Strangers When We Meet

IX.

"I want to try, Mama."

Kel sat demurely in the chair across from her father's desk, hands folded in her skirts. She had lost weight, but somehow retained the core muscle mass she had built up during her training as a knight, and the dress didn't fit quite as well as it could have. Her hair was starting to get longer, too. It had had to be shaved after her accident to allow the healers to operate, and now it was a few inches long, a shaggy, golden-brown cap.

"What does Lord Wyldon say?" Ilane asked gently, taking her daughter's hand. The callouses that had nearly faded were being rebuilt, slowly, with her horseback riding, and they put hope in the Baroness' heart.

Kel made a face. "He's too protective of me. He says he doesn't want to risk a relapse. But Neal seems to think it wouldn't hurt, and I know Sir Alanna agrees."

Baron Piers leaned on the desk, hands steepled over the papers strewn across it. "In the end it's up to you, Keladry. You're making remarkable progress, it's true, but only you can say when you're ready for the next step."

Kel looked down at her hands. "Sometimes I think I'm not making progress at all. I still can't remember the Scanran War at all, or most of my training years."

"But you're starting to recall the Yamani Islands," Ilane reminded her, smiling. "And your short-term memory is almost entirely recovered."

"I know," Kel whispered. She squeezed her mother's hand and stood. "I'm going to the stables. I'll be back in time for supper."

"Lord Wyldon won't be able to be with you – he's in meetings with the King all afternoon," Piers reminded her, a little alarmed at her show of initiative.

"I know, Papa. I'll be careful." Smiling serenely, Kel left the room.