This is a fan made story. I don't own the rights to the Protector of the Small series, any of its characters belong to Tamora Pierce… Much to my disappointment. This goes AU about midway from the book Page. Fair warning. Constructive criticism is welcome but if you don't like it simply because you don't like the line of thinking, please don't attack me for it. This is mostly centered on Joren. This is also a slow build Kel/Joren.

Spring 455

It was a few weeks after his apology to Kel, as he had begun to call her at least in his mind, that an opportunity to prove his sincerity, to both her, and himself, fell into his lap. Joren had left his door and windows open to allow for air flow as the evening was warm. As a result, he ended up hearing a struggle in the courtyard below his window. He peaked out over the ledge of his window, not enough to be seen but enough to see what was going on.

He felt a wave of dread as he saw that Kel's maid was fighting to free herself from Vinson's grip. She was positioned poorly however and was unable to free herself from the Squire's grip. Uncomfortable at the idea of having to intervene but deciding it was necessary, Joren moved away from his window to head down to assist the woman when he heard Kel's voice strongly demanding that Vinson release Lalasa. He moved instantly back to the window, careful to remain out of sight while he observed.

Joren was only able to watch Vinson's fleeing back and Kel calming her maid. No more than a few minutes passed before he heard Vinson storming past his room and slamming his door shut. By this time, Kel had taken her maid back inside and Joren had abandoned the window to debate what to do about what he had seen. He was still contemplating this when he heard another body storm past his room and start banging on Vinson's. The sound of Kel threatening Vinson through the door brought Joren to his, he carefully hid behind the now slightly cracked open door but still listened closely.

It took him only a few seconds to realize that for some reason Kel wasn't going to report him. It was insane because he realized that if he was going to stand by the principles he wanted to, he would need to face this head on. As Kel moved back past his room he grabbed her arm and pulled her in before quickly shutting and locking the door.

Kel's expression went quickly from surprised to thunderous when she saw who had grabbed her. It changed to confusion when Joren rose his hands and quickly said, "Please, don't be mad!"

Kel crossed her arms, clearly unwilling to indulge him but he stood between her and his very much locked door, "Give me one good reason." Her voice was complete ice causing Joren to flinch.

"I overheard what happened and I need to know why you aren't reporting Vinson. It isn't like you to not report something that serious," Joren blurted quickly, before he could think. He was quickly realizing that he now had a tendency towards doing that around her. It was causing an uncomfortable level of honesty that he realized couldn't hurt since it would prove his sincerity in an off-handed sort of way.

"Why does it matter to you?" Kel asked, still stiff, but slightly less guarded. She seemed to realize that he held no ill intentions towards her despite his abrupt behavior.

"Because… because it isn't like you and I need to know why. You wouldn't turn your back on something like that. You didn't when we were hazing, and I don't think you would now. If there is some reason that you can't report him, let-me-help," Joren wondered if she understood the last bit, it had come out so quickly, but judging by her hanging jaw perhaps she had.

"Why do you want to help?" Kel seemed to be cautious still but her guard had lowered a little more which caused Joren to relax a bit more.

"Because what Vinson did was wrong, and I know enough about him to know that he has always enjoyed the pain of others. He won't feel remorse or stop, no matter what you say or threaten him with," Joren was speaking much more coherently now, to Kel's relief and she even cracked a little smile at the fact that he was admitting that Vinson had been clearly in the wrong.

"So, you want to help see him punished?" Kel asked, now much more relaxed. She even offered him a half-smile. When Joren nodded, she sighed. "I'm not reporting him because Lalasa asked me not to. She is worried about what will happen to her uncle if I did, there is apparently a fear of him losing his job through some difficult set of circumstances. She also said that it would ruin her reputation, even though she was a victim."

"I can help with that," Joren offered.

"How? You have no influence over the palace servants," Kel commented.

"No, but I did hear a struggle below my window with a maid and saw Vinson going back to his room with scratches on his face. I can report that to my knight-master. I will tell him I didn't know who the maid was, but she fought him off. He certainly bares the marks to prove it. Sir Paxton is guaranteed to report it to Lord Wyldon. Even if Vinson isn't punished for it, Lord Wyldon will keep a close eye on him and so will his knight-master. Nualt of Rosemark is a good man and not one who approves of assaulting a woman, regardless of rank," Joren grew more confident as he offered his plan. "No one will know that you or Lalasa were involved. In fact, since I will say I definitely didn't recognize the maid and Vinson is hardly likely to admit to who he assaulted for fear of punishment, Lord Wyldon will likely dismiss you both out of hand. Plenty of maids work in the Page's wing and Lord Wyldon would think that if you were involved then you would report it."

Something in Kel's demeanor seemed to melt a little and she smiled a genuine smile at him for the first time ever, "You really would do that? Just to make sure he wouldn't get away with it?"

Joren's nod was all she needed to continue, "Ok, I accept your offer. Thank you. You know, I was skeptical about your claims for changing, but if you are willing to report someone who is your friend perhaps, you're telling the truth after all."

Joren couldn't help the deep blush the broke out over his face at her words and smile before going to unlock the door and check to make sure no one was about to witness her leaving his rooms. Before doing so though, he paused and said, "He isn't my friend. He hasn't been since I returned and realized that we were following completely different paths now." With this, he checked the hall and gestured for her to leave quickly and quietly.

He waited a half hour to ensure that no suspicion could arise, and he figured it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to hesitate to report someone who he used to be friends with. Sir Paxton was surprised to see Joren since they had already done their lessons for the day. Joren didn't waste any time in giving his slightly altered version of what he witnessed. He made sure that he explained that he didn't get a good look at the maid as Vinson was blocking the view of her and he could only say it was a maid by the dress she wore and the pitch of her voice. Sir Paxton's frown deepened further through the brief narrative while the 15-year-old paced as he told his tale. When he finished, Sir Paxton told him that it needed to be reported to the training master immediately, although it was unfortunate that he didn't recognize the maid who was attacked.

Paxton led Joren through the mostly empty halls quickly and silently thanked the gods that there were so few people about. Since the victim was an unknown, they couldn't seek persecution of Vinson, regardless of having a witness. As such, he wanted to keep it quiet that Joren was the one to report the other Squire. It would cause a good deal of problems if it got out that Joren had so blatantly turned his back on a noble in favor of seeking justice for a lowly commoner.

It made Paxton proud of his Squire that the teen would do something that so strictly followed the code of Chivalry and showed that he had really been taking his lessons to heart. While before he had felt concern for Joren's future if his negative behavior persisted, he now felt extremely optimistic for the new trend it followed. With any luck, Joren would be an exemplarity knight and a noble worthy of the deepest respect.

When the two of them reached Lord Wyldon's study, Paxton was relieved to note that his secretary wasn't present. Paxton knocked on the door and Lord Wyldon called out for him to enter. Sir Paxton bowed to the training master and Joren followed suit, knowing the seriousness of the visit. Their formality unsettled Wyldon but he stood and offered them both seats. When they declined, Wyldon's concerns rose. Sir Paxton related quickly to Lord Wyldon what Joren had told him. When he finished, Lord Wyldon questioned Joren to see if there were any other details to be had that he hadn't told Sir Paxton.

Joren fidgeted only a little as he told Lord Wyldon the same thing he told Sir Paxton. Lord Wyldon took it as being uncomfortable about having to report a friend for something so horrible. At the same time, he felt the same swell of pride in the boy that Paxton felt, that he should do the right thing, regardless of the rank of the people involved. Wyldon assured Sir Paxton that the identity of the person who reported the incident would be kept between them and would only be identified as a Squire. As there were seventeen squires in residence in the palace at that point, it was unlikely that Vinson or his knight-master would figure out who it was.

Lord Wyldon told them that he would enquire with Selma, the head of the servants in the page and squire wings if one of the maids appeared to be harmed or unsettled, but unless the maid came forward, there was nothing that could be done. Wyldon did assure them, however, that a record would be made and kept. He then ordered them to leave so that he could summon Vinson and Sir Nualt of Rosemark. He pulled a cord for his servant as the two left and then sighed in frustration over the situation. It would be a long night for him.

It wasn't even a day later that Joren found his room being forcefully invaded by Vinson. Apparently, the other squire hadn't gotten the message when Joren had actively avoided him in the past few weeks since he had returned with Sir Paxton. Vinson was pacing back and forth as if he had every right to be there.

After a few minutes of this, Joren became frustrated, "Vinson, what are you doing?" He was careful to keep his voice relatively neutral.

"That dumb little bitch reported me. I don't know how she did it, Sir Nualt says the Lord Wyldon told him a squire reported me, but I know it was her. She probably got one of her little lover boys to do it. Cleon most likely," Vinson rambled. "I need a way to get back at her. You were always the brains. We need to get rid of her. Make her pay and make that slut servant of hers pay too."

Joren's blood ran cold as he realized what Vinson was talking about. The marks were still clearly on his face, but he decided the best way to go about handling this was to play things safe. He may get tongue tied around Kel or even thinking about her but with pretty much everyone else his mind was clear, and he was thinking a mile a minute, "What are you talking about? And what happened to your face? It looks like someone attacked you." Joren felt playing dumb about what he knew was the best route to take given the circumstances.

If he could get Vinson to openly admit to who he attacked, he can swear to it under mage truth spells. Perhaps he could see Vinson convicted without needing to get Kel involved. Unfortunately, Vinson wasn't stupid enough to openly admit to it, "It doesn't matter. What does is that she has got to pay. We need to force her to show what kind of useless slut she is, her and her maid."

"I can't get involved," Joren stated coldly once he realized that Vinson wasn't going to give him anything. He decided now was as good a time as any to distance himself permanently from his former friend. "Sir Paxton watches my every move. I am under strict orders to be civil to Mindelan. Her sister is marrying Sir Paxton's younger brother."

Vinson looked surprised by Joren's open refusal to assist him in destroying Kel. Joren had to be careful to conceal a smirk that wanted to come forth. When Vinson finally spoke, it was with incredulity, "You aren't interested in getting rid of the girl?!"

"In case you've failed to notice, we're training to be knights. Whatever you think, at this point anything capable of making her leave would have to be illegal. I'm not stupid. Mindelan won't stop at anything to achieve her goal. I am not going to be involved with anything that will cost me my knighthood because of some girl, no matter who the girl is," Joren's voice had gone to ice at this point.

Vinson looked at him in surprise before nodding slowly, "You've changed."

"Yes, I've moved beyond childish antics. There are more important things for me to focus on. Now, if you will excuse me, I have training with Sir Paxton. We're going to be working on my tilting," Joren opened his door for Vinson to walk out. He wasn't even making up an excuse. He really was expected in the courtyards for tilting practice. After Vinson walking out, he followed suit and locked his door before leaving his former friend standing in the squire's wing as he made his way to the practice courtyards.