Disclaimer: Everything recognizable belongs to the lovely Tamora Pierce. I am now starting to use events that have occurred in the books, so there may be some familiar dialogue or scenes that she has song used belongs to Benny Hill and I have used it once before in my story Neal's Bad Poetry, it just screams Neal to me every time I think of it!
AN: Here it is, as promised, sooner then it took me to update than the last chapter!
The time seemed to fly between Kel reaching her decision on entering page training and her arrival at the palace once more. When she and her father were ushered into Lord Wyldon's office she could tell that he would be a person hard pressed to change their mind. Even the Yamanis would say he's got too much stone in him. He needs water to balance his nature. Lots of water. A century or two of it, maybe.
After the meeting with the training master concluded, Kel was led to her room by a woman named Salma. She was shocked by what she saw there. The boys had ransacked the room, writing on the walls, throwing her personal possessions everywhere. It was a mess. Salma scolder her gently for trying to clean the damage.
Waiting in the hall was nerve racking. She had to grip her hands to stop the shaking. She tried to fight her embarrassment over the lack of a sponsor, or the arguing over who would even take the girl. The only volunteer was a beautiful blonde, but she didn't get a pleasant feeling from that offer.
"I suppose I'm being rash and peculiar, again, but if it means helping my friend Joren improve his studies, well, I'll just have to sacrifice myself. There's nothing I won't do to further the cause of book learning among my peers," a drawling voice stated. When Kel saw him she had a flash of the scene from the practice courts on her last visit. She watched with rapt interest as this boy, Nealan of Queenscove, goaded the training master.
"I could learn-" Kel cleared her throat, "I can learn it on my own." She needed to stop this mad boy before he got into any more trouble.
It surprised her when Nealan spoke up, interrupting the training master, "It's no trouble. None at all, Demoiselle Keladry. My lord, I apologize for my wicked tongue and dreadful manners. I shall do my best not to encourage her to follow my example."
And just like that, Kel had a sponsor, one whom she quickly found actually like female warriors and, as she had already witnessed, had a sharp tongue that often got him in trouble. The training was different than what she had received on the Islands, but there were a few parts that overlapped. She cursed herself for almost throwing the Shang that first morning.
Life seemed to go on as normal; she was trying to get along with her mean tempered horse, Peachblossom. Neal and she had gotten into a routine of studying at night. Her world however seemed to tilt when she found Joren and his friends bullying Merric. To her shame she had turned tail and ran.
The following morning was the first time she had shown her feeling in years. "You look as bad as I feel," Neal croaked at Kel. "Where's the sunny smile? The 'Hello, Neal, isn't it a wonderful day to be alive in the royal palace?' pain-in-the-bum greeting I usually get?"
Deciding against shoving her porridge into his face Kel just answered him. "I don't know. Why don't you go look for it?"
Neal sat up. "Ouch. It bites."
"What's that supposed to mean? That I'll say 'yes' and 'so mote' to anything, smile and go along no matter what? Never argue, never complain?"
Neal ran his fingers through his hair, "What's gotten into you? Did somebody put hot peppers in your wash water?"
Kel stormed away and almost refused to retrieve Cleon's gloves. The day had continued and to her great embarrassment she got hit by the quintain and tried to stay upon a rearing Peachblossom in front of Raoul of Goldenlake and a squad of solders from the Own.
When she found Joren and his friends once again picking on Merric in the library she finally took a stand. She had been given a royal beating standing against three third year pages. The following day Kel was not surprised when Merric found her to yell and hit her. As she had explained to Neal, she had expected as much to happen.
Midwinter came, and Kel was shocked to find a present of bruise balm from an unknown sender, almost the same way that she had found the package from her first day of training. She really wished she knew who sent her these things, she hated mysteries.
Their study group grew and Kel began making more friends. Friends who came to her aid when Zahir tried to fight her and later joined her during her nightly patrols over bullies.
The summer camp came fast. Kel did not enjoy the trips up heights that Lord Wyldon sent her on, but she was grateful that he seemed to be helping her to get over the fear. The spindren hunt was something else. Kel was glad for the help they received from the sparrows, but she wished that she had not been put on point to lead Lord Raoul.
The biggest joy from that first year had to have been when Lord Wyldon had told her she was permitted to stay for training. As he had sat there talking to her, she had been almost sure he was about to send her packing.
She had spent the remainder of her summer in Corus. That had allowed her to visit with Peachblossom and train to her heart's content. She kept herself busy, but she was happy when her friends returned to the Palace. Things were changing fast in Kel's opinion. She had somehow picked up what had to be the world's ugliest dog and she had now taken in a maid whom seemed to jump at her own shadow. That did not even include the changes that Lord Wyldon was inferring upon the second years.
The second day saw the famed stable brawl in which all the pages got punishment. Neal even got his own personal scolding by Kel the very evening of the fight. The punishment work lasted two Sundays, but the other punishments showed their effects. Everyone was just too exhausted to start problems.
To Kel's horror, she began to have a crush on Neal. While she was in no way opposed to having crushes, she just wished that it would be on anyone but her best friend. She began having to be more careful how she acted around her friend, unlike the Prince in the Yamani Islands; she couldn't just hope he would move away. And of course her friends had to come seek Kel out to make sure they were ready for banquet. Not that she was complaining as it allowed her to touch Neal.
One of the best nights Kel had was when Cleon, Faleron, Roald, Owen, Seaver, Merric, and Esmond joined her in singing a song outside a love sick Neal's window. He had been pining over Uline of Hannalof since midwinter and they were all more than a little annoyed. It had taken the group weeks just to figure out what song to sing. They finally settled on "My Garden of Love."
The gathered just outside his window. Once everyone was there, they all began their caterwaul:
"The sun and the rain fell from up above
And landed on the earth below
In my garden of love
Now there's a rose for the way my spirits rose when we met
A forget-me-not to remind me to remember not to forget
A pine tree for the way I pined over you
And an ash for the day I ashed you to be true
And the sun and the rain fell from up above
And landed on the earth below
In my garden of love
Now there's a palm tree that we planted when we had our first date
A turnip for the way you used to turnip late
Your mother and your cousin, Chris, they often used to come
So, in their honour, I have raised a nice chris-an'-the-mum
And the sun and the rain fell from up above
And landed on the earth below
In my garden of love
Now there's a beetroot for the day you said that you'd beetroot to me
A sweet pea for the sweet way you always smiled at me
But you had friends who needed you
There was Ferdy, there was Liza
So just for them, I put down a load of ferdy-liza
And the sun and the rain fell from up above
And landed on the earth below
In my garden of love
But Gus the gardener's left now and you went with him, too
The fungus there reminds me of the fun Gus is having with you
Now the rockery's a mockery, with weeds it's overgrown
The fuchsia's gone; I couldn't face the fuchsia all alone
And my tears fell like raindrops from the sky above
And poisoned all the flowers in my garden of love"
Having paid attention to the window above them, they all scattered, except for Cleon who was still continuing one last chorus of "And the sun and the rain…" before a basin of water cascaded upon his head. Neal continued to scowl at his friends as they ran back into the castle laughing.
The year ended eventfully, as Kel and her friends face the hill bandits in what the pages called "The Battle of the Cliff." Her summer was much the same as the year previous, riding Peachblossom and training. Her return to page training was a welcome, although Kel wished none of her friends noticed her physical changes. Unfortunately Owen ruined that hope when he told her, "It's not like you've got melons or anything, they're just noticeable." Luckily none of her other friends made mention of her "new" breasts.
She was slightly annoyed when she was asked to run a message up to the king while he was in Balor's Needle. It wasn't the fact that she had to run an errand, it was just the location. She was more than a little embarrassed when the king found her stuck inside the door due to fear. She was sure that night he had called her up after dinner because of the incident. She never would have thought it would have been to talk about the Battle of the Cliff.
The training changed, became more difficult, but in the end Kel could tell that the pages were improving. The time seemed to fly by as Joren had left and the bullying had stopped. The only new addition to Kel's daily schedule was to help Iden and Warric with their staff work. To Kel's delight, Lalasa also helped with the boys.
Before Kel knew it, Midwinter was upon the pages and Joren had been acting friendlier. After one of the banquets, Kel and her friends found Joren about to begin a fight over some slight he felt had occurred to him. He quickly backed away with an apology and a coin to the man, that didn't stop her friends from noticing however.
"What was that about?" Neal demanded.
"He says he's changed." Kel told her friends who had come up behind her.
"I suppose he could have changed," Neal said dryly. "I myself have noticed my growing resemblance to a daffodil." Everyone snorted.
"You do look yellow around the edges. I hadn't wanted to bring it up." She told Neal seriously.
"We daffodils like to have things brought up," Neal said, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "It reminds us of spring."
"Does dung remind you of spring, too, Princess Flower?" Cleon demanded irritably. "You needn't manhandle our Kel like that."
Kel removed Neal's arm, hoping he hadn't noticed that her breath came faster, or that her heart pounded like a drum. "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't want to crush your petals."
"Crush mine all you like, fair lady." Cleon told her, putting an arm around her shoulders in Neal's stead.
Owen wriggled between Kel and Neal and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Me too," he said, grinning up at her.
Kel had worked herself free, the banquets were stressful, but it was nice to have fun with her friends.
Once again, the time seemed to fly. March had arrived bringing warmer weather and an odd discussion with Joren regarding Kel's marriage prospects. She had pushed that discussion to the back of her mind quickly. Sadly she could not get Venson's harassment of Lalasa out as easily, only stopping herself from reporting him at Lalasa's biding.
The next and final page year arrived before Kel knew it and she faced new tasks. They had tactics training and tilted against each other. In what seemed to be a blink of an eye, the Big Exams were upon her and her page friends.
Kel tried to keep herself calm as she realized that Lalasa had been taken. She felt as if her heart would break as she missed the exams, but she needed to find her. The climb down the outer stairs was almost unbearable; she had to put aside her own fears to help Lalasa. But they made it. She was highly confused by Lord Wyldon's gentle manner upon her awakening and being able to retake the exams.
She was once again shocked when he congratulated her and stated how she had taught him to not try to predict how far she would go. But even that could not top her happiness at finding that Peachblossom had been bought and paid for, in her name.
Six weeks. It had been six weeks since she had become a squire. She still had yet to visit the Chapel of Ordeal. She had yet to even receive an offer from a knight to be their squire. Six weeks, and she was starting to doubt if she would ever get an offer, no one wanted The Girl. Even her hero Alanna the Lioness had not been seen, not that she ever took squires.
She was working out her frustration over the images that the Chamber door had given her, and the fact that she felt unwanted. Would her training over the last four years really mean nothing?
She was broken out of her thoughts when she heard clapping after her successful run with the willow loop. She smiled, she truly like Raoul of Goldenlake and Marlorie's Peak, even though she had only talked to him on few occasions over the last four years.
As they talked Kel was shocked and delighted when he asked her to be his squire. This was second best to the Lioness. Her heart sunk a little when he told her she wouldn't have a normal squire hood, thinking he may have taken her on out of pity. Then she gave an inner smile as he told her that he wished to learn more about the Yamani people, and she could be more than helpful there.
She left feeling elated. She had a knight master, one who had already shown her that he respected her skills. Her good mood lasted until Neal came in looking distraught. When he told her that Alanna had chosen him as squire, she used all of her Yamani training not to show her hurt and anger over the situation. After clearing up the situation with Neal, Kel felt she had to show the animals their new quarters.
She paused as she heard the argument coming from the other room.
"…isn't decent. You know the court gossips, Raoul. They'll have you in bed with her before today is done!"
"Now I'm confused, Flyn. I thought they've had me in bed with other men for years, since I'm not married."
"Not around me or the lads, they haven't. We've explained it's nobody's business."
"Then explain the same thing about Kel and me, Flyn. That's easy enough."
"Stop joking, Raoul, I've served with you for fifteen years. I've a right to be heard."
"You know I listen to you."
"Then be serious. The girl will have no reputation, and neither will you. The conservatives will be furious you picked her."
"So? They dislike me anyways, just for the changes I've made in the Own. How much more can they hate me because Kel's my squire? And she's had four years to think about her reputation."
"She's fourteen – she can't understand all the consequences. As a noble she wouldn't be thinking about marriage and babies for another couple of years."
"But as a commoner she might be married – and producing babies – right now. Stop fussing. She's intelligent, and she's steady. Some people always believe the worst."
"You only did it because Lady Alanna asked you to."
"Alanna mentioned it, but I've had Kel in mind since the spindren hunt. Everything I've heard just confirms that she'll do well, given a chance. That's what I'd like you to do, Flyn – give her a chance."
Kel knew that she shouldn't have eavesdropped. The time after she had interrupted the discussion had flown by. She had gained permission to use her glaive. She had also passed a test through Qasim proving she was capable of choosing her gear. Kel was feeling better about her new position by the time she went to sleep.
The knocking on her door woke her up in the middle of the night. They were being called out. She was sad that she could not say goodbye to her friends, but she was more than ready to head out and prove that Raoul chose her for her skills not out of pity to the other men and herself.
She was relieved when a man, a sergeant Osbern took the focus off of Kel by threatening the men around her with an inspection.
"Did you eat?" Someone asked Kel. A young man about four inches taller than she approached her. He gave Kel a warm turnover. "Just rolled out of bed and came charging on down, I bet. You'll learn. Eat."
"It's good!"
Kel took the time to look at the handsome young man who gave her the turnover. As she did something happened she had not expected or experienced during the real memory. It felt as if she was being pulled. Hard. She wanted to scream out, but was unable to.
It was getting late, Dom estimated that it would be nearing the tenth bell at night, and yet he could not bring himself to go to sleep just yet. He had been busy after Alanna and Raoul had left the healer's tent. More men had woken up from the attack and moved to their own tents. Only Kel remained.
Dom had performed duties that he knew needed to be done, from organizing a watch schedule, to putting men on dinner and breakfast detail. He had even attempted to find and talk to Raoul about matters, but when he had approached the tent shortly before dinner he could see the black sheen around the tent indicating that most likely Raoul, Alanna, Buri, Daine and Numair were discussing important matters and had no wish to be disturbed.
They had left the tent shortly during dinner to gather their dinner of rice, stew and something rather mysterious. Alanna had raised her eyebrows in question and with a booming laugh Raoul told her of the late night antics that Dom and his men had gotten to. Her only response was to ask "So you already know how you and Buri look?" Surprisingly Numair frowned and mumbled something about knowing something was different.
They had disappeared back into the tent. That was about three hours ago and they still had not emerged. Most men had bedded down and the camp was quiet. He took this time to be with Kel. He replayed Alanna's earlier comments "She's not dying Raoul! She's not dying, she's just…she's just searching." He wished he knew what Kel was searching for, hoping that it was enough to bring her back to him and that she didn't remain lost to him forever.
"You're Nealan's cousin, Domitan of Masbolle aren't you?" Dom jumped from surprise and turned to see Alanna walking towards Kel's cot. She smiled slightly. "Sorry I didn't mean to startle you. I just finished the council meeting we were holding and I thought I would come check on Keladry. You seem more than devoted to her."
Dom gave a crooked smile, "Yes, Neal is my meathead of a cousin Lioness. I am actually envious as to how you managed to be his knight mistress for four years without killing him. He can be rather insufferable."
Alanna chuckled, "That he can be. Meathead?" She cocked an eyebrow in question.
"Have you ever met anyone so stubborn?" Dom gave her his standard response, and then grinned wider, "What a foolish question."
Alanna chuckled once more, "True. I actually miss his wit sometimes. It has been too long since I have seen him; maybe I should swing by and terrorize him for a short while."
Dom laughed, "Now might be the time. He and Lady Yuki are expecting his first child. From his letters I can tell he is barely keeping his head together. The letters Kel has received from Yuki are rather hilarious."
"How long have you loved the lady knight Captain?" Alanna smiled as Dom shifted in his seat, "I can tell, after all I am a woman."
Dom sighed, "Longer than even I know. You could say it started off as playful flirting. But when she ran off to Scanra, I was more than relieved that Raoul let me go after her. We finally started our relationship on this mission." He gave her a weak smile, "We were going to be reunited yesterday after being apart for about a month and a half."
Alanna gave him a sympathetic pat. "It was always difficult for me to leave George, it still is actually."
The two remained quiet for a few minutes. Before Dom could even open his mouth to ask more of what they were holding council for he felt it. His heart leapt.
Kel squeezed his hand, hard. He looked at his lover, cupping her face. "Kel, sweets?" He felt an even stronger squeeze on his hand. He felt more than saw Alanna approach.
He watched as Kel gasped, her eyes fluttered, never opening. Then his heart nearly pounded out of his chest when she called out "Dom!" She was still once more, her hold on his hand relaxing.
Before he could react Alanna already had her magic glowing hand on the lady knight. He awaited to see what was happening to Kel with fear clear in his eyes.
AN: I hope you have enjoyed that! Next chapter should be up soon!