I'm sorry it took so long to update (mea culpa). Thanks for all the reviewers who kept reminding me that I needed to carve time out of my insane schedule to write. Hope you enjoy and as always reviews are appreciated.
FyreDragyn

Kel spent many mornings after that helping Yuki and Shinko to try to teach the three western women how to use the glaive. She also spent many evenings in long conversations with the two Yamani women, reminiscing and talking about what Shinko could expect when she met Prince Roald, who currently was in Port Legann with his knight master. Kel did not know the prince personally but the squires she knew spoke well of him and she hoped that Shinko would be happy with him.

Then in late summer there was a rebellion on Fief Shaila, which Raoul took Third Company to deal with. Almost before they had quelled the rebellion, there were forest fires reported in the hills near the Drell River and the Third worked hard for several weeks to clear breaks and to trap the fires. Working with the local inhabitants, the hill people, the Bazhir and the soldiers they were able to save every village. When the rains finally fell they brought relief from the fires but now everything was coated in mud and soot, including Kel and the other members of the Own.

"I'd like to head south for the winter," said Raoul to his squad leaders a few days after it had been confirmed that no more fire smoldered hidden in the thick underbrush of the forest.

"But, sir, the palace will be very busy won't his majesty want us or at least you to be there?" said Dom.

"Exactly the reason we're going south. He'll want me dressed up in fancy silks and attending parties. And do you know who comes to parties? Husband hunting mothers." Raoul shuddered eloquently, "No I think we'll go to Kendrach. They won't turn away any armed men since the Carthakis are still rebelling against Kaddar's succession."

"But, sir, what about those of us who want to attract the attention of the husband hunting mothers? Not all of them look down on younger sons."

"Especially those who have plenty of money," came a voice of one of the squad leaders.

"You'll just have to miss it this year I've made up my mind."

While there was still considerable grousing amongst the men they all respected Raoul too much to actually complain to him. So Third Company went to Kendrach. They had been there about a week during which Raoul had time to privately train Kel alongside her training with the men of the Own. It was during that time that Kel finally had a chance to speak to Lerant privately. While they were still not best friends they had reached an understanding. But after they had been there a little over a week and before they had seen any action a letter arrived from the palace.

Nobody knew what the letter said but from the dark clouds on Raoul's face everyone knew that he was not happy about it. Kel got the impression that it was something along the lines of "Stop being childish and come back to the palace where you're supposed to be." Still Third Company stayed at Kendrach. Kel learned how to sail a small vessel, she'd been too young when she lived in the Yamani Islands. She and the gryphon had reached the point now where he didn't deliberately try to maim her, largely because he had figured out that Kel was his only food source.

Then another letter arrived, from the palace but not the official looking letter that had arrived from the King. Kel came upon Raoul reading the letter the night it arrived. He looked up at her when she walked in.

"Do you think I'm being childish and unreasonable by not wanting to subject myself to the torture of matchmakers, bootlickers, and assorted other toadies while wearing uncomfortable and brightly colored clothes? I can have a normal conversation with about five people in the whole palace and I bet none of them will be available to talk to since all my friends are important people and will be surrounded by their own circle of sycophants," said Raoul plaintively.

"Well," said Kel reflectively, "If there is no good reason to undergo this torture then I'd say no but ah sir, a direct order from the King is a pretty good reason."

"It's really not fair that your childhood friend can order you about like that."

"If I may ask, sir, who is that letter from?"

"Thayet, of course, telling me that Jon is not handling my continued residence here in Kendrach well and that I should hurry back to Corus. She also plays the guilt card and the 'you need to support your best friend' card."

Kel managed to keep a straight face and not point out to her commander that he did indeed sound like a whiny child. "Are we going to Corus then?"

Raoul glared but nodded. The next day the company was on its way back to the Royal Palace. When they arrived the city was in an uproar. Resentment had boiled from the middle and lower classes over a case that was to be tried in court in a few days. It seemed that a female maid had been kidnapped and brutally raped in an attempt to frighten her mistress into complying with the lord's to join their fiefs through marriage.

Since the middle class was well aware of or able to research legal precedents it was widely known that the worst sentence the lord could legally be given was a monetary fine. Nor could the maid's mistress punish the lord herself as she was a widow with no male relatives except a 5 year old son.

When Third Company rode through Corus they passed three people on three separate street corners denouncing the evil system which counted anyone not nobly born as mere chattel, little more than slaves. They were also spit at and booed by some of the bolder members of the crowd. Kel just barely managed to duck in time before being hit with a rotten vegetable. Raoul was looking more and more grim as they approached the palace.

The outer walls were covered with egg and vegetable juices. The palace guard had managed to prevent any defacement of the wall that required being closer than 5 yards but vegetables and eggs apparently made excellent projectiles.

There was a message waiting for Raoul when he and Kel reached it. It came as no surprise that it summoned Raoul to a meeting with the king. What was surprising was that Raoul wished Kel to come with him as his attendant.

"I've noticed you often have rather inspirational ideas in times of crisis and I want you to hear everything," said Raoul, "Besides, I can make you take notes so I don't have to pay attention. The meeting is formal enough that a secretary of sorts won't be out of the ordinary and not so formal that we'd call in a court scribe."

After a quick sponge bath and a change of clothes, Kel followed Raoul to the meeting room. As she did she thought about the little she knew about the case but she also thought of Lalasa back at Pirate's Swoop. Lalasa had experience something similar to the maid. However she had been unaffiliated at the time and had no one to come to her defense except the housekeeper who was apparently of the opinion that every maid was a slut and deserved what she got. This was why Lalasa's uncle had wanted to send her far away from the palace.

When Kel stepped into the room behind Raoul she immediately recognized several people in the room. Alanna was there, scowling blackly although when she saw Kel she smiled briefly apparently in satisfaction, as well as Thayet, Buri, Numair and Daine. Kel was quickly able to pick out King Jonathan even though he was not wearing a crown and she'd only met him once.

Raoul sat down next to one of the men that Kel did not know and she followed him. Taking a chair conveniently placed behind Raoul's seat. She noticed that the unknown man was one of only 2 people in the room besides Raoul with a secretary. The room buzzed with conversation, the meeting had apparently not yet been called to order.

Focusing on Raoul she heard him say to the man, "Gary, what's the scoop. I've been in Kendrach for the last month, give me some details that haven't been made up by rumor mills."

From this Kel realized that this was her friend Gary's father, Gareth the Younger of Naxen. Now that she knew she couldn't believe she had missed the resemblance. The features that made his daughter's face seem plain were much better looking on him. However, it seemed that the Lord of Naxen had not been sleeping well since he had dark circles under his eyes.

Pulling her wandering thoughts back under control Kel listened to Gareth briefly fill in some details. There had been riots and protests in the city for the last four days. Apparently the maid's story had spread through the servants' gossip chain and had inspired fear in other servants in the palace that they could be treated just as cavalierly. The outrage of the palace servants had quickly spread through the Lower City and even through the middle classes as the middle class realized that though they had more money than the lower classes they had no more rights under the law.

The maid had apparently been kidnapped from the hallways by some hired roughnecks on her way to the kitchen to return her mistress's lunch tray. She had been missed about an hour later by her mistress and there had been a fairly discreet search of the palace for the missing maid. Unfortunately she had not been found. Instead she was found the following morning severely beaten and unconscious with a note pinned to the rough blanket she had been wrapped in. There was no sign of the dress she had been wearing when she was kidnapped. The note pointed out that it was not too much more difficult to kidnap a noble woman without any male protection than it was to kidnap her maid and if she did not soon see the error of her ways she could expect the same treatment.

Finally the meeting was brought to order when King Jonathan cleared his throat and gestured for everyone who was still standing to be seated. The king of course sat at the head of the table, Thayet to his right and to his left was a rather nice looking young man only a few years older than Kel. Must be the Crown Prince Roald, Shinko's betrothed, thought Kel.

"As you all know there have been some problems in the city in the last few days," began the king. He was interrupted by a rude noise from Alanna who sat only a few seats away. Kel winced the Lioness was not known for her well controlled tongue.

"Come on, Jon, there have been more than 'some problems.' There has been all out rioting. No noble can ride into the city without a full escort since the people are quick to attack and slow to ask questions. While I think they're justified in their protest of the law I find it insulting that they are tarring every member of the nobility with the same brush as that filthy Baron Naton."

"As always, Sir Alanna, thank you for your opinions." Alanna merely rolled her eyes at the king. Kel couldn't imagine anyone being comfortable enough with any of the other kings or emperors she'd met (admittedly few) to roll their eyes at them, but it seemed Alanna was this comfortable. She heard Raoul and Lord Gareth chuckle. Lord Gareth even muttered about Lionesses never changing their stripes and Raoul muttered back that Jon needed someone to give him the unvarnished truth every once in while. Kel thought to herself, I don't think Alanna restrains herself to every once in a while.

The king proceeded to lay out all the facts as he knew them. Finally opening the table for discussion he said, "I do not know what the best solution to this problem is, that is why I have called all of you here. Please do not hesitate to suggest any ideas that occur to you, even if you think they may be impossible to implement."

Almost immediately a man on the opposite of the table from Kel stood up, "This rioting is ridiculous. It needs to be crushed quickly with force from the army and the King's Own. Are we to be dictated to by the whims of the lower classes?"

Alanna was the first and loudest one to reply, "Are you mad, man? Do you want them to murder us in our beds? Do you want the farmers to stop delivering food to the city? Do want every servant to either leave or become sullen discontents in your own house if you force them to stay? And what kind of force do you plan on using? Do you plan to seek out the leaders and murder them? It will only make them martyrs for the cause. Do you plan to destroy their property and family? A man with nothing left to loose is the most dangerous enemy of all. Force against people who are justifiably outraged is not the answer. Perhaps we should just hang Naton and appease the people."

Lord Naxon shook his head, "Now come, come, Alanna. It would set a bad precedent. If we did that then every time some servant wished to cause his master trouble he or she would just need to accuse him of rape."

From there the room erupted in disagreements. King Jonathon sat at the head of the table and appeared to be trying to listen to everyone, although since everyone was trying to talk over someone else Kel didn't see how he could. Raoul leaned back and said, "What do you think?"

Startled, it took Kel a moment to answer, "Well sir, I think one of the reasons this hasn't occurred in the past is that there has usually been a male knight or lord that could demand restitution for such a crime. However, there isn't in this case. Perhaps the short term answer would be for the king to assign a champion for the maid and the lord would face serious repercussions for his actions. But I do think that the best long term answer, sir, is to just change the law."

"Change the law?" said Raoul, loudly enough that the Lord Naxon heard.

"What? Change the law. That could take years and in the meantime every time a similar case arises we'll have the same problem over again since the people wouldn't be able to see any change until we managed to get the law past all the conservatives."

"That would be a problem," Raoul agreed, "But wait, you suggested a champion for this one case, Kyle. Why not create a position in the government, which Jon could do by decree without having to get all the old guard to agree? The job would be to champion any commoner who could prove that they had been wronged by a noble until we can get the law changed. His title could be the People's Champion and he'd have the same rank as the King's Champion."

"You know, Raoul, that might not be a bad idea. Let's wait until Jon gets fed up with all this shouting so he can actually hear us."

As if on cue, King Jonathon stood up and shouted, "All right! That's enough! This is supposed to be a civilized discussion not the verbal equivalent of a barroom brawl." Kel wondered if the king had ever seen a barroom brawl.

"Now if you would all be quiet, I am willing to entertain suggestions, suggested one at a time," said the king, "And in a calm manner," he added after a look at Alanna and a few other people around the table.

Raoul stood up. Several people appeared startled. It seemed her mild mannered commander did not usually speak at such meetings. Even Alanna looked surprised.

"Jon, have you considered just changing the law?" Now most of the people at the table looked dumbfounded. However, Alanna looked sharply at Kel.

"Ah, I had actually entertained the idea but I don't see how it would help the current situation. It takes months if not years to get a law passed, especially if…" The king stopped and Kel realized that at least some of the key objectors to the law were probably in the room right now.

"Well actually, we have a suggestion for the short term while the law is being changed. Why don't you appoint someone to champion any commoner who needs a champion. You could call him," glancing at Alanna, "or her, the People's Champion. Once it has been proven that a noble has committed a crime against a non-noble the non-noble should have the right to ask whoever takes this job to champion them." There was a short silence.

"Well why don't we just make it a permanent position then?" said a man further down the table from Raoul.

"No, that won't work," thought Kel. Everyone's eyes shot to her and she realized she had said it aloud and rather loudly. Raoul turned and looked at her and smiled.

"My secretary is actually a member of the King's Own, who I am training for a command position in the near future. He was actually the one to suggest both changing the law and a champion for the people."

King Jonathon looked at the young man sitting behind Raoul, he was almost positive it was the same young man that he had run into in Alanna's rooms but he couldn't tell from Alanna's face which appeared to be deep in thought. What had his name been? "Well young man, what exactly did you have in mind?" Raoul nudged the boy to make him stand.

"Actually, Your Majesty," said the boy, "I only suggested a champion for the maid in the current case. M'lord of Goldenlake suggested the semi-permanent position. But sire, the position is only a stop gap measure. The champion cannot be everywhere all the time and while the people might be satisfied with this as a place holder I don't think they, particularly those I saw denouncing nobles on the streets of Corus, would be completely satisfied unless the law was changed. Especially since the champion would also have to be of noble birth for him or her to be taken seriously by other nobles."

Thayet, at his side, murmured, "He's right you know." Jonathon nodded.

"Thank you, young man. What is your name?" There was an awkward pause for a moment.

"Kyle Mindle, sire."

"Thank you, Kyle. Does anyone else have another suggestion?" No one stood up. "Well then this meeting is adjourned. I will notify you as to my decision before I notify the general populace."

After his councilors had left the room, Jonathon turned to his wife and his son, "What do you think?"

"I think his suggestion was the most sensible one made," said Thayet matter-of-factly.

"I am glad he thought of the champion," said Roald, "None of us could think of what to do to both solve the immediate problem and prevent trouble in the future."

"Kyle Mindle is quite an interesting fellow," said Thayet, "He knows combat like a Shang, was apparently trained by Alanna, but he helps Shinkokami and Yukimi teach Alanna, Buri, and myself the glaive, he is friends with Daine, Numair and Buri and it appears that Raoul is groom him to take over his position."

"Yet he seems so young. Not much older than 15. His voice hasn't even changed yet," added the king, "But he is definitely proficient with his weapons. Alanna had him give me a demonstration of the use of the glaive."

"Did you see Alanna, Raoul and Buri all freeze when you asked his name?" asked Roald.

"Yes actually, that was most curious. Perhaps I should have Myles look into this Kyle Mindle," said Jonathon.

Thayet shrugged, "I do not think it is secret that would impact the state. You forget that if Alanna trained him, he lived with George for years. Plenty of time for George to sniff out his secrets and tell us if they were dangerous."

"You're right. Alanna and Raoul also know everything and while we have our disagreements I don't think they'd keep secrets that might harm the realms."

"Well, I'll be off, father. I need to meet Lord Imrah."

After Roald left Thayet sighed, "He's grown up so fast. He'll be married soon. He and Shinko are so awkward together though."

"They'll get over it, love. My parents had an arranged marriage and they loved each other by the time I remember them."

"You're right, I just wish we could have let him choose his own bride." The two walked out of the council chamber heading back to their own chambers.