CHAPTER SIX
Glaive Lessons
November-December, 460
Carthak
With Merric's help, Kel found the strength to withstand the nastiness of the court ladies. She spent much of her free time with Temrhys and Temara, teaching them combat techniques while they gave her tours of the city and the university, where they spent much of their time. Both, Kel came to find, were not well-loved among the Carthakis, who often referring to them as 'Ozorne's bastards.' Living up to her title, Kel did what she could to provide them with a means of surviving in the palace.
By wheedling with the Carthaki stable master, she was able to secure a position for Rhys in caring for the horses. Temara was a little more difficult, but eventually Lady Ylris, one of the few friends Kel had made in the higher circle of noblewomen, consented to take the girl under her wing as a personal maid. And when Daine, Neal, and Lord Wyldon returned, the Wildmage took over their training when she could, teaching them how to use their magic as well as she was able.
"I don't know what I can do about Temmy," she confided to Kel late one evening as they splashed about in the ladies' baths. "Her wild magic is so limited, it's hardly wild magic at all. She can speak to birds a little, and seems to get on fairly well with most types of rodents, but anything larger is a struggle for her."
"Could it be her personality?" Kel ventured, slightly out of her depth. No one in her family possessed any magic, and so she had little knowledge of how it worked.
Daine coated her hand in the blue-green bath crystals at the side of the pool and began to lather herself. "It's possible. I have more of a feeling it has something to do with her past."
The Wildmage seemed reluctant to continue her explanation, but Kel's curiosity was piqued. "Her past?"
"Yes." Daine hesitated again, and gave her a wry look. "If I tell you my speculations – and they're just speculations, mind you! – will you promise not to throw a fit?"
Mystified, Kel agreed. "Of course."
Daine's green-hazel eyes narrowed. "Swear?"
The Lady Knight rolled her eyes. "I swear by my shield and sword, I won't throw a fit!"
"Very well." Daine rinsed off the soapy residue left by the bath crystals, watching the faint color swirl in the steaming water. "The twins are… about fourteen, I think. You wouldn't think it to look at Rhys – he's so scrawny. Hasn't hit his growth spurt yet. But Temmy is starting to become quite a lovely young lady, and more than a few men in the palace are beginning to notice. Nobles and slaves alike."
Kel tried very hard not to grind her teeth, and almost succeeded. I swore by my shield and sword, dammit, and now I have to keep my word! she reminded herself as Daine continued.
"If she was as pretty five years ago as she is now, I wouldn't be surprised if a few court perverts thought to get their jollies by fooling with an ex-royal bastard girl who no one gives a shit about." The Wildmage huffed to herself. "Sorry. I guess it gets under my skin, too."
"But what does that have to do with her wild magic?" Kel asked, trying to change the topic before she broke her vow.
"Mental and emotional trauma has been known to affect magic," Daine explained. "Mine was very inhibited for a long time after my mother's death. Tamara's magic seems to be functioning fine, just on a… lesser level."
"And will she ever reach full potential?"
The Wildmage shrugged. "It's possible. I'm not much of an expert, really. I keep meaning to speak with Numair, but he's been so busy at the University. I hardly see him."
"No one has," Kel agreed. "I think I've seen him in passing twice while you were away. I tried to keep an eye on him, but…"
"It's okay," Daine interrupted genially. "He's a big boy."
"And how is… Lord Wyldon?" Kel asked carefully. "I have not yet seen him."
Daine looked at her, enviable void of expression. "Why don't you ask him?"
Kel suddenly became very interested in the mosaic tiles in the bottom of the pool. "I don't want to be presumptuous. It is a very delicate subject, you know," she added defensively." Her friend chuckled.
"You show you care by asking him after his own welfare, not me. There is to be a boat party tonight, during which I shall endeavor to dismay every single lady that approaches you. That should give you plenty of time to pop the question."
Kel hid her irritated blush by splashing her friend liberally with water.
It was a fair night for a boat party, Kel admitted to herself as she admired the silvery clouds scudding cheerfully along the sky, propelled by a stiff breeze in the higher regions of the stratosphere. Down below on the broad indigo river, an occasional light wind was the only disruption in the vaguely chilly evening, causing wicker torches to dance and ladies' skirts to flutter merrily.
Kel was mostly comfortable in a bold-hued bronze-orange gown of delicate taffeta that had slits up the sides to allow free movement. A gold-striped ginger sari of the Copper Isles completed her exotic ensemble. Hidden skillfully beneath her loose garments were several flat Raven daggers, and two poisoned blow-darts were disguised within the bamboo ribs of her broad silk fan. Baron Piers was taking no chances tonight.
As Daine had promised earlier, not one noblewoman bothered her for the entire evening, leaving her plenty of time to speak with Lord Wyldon. So, after half an hour of sipping various drinks and nibbling the outlandish hors d'œuvres that graced the long table on the port side of the pleasure boat, Kel went looking for him.
She found the Lord of Cavall leaning against the prow as he leaned over to look into the water. Firmly swallowing the ridiculous thread of nervousness that spiraled up into her throat, she said, "What is it you are looking for, my lord Wyldon?"
He did not seem surprised at her presence. Without turning, he replied, "Answers." Then he looked at her, a wry smile on his face. "You see I brood terribly."
Kel, shocked at his appearance, did not reply, but instead stepped back and curtseyed low as a sign of respect and mourning. The incredible weariness in his eyes was second only to the sadness embedded deep into the elegantly carved lines around his mouth and brow. Although he was as handsome as he had ever been, it seemed as though his age had suddenly fell upon him in a single, horrible moment, dragging him to the ground. She felt overwhelmed by his uncontestable display of mourning. Every stitch of black cloth made her feel ridiculously gaudy.
In a moment of sanity, she suddenly remembered her reason for seeking him out. "I came to ask how you were, my lord," she murmured, feeling silly. Look at him! her mind nearly screamed at her. How do you think he is?
A flicker of amusement in his eyes showed her he knew her thoughts. "I think it is better for me to be in Carthak," he said, neatly avoiding the heart of the question. "If I were not here… well, it gives me something to do. Dutifully attending parties is better than moping about at home." Kel could hear the disgust in his voice, and smiled hesitantly. This was a part of Lord Wyldon she remembered. He would go above and beyond the call of duty for the Crown, but that didn't mean he had to like it.
"Daine tells me she went peacefully, free of sickness."
Lord Wyldon bowed his head in a slow nod. "That is true. But it… it pains me that my last glimpse of her was a strained one." He shook his head. "We were not on the best of terms when I left for Carthak."
There was nothing she could say to that. She began to curtsy to take her leave, but he stopped her with a single phrase: "I hear you are uncommonly close with Sir Merric these days."
Kel snapped her head up to look into his eyes. He, like Diane earlier that day, conveyed no emotion. "I am." What else could she say? He pressed her further, however, simply nodding.
"If it wouldn't be a trouble, Keladry, would you mind teaching me how to use the glaive?" he asked abruptly. "I fear I am slacking in my morning routines, and could use something new to keep my mind… focused on my goals."
"Certainly, my lord," Kel replied, surprised at the request but happy to do her part in assisting his emotional and mental recovery from the shock of Vivienne's death. She curtsied low this time, allowing her smile to show above the folds of her sari. "You may join Daine and I tomorrow, just shy of daybreak in the stables. We run from there around the palace before beginning," she clarified.
Wyldon bowed in return, the heavy sorrow in the lines of his body lightening just a bit. "It would be an honor."
"Ready stance, my lord," Kel commanded, gratified to see her old training master was a bit stiff in the joints from the uncommonly humid weather. It made it more of a challenge for him to succeed. Although she laid down the hardest commands and moves, however, he made no complaint, even when his body sagged between exercises. He sagged now, briefly, before obeying. It made Kel strangely giddy to know he, her former personal hell-denizen, was now minding her as though she were a professional teacher.
"You really should have practiced more on your way from Tortall," she chided him as she allowed him to make the first move. She blocked the slightly lethargic overhead swing with an under-hook, and finished the pass with the sword-similar butterfly movement to his right shoulder.
"I know. This is why I'm putting myself through this hell," Wyldon growled, suddenly coming out with a quick flurry-pattern of offensive strikes to her sides. Stepping back lightly, she blocked each one neatly and sidestepped a staggered blow that landed in the dust. Daine booed from the sidelines.
"C'mon, ya old coot, is that all ya got?" she leered in a rather good impression of an unschooled sailor, complete with an enviable display of expectoration. Wyldon sneered back at her, the perfect haughty nobleman, and caught Kel off guard with a quick nip at her torso.
Kel's guard was not all he caught. With a neat nicking sound, the laces of her training bodice came apart, nearly dropping the entire thing to the ground. Kel grabbed it just in time, dropping her glaive instead. More amusingly, Wyldon's eyes popped in shock, just before he spun quickly on his heel as she made herself decent.
"Please forgive me, Lady Knight," he muttered, the back of his neck blushing beet red from Kel's point of view. "It was entirely an accident, I assure you."
Kel struggled not to burst out laughing as she quickly retied the foolhardy laces and attempted to get herself back in order. "It's perfectly fine, my lord," she wheezed. She coughed in an attempt to clear the hysteria from her throat. "You win this round, I think?"
From the sidelines, Daine collapsed in laughter at Wyldon's pained expression.
From that day on, Kel wore soft, slip-on, cowl-necked tunics to her glaive practice, taking every opportunity to pit Daine and Wyldon against each other so that she could see where they needed improvement. When demonstration was necessary, she stepped in and explained with her movements how to fight glaive to glaive. Sometimes the twins Temrhys and Temara showed up, watching silently with their wide, slanted eyes.
"They give me the creeps," Neal declared one afternoon as they sparred casually with swords in one of the practice courts. "Always playing off each other with those eerie comments of theirs."
"You should spend more time with them," Kel suggested. "Strange things become less strange the more you get to know them."
Neal cocked his head. "That sounds like a comment that could come back to haunt you."
Kel yielded to his blade and stepped back with a laugh. "Why be afraid of the truth?"
Her puck-like friend shrugged, saluting her with his blade. "Sometimes we say things we think we believe in, and then something happens that throws our perspective all out of whack."
Kel blinked. "Wow Neal, congratulations on that philosopher's degree."
He swatted her playfully. "You'll see what I mean eventually."
"Why, what did you think you believed in?" Kel asked.
"That's just it. I didn't believe in it."
"In…?"
"Love."
Kel grinned. "Yuki's good at proving men wrong."
Neal looked uncomfortable. "It wasn't Yuki who proved me wrong."
Before Kel could ask him to elaborate, he trotted off for the weapons rack, and then the men's bathhouse where she could not follow to pester him into clarifying. Shrugging, Kel went her own way with a lot to think about.
"Keladry, may I speak with you?" Lady Ilane inquired, poking her head into her daughter's room where Kel was sketching the western portion of her makeshift palace map.
"Sure, Mama," Kel replied. She summoned her mother into her room with a wave of her hand, and the Baroness closed the door behind her before sitting on her daughter's bed. "What is it?"
Ilane smoothed Kel's coverlet with careworn hands. "It has been a while since we've spoken, my daughter."
Kel looked puzzled. "I thought we talked only yesterday -"
"I remember distinctly it was in the summer, during the Great Progress," Ilane interrupted. "And you came to me asking about love and all that comes with it."
"Oh. Cleon…"
Ilane smiled. "Was he the object of your affections?" She paused. "It seems you have a fondness for red-haired, boisterous men."
Kel squirmed, thinking of Neal and Dom. "I think it only seems like it."
Ilane raised an eyebrow. "'Only seems like it'? If you'll forgive a mother's curiosity… what exactly is your relationship with Merric of Hollyrose?"
"We're sleeping together," Kel said blandly. "Is that what you wanted to know?"
"I want to know if you're fooling around or really mean it this time," Lady Ilane retorted sharply.
"What do you mean 'this time'?" Kel demanded. "It's not like I sleep around with every other man I meet - Merric is only my second lover."
"Your lover or your plaything?" Ilane asked, her voice gentler this time. "Kel, when I told you the Goddess gave us freedom with our bodies I didn't mean she gave us the right to use it for shallow purposes."
"Merric offered himself to me out of consolation, Mama." Kel rubbed her face with her hands. "I needed some kind of proof that I'm not the hideous creature the Carthaki ladies think I am."
"If you're not careful, love, you may capture his heart without meaning to," Ilane cautioned her. "And when you have it in your hands, what will you do with it?"
"He promised no strings attached…"
"And when a man wants a woman and thinks he can wile her into 'loving' him, that's exactly what he'll say," Ilane said with quiet conviction. "Trust me, dearest. I know."
"Maybe I do love him," Kel said defensively. Her mother played the eyebrow card again, and she sagged into the mattress. "I do love some things about him."
"I'm sure you do," Ilane agreed. "But do you love all of him? Do you love him enough to settle down at Hollyrose, become his wife, bear his children until you are too old to be a knight any longer?"
"Merric knows me, Mama," Kel snapped, fed up with her mother's over exaggeration. "He wouldn't tie me down like that. We'd… we'd roam the world together, as knight-errants…"
"Is that what you want, my child?" Ilane inquired softly.
"I am not Lady Alanna," Kel admitted. "I do want a home, and I do want a husband… but I also want to be a knight and serve the Crown! I am the Protector of the Small, Mama, much as I dislike the title, and I must live up to it."
Ilane smiled. "There are many things you want."
"I know! But I see no reason why I cannot have all of them," Kel said crossly, sounding petulant even to herself. Her mother laughed out loud.
"We shall see, my dear. Please think over what I've said, though… I've no wish to see either you or Merric to be hurt by this little fling."
Kel kissed her mother on the cheek despite her irritation. "I will, Mama. Thanks for giving me some food for thought."
