Thank you all for reading this story! I really appreciate all the encouraging comments. This is where things start to get interesting!
Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers. I'm thankful for all of you. I'm thankful for my husband and my family and their encouragement. I'm thankful for being able to live comfortably and in safety. I pray that this holiday season finds all of you well and fills you with joy.
I would think it's common knowledge now, but once again, I am not Tamora Pierce and I don't own anything.
The next night Kel was in line for supper when she saw more faces at the squires' tables. The number of squires who lived on the floor above the pages' wing had been growing slowly as autumn went on. Kel barely knew those who had come in before, but tonight she recognized two faces: Cleon and Garvey.
"One good, one bad," Merric remarked from behind Kel.
"Do I have to close my eyes to guess which?" Owen wanted to know.
When they went to their usual table, Cleon walked over. "It's about time," Neal said when the redheaded squire slid onto the bench next to him. "We thought they would leave you in the north all winter. You would have come back as an icicle."
"A really big icicle," added Seaver. A chorus of laughter erupted from the pages and squire.
It was then that Lord Wyldon entered the mess hall and demanded quiet. This was Cleon's signal to make his way back to the squires' tables. He found them all in the library studying after dinner. He sighed as he sat across from Kel at the table. "I completely forgot that Sir Myles asked for reports while we're out with our knightmasters. I only finished half of it."
Neal suddenly smacked his hand to his forehead. "And I forgot that Sir Inness is your knightmaster," he explained. "Did you see Kel while you were at Mindelan?"
"Or heard from her at all?" asked Faleron. "She hasn't responded to any of our letters. She hasn't even written a single letter to Kaden either."
Kel sat still on her bench and tried to look relaxed. On the inside her stomach was twisting in knots while she waited for Cleon to answer.
Cleon shook his head dejectedly. "She left for the Yamani Islands months ago."
"But her parents stayed here to help the Yamani ambassador renegotiate a marriage for Roald," Neal pointed out.
"She's staying with family friends in the islands and continuing her training there." Cleon shrugged when he continued, "Apparently she's training to become one of the Emperor's elite. I doubt she'll be returning anytime soon if ever. At least that's what Inness was told from the Baron and Baroness; none of her brothers saw her before she left." Silence followed his words as the pages returned their attention back to their studies.
Kel felt the tension in her belly start to settle. It seemed as if her family thought she was indeed in the Islands and were spreading the word. She looked at Neal out of the corner of her eye. He was staring at his book while running his hand through his hair. His usually smiling eyes were sad. She felt terrible for keeping this secret from everyone, especially him. Of all her friends she wished she could tell Neal the most. Sure Neal and Kaden were good friends, but they weren't as close as Neal and Kel were. She missed the close friendship they once shared.
If Kel was completely honest with herself, she missed being herself. After a year and a half of pretending to be someone she wasn't, she was starting to lose pieces of herself. Her Yamani was rusty, and she was finding it difficult to remember the glaive pattern dances she used to know. Her emotionless Yamani mask had been twisted into a mask of emotion; hiding her thoughts and feelings behind a mask of a completely different emotion. There were even times when she forgot she was a girl.
It was times like these when Kel had to remind herself of why she was doing this. She was going to become a knight. She was going to help people who can't help themselves.
Kel looked at the book in front of her. She had been reading the same line over and over for the past few minutes. Sighing she closed the book and gathered her books, quills, and parchment. She left the library and made her way to her room to grab clean clothes. Then she left for the baths.
When she arrived, Kel scouted out an empty private bathing chamber and closed the curtain behind her. She wasted no time stripping off her clothes yet careful to keep her necklace on. The first thing she did was wash her corset in the tub of clean water. When that was done and sitting next to her clean clothes, Kel submerged herself into the tub.
She didn't dare sit and enjoy the warm water for long. There was always a chance someone could walk in on her. She quickly washed her body then lathered her hair with the soap that was provided. She ducked her head in the water to rinse out the suds.
It was while she had her head under water that she didn't hear a voice asking if the chamber was occupied. The man walked into the bath chamber, closing the curtain behind him when Kel emerged sputtering. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize..." the man started to say then suddenly stopped. Kel immediately tried to hide her body from view, covering her chest with her arms. She blinked the water from her eyes and looked at the intruder. She looked up into familiar emerald eyes.
Neal stood just inside the curtain, clutching his change of clothes. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open in shock. There was no mistaking that he had glimpsed her chest and could guess what was hidden beneath the water and dirty soap. "K-Kaden?"
Kel's cheeks were flushed red with embarrassment. "Not now, Neal." Of course he would try to demand an explanation here when she was barely able to conceal herself. He made no move to turn and leave. "Neal, out!" she finally snapped at him.
Her command seemed to shake him from his shock. His cheeks burned furiously and he left the chamber without another word.
Kel put her hot face into her hands. What was she going to do? He had obviously seen her breasts and even Owen was smart enough to know what that meant. Kel knew he wouldn't let this rest until he received a plausible justification. Could she make up a story that would explain her chest without revealing herself to him? She doubted it.
Even if she could construct a believable story, Neal deserved to know the truth. He had doggedly asked her for word of Kel for a year and a half now. She had seen the difference in his attitude and behavior and knew that it was because he was missing his best friend. No. Kel would only tell him the truth.
She exited the tub and started to towel herself dry. Her stomach was clenching again. She was trying to keep her breathing steady as she felt panic start to swamp her. The thought of telling Neal scared her. Not because she was afraid he would turn her in; she was scared of how angry he was going to be. When he was angry enough, Neal didn't seem to care who got hurt. Kel wouldn't be surprised if he threw a couple of punches.
She dressed herself and exited the chamber. Neal wasn't waiting for her. She quickly made her escape and walked back to her room.
She wasn't surprised when Neal let himself into her room without knocking and closed the door behind him, not even a bell later. He stood just inside the door with his arms crossed over his chest. Their eyes met and an uncomfortable silence stretched between them.
He shifted his weight from foot to foot and ran his hand through his damp locks. "I'm not going to leave until you give me an adequate explanation, so you might as well start talking," he said with barely controlled anger.
She looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "Why don't you come sit, Neal," she said at last, patting the bed next to her."
He shook his head. "I'm fine standing. Speak," he demanded.
Kel tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. She knew she would have to explain herself, but she couldn't find the words. She rubbed her temples as she thought, trying to remind herself to be calm.
Neal had started to pace the length of her room while she had tried to get her tongue to form coherent sentences. "Obviously you know that I saw...you...in the bath." His cheeks went red again as he spoke. "I am sorry for invading your privacy, by the way. It wasn't intentional. But you have to understand the confusion I'm feeling now. And the anger. My best friend was sent home because she was deemed too weak to keep up with us boys; and now all of a sudden I find out that you're-you're not who you appear to be." He stopped pacing and stood in front of her, his hands on his hips and watching her intently. "I won't turn you in to the Stump, if that's what you're afraid of. But I do think you owe me an explanation now."
Kel nodded and looked up to see the turmoil in his green eyes. She fingered the bear claw under her shirt. "My name isn't Kaden," she said finally. "I'm not Kel's cousin. Please don't be upset with me." She untucked her necklace from her shirt and slipped it over her head. She handed it to Neal who took it and started inspecting it.
Neal's eyes weren't on her. He was turning the claw over in his fingers then reached for it with his gift. He yelped and almost dropped the pendant in surprise. "It's full of extremely strong concealment spells," he mused aloud.
When he finally did look up at Kel, he did drop the necklace. His face drained of color and his mouth hung open in surprise again. Kel stood and quickly manuvered Neal into a chair before he fell over. His eyes never left her face. "Kel?" he asked, incredulous.
All Kel could do was nod. Her mouth had gone as dry as parchment. She was waiting for his fists to start flying or his tongue to start lashing. What she didn't expect was Neal leaping to his feet and enveloping her in a tight embrace. He pushed her away, hands holding her shoulders, to get a closer look at her face. Then she was encircled in his arms yet again.
Kel also didn't expect Neal to start laughing. She looked up at him with furrowed brows. He smiled down at her. "Here we all are, mourning our friend who was unfairly dismissed, and somehow she manages to hide in plain sight right under our noses." Neal released her and stood with a goofy grin spreading on his face. "Just imagine what the Stump's face will look like when you finally reveal yourself. You're one of his favorite students!" He doubled over, holding his stomach as he shook with laughter. "So that's why you've been avoiding all those girls! Mithros!"
Kel scowled and gently cuffed the back of his head. "Get yourself under control, Neal," she said sternly. Neal stood straight but his grin was still plastered on his face. More gently she ventured, "You still won't tell Lord Wyldon, will you?"
Neal's grin faded and he shook his head. "Absolutely not," he said seriously. His eyes focused on hers intently. "Not a soul will learn your secret from me."
This time Kel hugged him. "Thank you," she whispered. "I hope you're not too mad at me."
Neal chuckled. The deep sound echoed in his chest and Kel felt herself smile. She couldn't help but notice that Neal smelled like old parchment, even after bathing. "No, I'm not mad at you. I completely understand, dear girl." Kel released her grip and stepped back to see him smiling gently at her. He teasingly tugged on a lock off her hair. "I can't wait to hear your whole story someday. How you managed to enroll and develop cover stories, I mean. Am I correct in assuming you want your accomplices kept secret?" Kel nodded in answer to his question. She trusted Neal implicitly, but she still remembered the old Yamani proverb: You need never unsay what you didn't say in the first place. She wasn't ready to reveal who she was getting help from. "In the meantime, you can count on me to help in any way I can."
"Thank you, Neal," Kel said again.
"You're welcome." He bent to grab the necklace from the floor and placed it around her neck. He watched this time as Kel's features blurred then cleared to reveal Kaden's face in front of him. He shook his head, chuckling softly. "I still can't believe you managed to hide under my nose for over a year." It was then that the bell announcing lights out rang from overhead. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kel," Neal said by way of goodbye. He ruffled her hair, like he always did, before walking to her door. He paused with his hand on the handle when he smiled over his shoulder at her. "I knew you'd keep fighting. I knew you'd keep your promise." With that said he left her rooms.