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Savior
Ch.4
"What the hell does that mean?" Owen started to talk fast.
"It means she's back." Wolset said again. "The lass is back." He tilted his face to the sky. "You hear that! She's back!"
"Wolset, stop." Dom put an arm the man's shoulder. "We can't get ahead of ourselves."
"Like hell we can." Neal took off after the trio and in a rush the other men followed him. All the men took the stairs to the main door three at a time. They flew down a corridor but were stopped by a sentry outside of the main hall where the King's throne resided.
"The King is in a private meeting." The guard kept his stance still but didn't budge on letting them through.
"And why is it so private?" Merric came forward.
The sentry didn't move his body but his mouth did reply. "An ambassador has come from a distant land."
"An ambassador!" Neal was shouting. "Do you know who that was? Let us see our King."
This time the sentry didn't reply and he would not move out of the way. He remained stoic.
"What goes on here?" Alanna stepped forth and made her question to her old squire Neal.
"Lioness she is here."
"Who?"
"Kel!" Neal was still shouting.
The Lioness looked at the sentry and went around him. Before pushing open the door she turned back to address the men.
"Wait until you are called." And she entered the hall.
What they said was true. The King was on his throne with George, Myles and Raoul close to him. Keladry stood in the center. Her back was straight and her head faced the Kings. Alanna examined her as she walked around towards Jon. Her hair was long and her skin porcelain. It was the first time she had ever seen the young woman wear paint on her face. It was just a touch of rouge that fit her skin tone perfectly and her eyelashes seemed darker. But it was still a change Alanna was surprised to see. The thin girl was outfitted in practical clothes that consisted of a basic tunic and pants. The dark brown cloak was fitted to her and fell to her feet. Riding boots showed worn leather. Her face was the blank slate it had always been and that did comfort the first Lady Knight.
Alanna had missed part of the conversation which was apparent when Jon stood up from his chair and exploded.
"I regret this," he shouted. "I don't wish for her to be here."
"Too late," Raoul stated drily. "The entire courtyard has seen her. And I should add that the spidrens feel comfortable enough to come in the palace."
"The immortals will be dealt with but for now I wish her to leave." Jon looked forcefully at Myles. "How do we not know that she is part of the enemy, from their side?"
Myles slipped his hands in his cloak and pulled out a thin leather bound book. It was old and showed creasing from it being held open. He turned to his King and placed it in the man's hand. Jon looked down at it and back up at the Spy Master with question.
"I'm sorry my Lord," Myles stepped back and bowed. "I regret to inform you that I have not been a good spy in your court. I have kept secrets from you and I know present them to you in the form of a journal written by your own father."
"What do you mean by this?" Jon opened the first page and saw that it was in fact his deceased father's handwriting.
"Today I met for the first time a person from the Kingdom Talla." He turned his head to look at Kel and everybody followed his gaze. Kel was still standing still in the middle of the room waiting patiently for her turn to speak. They all came nearer to her and the lady's eyes looked up into the eyes of the man who used to be her King.
"Talla is a legend it is not real." Jonathon spoke to Myles.
"No sire," Myles nodded his head down at the book. "This accounts the truth behind Talla. Tortall once had a great relationship with the neighboring empire but on their own accord they chose to veil their kingdom from the world. No man has had contact with Talla until this day."
Everybody's focus turned back to Kel. It was eerie how still and quiet she was.
"Why would you want to help?" Jonathan turned away from her and walked back to his seat.
"Talla would be in danger if Tortall falls." They were the first words the King had heard from her in almost eight years. She wasn't angry, she wasn't defiant of him. She was calm. "I can move quickly-,"
She was interrupted by a disturbance outside the main doors. Voices could be heard in what seemed like a loud shouting match. The tall and wide doors groaned open and in came several of the friends she once knew. Tripping over each other they stopped short and looked up at their leaders.
"What happened to waiting until you were called?" Alanna snapped.
Raoul couldn't hold back a snort of laughter and George's mouth twitched up into a smile. The King sighed and took a seat. He looked down at the journal and then back out the window. He had always trusted Kel's judgment. He had thrown her so many obstacles in the past that she took in stride with courage. He knew the exact moment when things went wrong between them. He secretly would have done it differently if he could but he was put in a tough position where he didn't want to admit that he was wrong.
He slumped forward and put his head in one hand which was leaning on the arm of the throne. With his other hand he motioned for the men to come forward but to stand back a respectful distance away so that they could go on with their conversation. They needed to be a silent audience. He pointed back at Kel and asked about the spidren.
Quickly she replied, "All ambassadors are equipped with enough magic to protect themselves in situations like that."
"Enough magic?" Neal blurt out. "You completely destroyed it."
"It was quite exciting." Raoul looked at Alanna.
She stepped towards Kel and it was the first time she had been this close to the girl in years. She carefully held a hand up. "May I check you to see the type of magic you possess? It won't hurt but my magic will go through you thoroughly to check."
She nodded and Alanna put the hand on her arm. A glow of purple light seemed to seep through Kel's body. It swept up and down her tall self and eventually the ball of purple went back to Alanna who took it back into her palm. The ball disappeared into Alanna.
"The magic isn't hers." Alanna nodded. "Just some protective spells that were placed by a third party."
The air became thick when the King didn't reply. He remained in the same position for a while and Owen on the sidelines started to fidget until Merric put an elbow to his stomach. Neal didn't take his eyes off of Kel.
"You left almost eight years ago." Jon stated it and waited to say more. Everybody was on edge. "Where did you go?"
It was the question that everybody wanted to know. Even those that knew the location she had been at wanted to know how she had ended up there.
"Talla," was her short answer. She offered nothing more.
"How?" Jonathon's voice boomed. "How did you come to be in land that no one thought existed?"
This threw her friends in a loop. Wasn't Talla just a legend? Of course their Kel would find the magical land nobody knew about.
Kel still stood in the same position that she had been in when Alanna entered the room. Standing center in the room. Her face masked and no body language giving anything away. Except for the one thought that she did seem different. She was and no one could explain it. She carried herself differently.
They waited for her answer. Kel used to give diplomatic answers all the time but this time she didn't. She looked evenly at King Jonathan.
"You don't get to know that." She took one step forward and it was the first movement she had made. "I've been sent by the King of Talla and if you want my help you will have to ask for it."
Everybody in the room sucked their breath in. Kel moved forward again with tiny steps. She kept talking in a low matter of fact voice.
"Rowena is coming for you. Don't be a fool and not take our offer. Talla has already called up its arms while you still sit here putting your people in disarray with terrible judgment and orders." Kel walked forth and all eyes were on her. She held the power of knowledge on her side. "But if you do choose to not use our help then that is fine."
Abruptly on her heel she spun and started to walk towards the main door as if to make her exit. "You may not go to war but I will."
"Why?" Jon called out and she stopped. He studied her. She had good tactics and she made use of them. "Do you not love Tortall?
"It is because I love Tortall that I am here." Kel swiftly turned back her face ashen. She moved forward quickly. "I love the people here," she swept a hand over to her friends. "I may not agree with your politics or how you deal with certain laws that treat your commoners like utter trash but you do try."
Kel came to a stop and looked down at her feet. Her boots had the remains of dried mud on them. When she looked back up her blank Yamini face was gone. She looked tired and her face showed ware. She came up to the few steps that would lead up to the throne. Eight years ago she had been in this same place and she had given up her shield. Today she stood offering help but she stood with another land. She spoke quietly.
"I must protect my family." It was a cool whisper and her eyes shone brilliantly into the Kings. "Let us work together."
Jonathan looked at Baron Cooper. The Spy nodded and confirmed that his gift of sight saw that she spoke the truth. This woman that once fought in their armies was willing to help them again.
His Majesty took a moment to reply. His eyes moved around the room and looked at the different Tortallans around the room. Soldiers, knights, a King Commander, spies. They all waited for his reply.
Sighing he nodded. "Before we were so rudely interrupted," he pointedly looked at Neal and his friends. "You said something about moving quickly. If Talla is a peaceful country does it have a strong army?"
Kel nodded her head up and down fast. "Yes, we have no Knights but the people defend their lands till the end."
"Are you willing to supply soldiers to help defend us?"
"And if so how soon can they be?" Raoul cut in and looked excited. His men would need all the help they could get.
Kel rocked her feet back and forth. "Well, actually….Part of our army is already here."
