Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce is the owner of the Protector of the Small Quartet
"What's your name?" Kel asked a near bye servant as she changed the baby's underlings. The servant in question was a young girl, perhaps a few years younger than her. She had short, light brown hair and a tiny waist. She stood at Kel's shoulders.
"Me?" The servant asked, slightly startled. Kai grunted, unhappy that his mother's attention had turned away from him. Kel looked back down at her son and smiled.
"Yes. I've been here for nearly a year and I still don't know anyone's names." Or befriended any one for that matter, she mentally added.
The girl hurried to the door.
"I'm sorry my lady, but I'm just a servant." The girl gave a quick curtsy and left.
Kel sighed. She had tried similar tactics with other servants and yet it always ended the same. She wasn't sure what kind of spell Joren had cast over his workers but all of them seemed to avoid her. Half of them stuck up their nose at her, while the other half seemed terrified of her. Talk was simple and to the point. Other than that, she was ignored.
"Well, at least I have you." She whispered to her son. Kai smiled.
In the month that had followed his birth he had already grown a shocking full head of hair. It was a dark, - darker even than hers – raven brown. Kel had little chance to venture out into the sun since her injury and the result had turned her golden brown hair a much darker shade. It gave her comfort to know that her son had inherited it from her. His eyes, well they were another matter.
Kel walked over to the window.
The summer was almost over. Soon the weather would grow cold and it would make it all the more impossible for her to leave the manor. It was so inviting outside. It was cooling down, but to a pleasant degree. The autumn festival grounds were near here. It was such a shame that Joren had 'expressed' his displeasure when she had requested to walk outside the manor walls.
She was in no mood to fight him again. At least not until her broken rib healed.
Looking to the side, her eyes caught hold of the window's curtain. It was a vibrant shade of brown with a lighter tan pattern bordering the trim. Kel smirked, thinking of a certain outfit in her wardrobe that matched it perfectly.
Impulsively, she ripped it off the rod.
"I'll be right back." She told her son and then went to her room. A few minutes later she came back in, wearing a brown skirt and white blouse. Around her torso was a small, makeshift hammock made up from the curtain. It tied around her good shoulder and crossed down to the opposite side of her ribs. It was meant to be a carrier for Kai.
Gingerly, she lifted the baby into the curtain.
"There now. I've seen plenty of Yamani women do this trick." She assured him. Kai laughed and it did her heart good and strengthened her courage against Joren's soon to be wrath.
"You'll love the autumn festival. They travel around all of Tortall this time of year. We're in luck that they're near bye right now."
Kel walked quietly out of the room. She didn't want any servants to see them. She wasn't sure how they would react. It was just her luck that her sleeping quarters were on the fifth floor. Kel clenched her teeth. So many flights of stairs! And her stomach was still recovering...
She sighed when they left the corridor. Quietly, she opened the door to the servant's stairs. They were smaller than the stairs she was used to using, but they were discrete and out of sight. It was less likely that Joren would catch them.
Kel looked down and fought back a fearful gulp. She had to be careful not to tear her stomach open again. She had just stopped bleeding a few nights ago.
Carefully, she took her first step and then she took another. It was going to take forever if she went at such a sow speed. Just then, one of the doors to a higher floor opened and slammed shut. Kel could hear hushed voices and footsteps as whoever it was began to descend down the stairs.
Taking the initiative, Kel sped up. Two at a time and sometimes three she jumped step after step. It took everything within her to be gentle with Kai and keep him soothed and quiet. When she made it to the bottom she wasn't at all surprised to find that she had started bleeding again. Thankfully, she was already wearing an extra cloth in her under dressings as a precaution.
Silently, she opened the door to the basement corridor. It would be best if she slipped out of the cellar, assuming that she didn't run into any servants. The basement was their sleeping quarters.
It looked like she was going to make it. Kel headed down the long hall. It was always dim in the basement and so it would be harder for people to recognize her or at east she hoped.
The door was in sight. Just a little further -
"My lady?" An aghast voice called. Startled, Kel spun around only to find an elderly, male servant staring at her in shock.
"Y-yes?" She asked, trying to act indifferent.
"What – what are you – do you need any assistance?" The man stuttered. Kel forced herself to stand him down.
"I'm just taking Kai to the autumn festival. It only comes once a year and I really enjoy the carpenter market. They have such lovely bows..." The servant was gaping at her. Kel sighed and turned to go.
"Well, if that's all."
"Lord Joren will not approve of this." The servant finally bit out. Kel shrugged.
"Lord Joren doesn't need to find out." She retorted calmly but bluntly. The servant watched her leave with an unfathomable look.
Kel felt much better once they got outside. The sun was shining and the sky was a rich blue. The farther away she got from the manor, the happier she became. It was no wonder Joren wanted her locked inside. Outside, she was tempted never to come back.
The only thing dampening her mood was the shocked looks she was getting from the servants. It was almost eerie the way they all stopped to watch her.
Deciding it would be best to take a carriage or ride horseback, Kel made her way to the stable. Kai cooed in delight at the sight of the many horse in Joren's possession. They could have carried an army.
"My lady?" Asked a surprised coachman. Kel fought back a groan. Not this again.
"If you please. We are headed to the autumn festival. Could you lend us a coach?" She asked politely but even before she finished the coachman was shaking his head vividly.
"I'm sorry my lady, but that just isn't possible. Lord Joren has made it perfectly clear that you are not to-"
"-Oh just forget it." Kel interrupted. Her face remained stoic but her voice was filled with venom. The coachman jumped in surprise.
"We'll just set out on foot." And then she quickly left before he decided to stop her. She was sure she could take him on individually and perhaps even with a little help. But more than that and she was sure to lose.
Quickly they left the barn. Kai was bright and alert to the new sounds and sights around him. His weight and her exerted movement were starting to weigh her down. Already her bad shoulder was throbbing and she was out of breath. Every time she tried to take in a gulp of air her broken rib protested. Her stomach was aching with woman pains. Anyone else would have turned back but the her resolve hardened.
All around her servants were staring and whispering to another. Kel did her best to ignore them. She was almost at the gate that divided Joren's land from the main road. It helped that the manor was on a hill and the pathway from it and to the gate was down hill. The momentum aided her in her walk.
To soon though she began to hear horses hooves as multiple ones galloped her way. At first she thought that it was her own steps making the noise but the horses whinnys and the men's shouts put her imagination to rest.
Their sound alone told her that she was outnumbered and that it would be foolish to run. Her face was blank and her posture was calm when six men in guard uniforms came out from behind and circled her so that she had no where to turn.
"Good day, gentlemen." She greeted. No one replied.
After a minute, a burley man with a scrawny,wrinkled face came forward. He was an ugly man and he had a distinctly unpleasant smell.
"Lady Keledry. Lord Joren has appointed me to escort you safely back to the manor." The man told her roughly. Kel surrendered quietly and allowed the man to place her and the baby on his horse. If she fought, she would put Kai in unnecessary danger.
The ride back to the manor was over too quickly and before she knew it, Kel was standing in front of the manor's main entrance. The burley man stood directly behind her, making it impossible for her to leave.
She had to all but force herself to open the doors and once she did, she wished she hadn't. For not a hair's width a way stood Joren looking like the devil himself had possessed him.
"Nice to see that you have returned." He said in a voice dead of emotion. Kel knew as she faced him down, there was hell to pay.
