, the time passed merrily. It was easy to fill the dark hours with tales and songs when one had others to share them with. Kel found that whenever she was not kept busy, her thoughts wandered to the people she was not with. She longed for her time with the Own, surrounded by friends and guided by Lord Raoul. She wished for her family. Most of all, she found herself contemplating a pair of bright blue eyes. Whenever she did so, Kel found it helpful to busy herself with more tasks. Her paper work had never been so up to date.

The other side of the winter nights was the lengthening hours of darkness. As the days grew shorter the people were forced inside for longer periods and tempers began to fray. Despite good relations between most within the camp, nerves became frayed and there were even more disagreements requiring Kel's input to resolve. After one such dispute, which saw three men off to the infirmary, Kel began regular tours though the barracks and dormitories during the long evenings. They were not inspections, but merely visits; still she found they reminded the inhabitants that she would tolerate no violence within the camp. It was time well spent. She sat with women and children learning to spin thread; with young men repairing equipment; and with old men listening to stories.

News slowed to a trickle as the snow began to fall and New Hope became isolated from all but the most essential of correspondence. Even news of the war became infrequent and the lack of detailed intelligence made Kel edgy. While she would not admit it to anyone, she feared the return of the Chamber's nightmares. As time wore on and still no evidence of a sinister plan reached her she began to relax somewhat. Still, she made a point of staying physically active even while the weather around the settlement became so inhospitable that it caused most people to find fewer and fewer reasons to venture outside. She knew that being tired was the best way to ensure dreamless sleep.

Neal questioned her seemingly endless activity one day when he, on waking uncommonly early discovered her already out in the yard beside the headquarters beginning her training routine.

"What on earth are you doing Kel?" he demanded crossly. "It is snowing and you're still out here. Even Wyldon never made us train outdoors in the snow."

Kel continued stretching as she corrected him, "There is snow. It is not snowing." She moved to stretch out her other leg. "You know, you could stand to join me from time to time."

"I train plenty," he retorted, "at normal times of the day with the soldiers. You are simply killing yourself to stop your jitters."

So he had noticed. Neal could be horribly annoying like that. He was incredibly observant when it came to her moods and he understood her better than anyone other than her family. She stopped to look him in the eye.

"What's got you so uptight? You're as jumpy as you were when you had to seek out Blayce." There was sympathy in his words. "Can I help in anyway?"

"No," she whispered. "You can't help this time. At least with Blayce I knew what I would have to do. Now I have nothing. Not a clue. What if I don't find out in time?"

He looked taken aback. "Kel, the war is all but over. Maggur won't even be able to put up a decent army against us next summer, unless something drastic changes. It's very unlikely that you'll have to do anything more, other than see New Hope through until the treaty is signed."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Kel insisted stubbornly. "I have a feeling that there is more for me to do yet."

"What makes you so sure, that you have to be the one to do it?" Neal asked raising an eyebrow at her speculatively.

She shrugged at him and returned to her exercise. "I'll be ready whatever happens," she announced firmly. From then on, he did not question her, but kept a close eye on her, even joining her in sword training to keep his own skills sharp. If he continued to be concerned, he hid it well and Kel also carefully maintained a steady smiling face for the people of the town.

They celebrated Midwinter in a manner that was new to Kel. For the first time since her return to Tortall, she was not either in service at the palace or awaiting her Ordeal of Knighthood. The celebrations at New Hope were much simpler than the grand banquets held in Corus that had been her experience since leaving the Yamani Islands. The tradition of exchanging gifts remained the same as she remembered it, but many other elements were slightly altered. She liked the friendly celebrations and the excitement of the children as they ran around the compound as the soldiers and civilians alike bedecked the outer wall and buildings with fresh green boughs and and bright ribbons. As she helped to build an enormous outdoor fire to burn through the longest night, she thought of Owen and her other friends undergoing the Ordeal while she was trapped in the north by heavy snows. It would likely be several months before she knew for sure that they had succeeded. She had faith in their abilities, but the memory of her own Ordeal was fresh in her mind, and the Chamber was a hard judge of future knights. Kel and the other young knights were glad of the merry night-long celebration that prevented them from worrying. They handed out cider to the adults and gave the children nuts and oranges as the entire town turned out, drawn to the fire like moths. It was an oasis of peace after the stress of the summer.

As January drew to an end good news came from Lord Wyldon at Fort Mastiff. General Vanget had received missives from Scanra. While Maggur was still king, the Counsel of Lords was forcing him to cease his endeavours into Tortall. Come the spring thaw, the peace talks would begin.