Disclaimer: Do I look like Tamora Pierce? Well, considering you can't see me right now, you're just going to have to trust me when I say that I am not her, and none of the characters, settings or anything else you might recognize belong to me. All belongs to the great and amazing, Tamora Pierce, except the plot line. No money is being made on this story nor any copyright infringement intended!
Now, my completely awesome-tastic reviewers and readers alike. Without further ado, Chapter 12:
Kel rode out in the lead, followed closely by her second in command, Roald. Through their helmets she could see him offer her a grim smile and a nod before they rode out of the palace gates and into the city.
Kel couldn't believe her eyes. The city she'd been in only days prior seemed entirely different then the one that faced her now.
She lead the Second into the heart of the city, where the pilferage was worst. There were innocent people that lay bleeding in the streets while their possessions lay strewed across them. Kel spotted bandits going towards a group of homes, and gave the command to charge.
"Fan out! Take the bandits with as few civilian casualties possible!"
Kel turned her attention back to the bandits she'd seen before, a thread of disgust running through her at the sight of one of them holding a small girl up by her ankles and another taking the coin that fell out of her dress pocket. With hatred pumping through her veins, she whispered to Peachblossom.
"Charge."
They cut through the street, Kel bringing her glaive up, sweeping it through the gut of the bandit holding the girl. Kel grabbed the girl and swung her up onto Peachblossom as she gutted the second bandit as well. Coming to a swift stop, she deposited the girl on the ground next to her mother and brother and went after another bandit who was sifting through the family's possessions.
Beheading him, she saw what she feared most for the family: the father, or who she assumed to be the father, was lying face down on the steps of the house with a knife in the square of his back. The family's main supporter was gone, which usually meant the children took to stealing.
Kel heard a war cry behind her and cursed herself for taking her mind off the immediate threat surrounding her. She turned to see a bandit flying through the air, with a long knife pointed straight at her heart. She ducked as the knife missed and flew out of the bandit's hand, who had landed on top of her. She sensed something vaguely familiar about him and immediately recognized the cloaked figure as the same one from the palace. Her hand was pinned to her side and she couldn't reach her glaive, and didn't have time to get her knife out of her boot when the bandit reached behind him and pulled out a knife from a sheath on his right side.
Peachblossom reared and the figure was caught off guard, blindly stabbing with his knife and just grazing her shoulder. Kel caught his hand and bit it, forcing the bandit to yell with rage as he dropped his second blade.
Kel was thrown forward in the saddle as Peachblossom's hooves reconnected with the earth, causing her to shudder.
As Kel pushed herself upright in the saddle, she felt two rough hands come around her neck. Her airway was closing and she saw black dots come across her vision when suddenly the arms went slack and the bandit slumped sideways off the saddle. She heard him drop to the ground and turned to see an arrow in the man's shoulder. Searching for the person who shot him down, she saw Roald with a crossbow in his hands, looking at her. She smiled slightly, signaling that she was okay.
She saw a flicker of movement behind him and yelled, "Behind you!"
He turned in time to meet the bandit's heart with his sword. Looking for the cloaked bandit, Kel turned to see he was already gone. Cursing at not being able to finish him off, Kel returned her attention back to the situation at hand and cut through a few more bandits on her way to the outskirts of the city, leading her Company to press the bandits back and away from the main city.
She didn't know how many hours and how many dead bandits later, but as the last of the bandits who hadn't chosen to flee fell to the ground, Kel raised her head to survey the damage.
She could see a mess of broken bodies on the ground and blood raining off of rooftops. The sight was enough to make her heart break inside. Her Yamani mask intact on the outside, she went to see what her Company would be in charge of for clean up.
She rode up to Nariko, who was handing out duties.
"Keladry!"
"Yes Sir," Kel replied.
"The commander of the fourth Company has gone missing. Inform His Higness of Tortall that he shall take the fourth and collect firewood to burn the bandit's dead. You are in charge of accounting for the knights and guards who have fallen."
"Yes Sir." Kel spun around to see Roald there, and started to tell him his assignment. He stopped her with he palm of his hand.
"I heard."
"Alright then," Kel said, disappointed that she wouldn't see him until much later.
"Stay safe," Roald warned.
"Relax," she told the prince, "They're gone now, and I can take care of myself." Roald just nodded and turned to shout orders to the fourth.
Kel couldn't help but notice the way he instantly took command of the fourth with a calm and cool exterior. He looked regal and she could imagine him being a great ruler one day.
Kel turned to inform the Second of their duties and set on to complete the grim task ahead. The Second Imperial Company rode through the streets, or what was left of them. Kel sighed and offered a prayer up to Mithros for every Yamani who had dedicated his or her life to the crown, that they found dead. She made every tick on her sheet until they had gone through every street and every nook and cranny of the city and separated the Yamani fighters who were loyal to the crown from those who were not. Fortunately, the number of dead bandits was significantly higher than that of the Emperor's Yamani warriors.
When they had finished, the sun had just began to set over the Islands, emitting a pink-orange glow over the buildings that covered the streets. Kel sighed and dismounted. Roald rode up next to her and climbed down from the saddle.
"We need to talk. Walk with me?" Kel nodded her response and they started up the street, horses in tow. As they rode back to the palace, Kel noticed that Roald chose to take the back route, away from prying eyes. Wondering what was so private, Kel started conversation.
"What did you want to talk about?" Roald stopped abruptly, turning to face Kel. They were so close their thighs and hips were touching and she could feel her heart pounding at their close proximity and the slight blush rising on her cheeks.
"I realized something today. When I saw that bandit grab hold of you, I thought he would take you down with him. And I don't know why, but the thought of losing you forever, well, it scared me."
Kel became very aware of the shivers running up and down her body wherever they were touching and took a deep breath to calm her sudden nerves. She'd never been in a situation like this before and she was starting to realize that the blush on her cheeks, shivers running up and down her body and the way his broad shoulders fit his tunic perfectly made her heart beat with a thundering adrenaline made sense. Keladry of Mindelan liked the crown prince of Tortall, son of the man that ruined Kel's dreams and soon-to-be-ruler of a land that was prejudiced against Lady Knights, as more than the friend he'd become. His hand came underneath her chin and she realized that she was looking down at the ground as he tugged her chin up so she stared into his piercing sapphire-blue eyes.
"And?" Kel breathed.
"And," the prince began huskily, "I think I-"
Roald was cut off by the sound of rushing footsteps and Kel saw the glint of metal first, then the black hood she'd come to know a little too well for comfort.
She almost snorted at the failed attempt of a sneak attack but kept her laughter in check. Both prince and princess started into motion, Kel directing a roundhouse kick to her opponent's head and grimacing when she heard the satisfying crack of his neck.
Breathing steadily, she surveyed the damage. Kel was interrupted by the sound of Roald's voice, who was standing beside her. "Kel, there's more."
Turning around, Kel saw five other fighters, each looking more experienced than the original.
Roald put his large, calloused hand in hers, squeezing it before letting go and putting his back on hers. Before she could fathom how good that felt, she was distracted by another hooded man lunging at her. Kel kicked out at the man's chest, but he caught her feet, throwing her off for a fraction of a second.
The bandit was not trained as well as her, because Kel was able to kick off of his chest and vault onto Peachblossom, grabbing her glaive from its sheath and slitting the hooded man's neck. Another bandit jumped off the roof of the building next to Kel and made to land on top of her. Kel saw him coming and stuck him through, like a pig on a stick. Wheeling Peachblossom around, Kel faced the last bandit.
Roald was beside her, having taken care of his own two bandits and leaving just the one.
The remaining bandit turned on his heel and began to run. Not wanting their only form of answers to get away, Kel kicked Peachblossom into a gallop, whispering charge.
Peachblossom thundered towards the bandit, who eyed the flailing horse coming his way, and threw his arms up in surrender.
Kel dismounted with her glaive and rope, starting to tie the man up.
"You have the right to remain silent, and that is the only right you have. You are now property of the crown." Satisfied that he would not be able to get away, she dusted herself off and stood up.
"Impressive. I would not want to be your enemy." commented Roald nodding at her knots.
"Thanks." Kel grinned.
Kel turned back to the man who had intruded on her personal moment with Roald and started firing questions at him.
Refusing to answer, the man looked defiantly back at the Lady Knight, who pressed her glaive a little further into his neck as her response, sending a trickle of blood down the bandit's throat. She was stopped by a gentle but firm hand on her arm.
"Easy, Kel," Roald soothed, "Don't go killing our last piece of evidence now."
Kel sighed and loosened her grip on her glaive.
"Besides, he's magicked to die if he tells you anything. We need to get him back to the palace before the charm takes total effect. I reckon it should have killed him the instant he surrendered."
Upon hearing this, the bandit smiled a horrible, gaped-tooth smile.
"Stupid Lady Knights. Nothing but sluts wanting to bed the men around them. I spit on them."
And with that, the bandit did exactly that. And it was the last thing he would ever do, as he was enveloped by turquoise magic and suffocated.
"Are you ok Kel?" questioned Roald, who ran his hands up and down her arms in a comforting matter. Aside from the goosebumps rising along the pathway of his hands, she replied that she was just fine, although she didn't dare speak the first part out loud.
Roald squeezed her arms and bent down to inspect the bandit's body. Kel joined him and felt for a pulse. She felt no pulse where there should have been one, and concluded that the bandit was definitely dead.
"Kel, come over here a sec."
"What is it?"
"Look at this," he gestured to the bandit's clothing, where a piece of fabric was hidden at the back of his neck under the hood. "It's some kind of seal, looks like it's made up of different coat of arms."
"Do you recognize any?
"Yes, and you're not going to like it. I recognize two of them, the rest are not Tortallan. Stone Mountain and Rutherspring." Kel felt the weight of Roald's words sink in, and the bandit's last words came roaring back.
"Joren and Garvey's houses," she breathed. Roald gave an affirmative nod.
"Someone does not like the idea of Lady Knights, Kel. And they most definitely do not want one of them," with this he nodded at her, "co-ruling one of the most powerful countries in the world."
Although she kept her face smooth and calm, Kel felt her heart plummet. Whether it was because there was an organization against the crown out to kill her, or the reminder of their previous conversation as Roald's eyes met hers, she didn't know. That scared her the most, because Keladry of Mindelan liked to be sure of herself.
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed. As always, reviews are like chocolate and sleep. They make me a happy person ;)
Your fellow avid writer/reader,
Star Skater