Redemption
Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce owns all of PotS. Everything you recognize is hers; everything you don't recognize is mine.
A/N: My last few chapters were whopper ones, but this one is kind of a long transition/filler. Thanks again for the great reviews!
To Corus
Joren searched the horizon in every direction. The journey to Corus was taking much longer than it normally would have, in part because the weight of the silver ore and the blocks of cut stone slowed the pace of the pack animals. Three different gangs of bandits attacked the caravan, each one on a different day. Kel, Joren and all their soldiers and men-at-arms fiercely defended their valuable cargo. One wagon was burned to the ground during the second bandit attack, but it carried stone which was easily redistributed among the other wagons. Many of the would-be robbers were killed and several others were now prisoners who marched behind the caravan. None of the escaped bandits seemed to be regrouping for another attack, but Joren stayed alert to any movement as he nudged his horse along the windswept road.
When they began their journey, Joren was still brooding over Kel's refusal of his advances, but Kel seemed to have moved on. Although their soldiers enjoyed talking about the match and sharing advice on how either of them could defeat the other in a rematch, Kel declined to discuss it and she never mentioned the events of that night. In fact, Kel was merely cool and professional toward Joren. Her Yamani mask was firmly in place, and nothing Joren said or did would move it.
Joren smiled at the memory of Kel in action. She fought with skillful grace and deadly accuracy and her focus never seemed to waver from the battle at hand. Several times, Joren found himself fighting back-to-back with Kel, each of them defending the other while they helped protect the wagons. Joren finally saw what so many others had seen - Keladry of Mindelan was a natural-born knight. In the heat of their final battle against an unorganized mob of almost twenty bandits, he witnessed her cut down a big hulk of a man who came at her with a mace. Joren made eye contact with Kel, and she gave him a tiny smile of victory. He returned her smile and noticed the little flecks of the blood of their foes splattered across her face and armor. In that moment Joren started to fall in love with Kel - just a little.
By the time they reached the city limits of Corus, Joren had been through enough fighting to know that his skills were back to normal. Actually, his abilities were better than when he went into the Chamber, thanks to all the additional training he was getting. It was good to know that he could defend himself if the need arose. Joren and Kel delivered their prisoners to the royal officials and then they delivered all the bounty from their mountains to the bankers and merchants. After they filed their official reports, Joren and Kel went their separate ways.
Kel was staying in a room at the palace for only a few days before she and her soldiers returned to the fort. Joren had planned a two-week stay at his family's townhouse in the Palace District of the city of Corus. He was required to appear before the King and pledge his loyalty to the realm. He needed to acquaint himself with all the business aspects of his family's vast holdings. He also knew he had to get to work making amends for all his youthful foolishness. Joren knew his time was slipping away.
"Kel! You made it!" A voice shouted from across the courtyard. Neal rushed over to Kel and gave her a bone-crushing hug, but then he had to back up so that Peachblossom couldn't nip at his arm. The two friends laughed as Neal escorted Kel and her soldiers to the stables. On the way there, Kel saw many familiar faces and greeted everyone she knew. Raoul and Third Company of the King's Own were away on a mission, so Kel and Neal visited with Stefan and Tobe. While Kel finished grooming Peachblossom and Hoshi, she told them all about her match with Joren. Kel wanted them to hear her version first, because she knew her soldiers would add their own embellishments to the story as they spread it around the barracks.
"I can't believe you fought to a tie, Lady Kel! Is this Joren fella really that good?" Tobe asked, worry creasing his brow.
Kel nodded. "We both fought hard, but Joren seemed to know which moves I was going to make - it was almost as if he could read my mind. I'm still not sure what to make of it, but it doesn't really matter. All of his skills came in handy during our journey here. I'll gladly accept Joren's sword arm on any mission - he is that good."
"Uh-oh, Kel," Neal looked at Kel with wide eyes, "Did I just hear you correctly? Were you actually complimenting the infamously evil Joren? Has the world come to an end and no one informed me?"
"Neal!" protested Kel. "You know how good Joren was at combat skills when we were young. I think he's an excellent fighter - even if he is a snake when he's off of the battlefield."
"Hmm, I know there's more to that comment than you're probably going to give me, but I feel a little better since you called Joren a snake." Neal smiled.
The two friends laughed and caught up on each other's news as they walked back to the palace. Neal told Kel all the palace gossip and made her promise to come to dinner with him and Yuki and their daughter. Kel told Neal all about the earthquake and the rescue and clean-up efforts, as well as Joren's training episodes, but she left out the part about the bedroom incident. Then Kel excused herself to bathe and get ready for dinner.
After a fun-filled evening, dining with friends and catching up an all the news, Kel dreamed the bad dream again. In this version of the dream, she was canoodling with Dom when suddenly he transformed into the wickedly flirtatious Joren. To her horror, Kel couldn't stop herself from continuing on with him - and enjoying the experience. She woke up covered with sweat and had to change out of her night shirt. Kel knew she wouldn't be going back to sleep, so she started her exercise routine a bit early. The dream tormented her again on the second night.
Neal had grudgingly offered to train with Kel, as long as she took it easy on his "poor old bones" and so he noticed right away that Kel looked extremely tired. When he asked her about it, she just waved him off and attributed her fatigue to all the time on the road and sleeping on a bed that was too hard. Kel worked out her frustrations by tilting against the quintain dummy. Word got around that the lady knight was out in the practice yard, and people started to place bets on how many consecutive times Kel could spear the willow ring. After her twelfth successful run, Kel decided to call it a day and headed to the ladies' bath house. As she was soaking in the relaxing warm water, she couldn't help but overhear some ladies of the court, who were changing into their clean clothes and gossiping about something that had happened in town.
"Did you see that man in the dress shop today?"
"How could I not see him? He looked yummy - those gorgeous blue eyes and that hair! I would die for hair like his! Do you know who he is? Why was he there?"
"I wish I knew him. I heard him place an order for three different dresses! He had all the measurements with him. Can you imagine? He asked for one dress to be made for one lady, another dress for a lady with different measurements, and one that he asked the seamstress to invent herself!"
"Three dresses! Nobody except the queen orders three dresses at a time from Lalasa Isran. She's the best. That man must be very rich!"
"Obviously! My guess is that the first two dresses are for his wife and his mistress, and the last dress is for someone he's getting ready to woo. Those lucky ladies!"
"I don't know about that. Did you see the way Mistress Lalasa backed away from the man when he first came into her shop? Tian had to support her. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but he put a big bag of coins right on Lalasa's countertop. When she looked into it, her face turned whiter than it already had been."
"All I know is that if I had ..." and the voices drifted away from Kel's hearing. She chided herself for being such an eavesdropper. Hadn't she learned her lesson from when she overheard her sisters-in-law gossiping? Kel shook her head to get rid of the image in her mind that the man in Lalasa's dress shop was Joren. The mystery man could have been anybody, she told herself. She made a mental note to visit her former maid before she returned to Stonebridge. Lalasa was still a good friend, and Kel felt bad that she hadn't warned her about Joren's miraculous reappearance.
Joren was very busy during his time in Corus. First, he met with Ebroin of Genlith, his family's steward for all their Corus holdings. Joren shocked the old man by apologizing for his behavior so long ago during his trial. Joren also inquired about Ebroin's nephew, Vinson. Ebroin told him that Vinson attempted to commit suicide while he was in prison, but the guards saved him. Unfortunately, ever since he had been released from jail, the young man was sickly and bedridden at his parents' townhouse near the university. Joren visited his old friend and came away disheartened. Vinson truly was just a shell of a man. He only nodded when Joren expressed his concern for him. The only word Vinson said was "Sorry." After that sad visit, Joren decided to write letters to other people he had offended or disappointed during his younger days. He knew he would see Lord Wyldon before his appointment with the King, but Joren hoped the Chamber and the gods would see the letters of apology as acceptable forms of making amends.
Joren decided to make amends with Lalasa in a more tangible way. His mother had informed him of the successful business of Kel's former maid. All the ladies of the court knew of Lalasa Isran's handiwork, and every woman wanted a dress made by the primary dressmaker to the Queen. At first, the seamstress would not speak to him. She made the sign against evil several times and another woman came out to assist her. When Joren assured her that he was neither a ghost nor an evil sorcerer, but that he wanted to be a paying customer, the other woman got Lalasa to calm down. Lalasa was especially surprised by one of his requests. Joren placed his orders and left a bag of gold nobles, which would cover the cost of the dresses more than five times over. Lalasa accepted his apology along with the money, thanked him for his business, and assured him that she would have the dresses ready in time for his return to Stone Mountain.
At the end of the first week, Joren met with Numair Salmalin, Duke Baird and Lord Wyldon. It was similar to taking the big exams all over again. The academic aspect was handled by Numair, who basically tested Joren's understanding of geology. The new Lord of Stone Mountain would need to put his knowledge of his land to good use in the near future. The Master Mage explained that there probably would be more earthquakes, sooner rather than later. King Jonathan, through his magical connection with all the land, felt a deep crack form in the land near Stone Mountain and Fort Stonebridge after the earthquake. Scholars and mages from the royal university would be traveling to the mountains to study the crack closely. They would need to work with the Lord of Stone Mountain to help prepare the people who lived in that area for anything from a slight tremor to a major temblor. Joren agreed to support the scholars and mages with their efforts.
Duke Baird thoroughly examined Joren to determine if there were any lingering physical or mental effects from his Deep Sleep. The healer was amazed by Joren's physical well-being and asked the young man if he knew how his body had maintained its health while he slept. Like any other knight, Joren could not break the silence of his Ordeal by explaining what happened to him while he was in the Chamber. He could not reveal that there were conditions for him to fulfill if he wanted to continue to live. Joren could say only that he was surprised to find that seven years had passed while the Chamber held on to him. Overall, Duke Baird agreed that Joren was mentally ready and physically fit to perform his duties to the realm.
Lord Wyldon took Joren out to one of the smaller practice yards and tested his fighting skills with the sword, the staff and the lance. He also engaged him in a bit of unarmed combat. Wyldon was impressed with Joren's abilities and shocked when Joren admitted that he had been training with Kel and her soldiers at Fort Stonebridge. Joren further surprised his former training master by apologizing for his deplorable behavior as a page and squire. When Joren solemnly promised to adhere to the Code of Chivalry, Lord Wyldon saw in him the young man with so much potential who came to the palace so long ago. It almost brought a tear to the old Stump's eye.
Finally, near the end of the second week, in a small, private ceremony, King Jonathan formally knighted Joren, Lord of Stone Mountain. The King did not want there to be a fuss over the implications of the Chamber holding on to Joren for seven years. It was enough that the new knight and lord seemed to be in better shape after having missed out on a good chunk of his life. The King wished Joren well in his 'new' life and gave him the charge to continue to perform his duties faithfully and responsibly. Joren was relieved that no one challenged his right to be a knight of the realm, and made preparations to return to his home.
On the night before Joren was to depart for Stone Mountain, he felt compelled to go to the chapel of the Chamber of the Ordeal. He recoiled at the sight of the door to the Chamber, but he couldn't stop himself from placing his hand on the cold metal. Joren felt a jolt of recognition as the Chamber spoke inside his mind.
"You have made a good start, Lord Joren of Stone Mountain. You still have much to do. Keep in mind that you may ask for forgiveness, but you might not receive it. One person's most desired dream may be another person's most feared nightmare. Every mortal must answer for his or her own deeds. Do what you must do. Your time is short."
Then the Chamber released him and he fell to the stone floor with a thud. Joren gulped in deep breaths of air and fought to calm his rapidly beating heart. He scrambled to his feet and hastily returned to his townhouse. That night, jumbled dreams of the sickly Vinson and the frightened Lalasa and earthquakes and tadpoles with strange colored eyes tormented his sleep. A very tired Joren pondered the Chamber's words as he made his way back to Stone Mountain.
A/N: Okay,