Disclaimer: I do not own Kel. I do not own Wyldon. I do not own Neal. I
do not own anybody. I do not own myself. I do not own Tortall. I do not
own my own cello. I do not own my own life. What am I saying?
Ships: Kel/Wyldon or Neal/Wyldon. If I choose Neal/Wyldon, then there will also be Kel/Zahir.
Summary: Uh, basically, Kel is going to exact her revenge on the king and Lord Wyldon. And maybe Joren and his friends as well. It depends on what kind of mood I'm in when I write each chapter, because I'm probably not going to go back and change anything, ever.
~*~*~*~*~
It was night, he knew that. He stood in the Chapel of the Ordeal again, as he had years ago, though in his dream he was not a squire being tested, but as he was now, training master to the pages. Then suddenly he was attending a feast, and one that must be in the future, as there was the Princess Shinkokami-how he recognized her immediately, he did not know- seated beside the Prince. Seated next to her was one of her ladies-in- waiting. He face was vaguely familiar. With a jolt, he realized it was Keladry of Mindelan. As he watched, Shinkokami leaned to whisper in her ear in Yamani.
When Keladry replied, it was in Common, though she kept her voice low. "Speak in Common at all social functions at all times, understood? And yes, it does hurt to be here now as a lady-in-waiting rather than a squire, but I swore I would return to Tortall." He knew those words had been meant for him to hear; he was seated directly across from the second lady-in-waiting, whose seat was beside Keladry's.
She seemed to know he was watching her, and turned. "Yes, Sir Wyldon?" she asked quietly. Her voice had the same ominous quality it had when she had told him he would regret the day he dismissed her.
"What is your purpose here?" he asked, even more quietly. His words were meant for her, and her alone.
Her face betrayed no expression. "That is irrelevant," her eyes told him, as she kept her face blank. Aloud, she replied, "It is to serve my lady."
He remembered her last words to him. "Your loyalties are no longer to Tortall."
"They have been to my lady since you dismissed me, sir."
"You feel no loyalty to Tortall, though you were once to be a Tortallan knight?"
"That loyalty was gone when I entered the service of my lady."
"You will never care for the land again?"
She appraised him, showing nothing. "Never."
"I am glad to find your loyalties as they should be."
"No, sir, you are not."
Her response surprised him; evidently, there was a bit of Neal left in her.
"Excuse me?"
"You are not glad to find the direction of my loyalties. It means I am a potential danger to the crown." Her eyes danced. "Not to mention your beliefs about my people."
"They are your people now?"
"I am a Yamani. I ceased to be Tortallan when you dismissed me."
Yes, she had said that. "Then I ask again: What is your purpose for coming here?"
"To serve my lady," she replied levelly, even as her eyes warned him. There are others listening.
"Do you still bear me ill will?"
Her eyes remained serious. "Sir, I cannot answer that question."
"I had expected not." His eyes said, "It is rude not to answer a question."
She opened her fan and covered her face to show her embarrassment. "You should not have asked such a question."
He nodded brusquely. "Your response tells me what I wish to know."
She did not respond.
"Do you bear the King ill will as well?"
"Sir, I cannot answer that question either."
"Is it the same as you bear me?"
She considered him for a long moment. "Yes."
"I feared that."
"Did you?"
How to respond? There was a question in her eyes that threatened him. He cleared his throat.
"No. Not until just now."
"You do fear it?"
He paused. "I do now. I did not-before-I asked you." Before I realized how dangerous your ill will would be.
Silence. Then, "I expected that." She turned away, towards the Princess, and nodded at Shinkokami's question.
Turning back to him, she said only, "We will depart."
He watched her leave with the Princess, wondering at why he felt such apprehension.
He woke, sweating. He had not thought of Keladry in two years, and did not wish to remember her now. The dream had seemed so real, too, and did not fade after his awakening; rather, it imprinted itself in his memory, forever branding him to remember the girl he had not allowed to continue training.
He did not try to pretend it was only a dream; he knew it had been sent to him, either from the Chamber, or from the gods. Obviously, they wanted him to remember her, to know something.
He reviewed the dream in his head, with the increasing feeling that she was dangerous. If the dream did come to pass, and she did return, in such a fashion, or any other, he would have to keep a careful eye on her.
If the dream was a warning, then she was a danger, even though her eyes in the dream had joked about it. She was a danger to the King, and to Tortall. He doubted she would be a danger to her former friends, Neal, Cleon, Seaver, Merric, Faleron, and Roald-unless they found her to be dangerous, and disagreed. Roald-he seriously doubted she would harm Roald, ever, so the heir to the throne was safe. He had no idea what it would mean for her former enemies, Joren, Vinson, Garvey, Zahir, and Quinden. Perhaps she would no longer care about them as individuals; perhaps she would hunt them down.
If she truly was as the dream said, then she had changed a great deal- and very little.
Wyldon looked outside. It was barely past midnight. Sinking back into the sheets, he fell into a new dream.
He was once again in the Chamber. Looking around, he breathed a sigh of relief. She was nowhere in sight. He was not being tested. As he looked, the door opened. Comforted, he walked out-
-to find himself standing among the charred remains of the palace. Bodies lay strewn in the classroom, blood on the floor. He ran into the hall, to find the King stumbling down the hall, clutching a wound in his side.
".done for," Jon gasped, and reached out to the wall for support. "Healers. all dead. They're in control. Get. out. Now. You'll die if. you stay."
Wyldon stood speechless. Slowly, he began to think, taking in the condition of the King and his wound. "My liege, we must get you into the city. Surely there is a healer there."
"No." Jon muttered. "I won't. make it. Get out. If you meet. with others. tell them the same. Get out. Leave. the city. They're in control of. the country now."
The King slumped against the wall, breathing heavily. Seeing Wyldon kneel beside him and cut strips from his tunic, he shook his head.
"Obey your orders. Get out." He leaned back and closed his eyes. "Don't search for others. Save your skin."
Still uncertain, Wyldon nodded. He hurried down the hall to the exit. Behind him, he heard Jon gasp, "Run!"
Looking behind, he saw a Yamani woman wielding a glaive run down the hall. He bolted around the corner and looked back, to see the Yamani lean over Jon. He heard her speak, her voice amplified by the empty corridor.
"Hold on, Your Majesty," she said. "As soon as Baird and his son wake up-a few minutes yet-he'll be down here. I told them not to kill you. I'm sorry they disobeyed orders."
"Why did you. do this?" the King asked.
"Mostly to get back at you, Your Majesty. Though I never meant for you to be harmed, I swear."
"What did I do?"
"Hush," she told him. She cut a swath from her kimono and wrapped it about his middle. "No vital organs spilling out, and this will stop the bleeding as best as I can. Sleep for now, and try to hang on. The healers will be here in a few moments."
"The healers." he muttered. "Dead. All dead."
"No," she disagreed. "Not all. Not Baird and his son. Now hang on. If you die, then Roald will kill me. If you don't, he's promised a royal pardon for my actions, and those accompanying me-such as Roald." She stood and began down the hall, muttering to herself, "He's almost certainly gone. Damn."
Wyldon ran. He had never run from a foe in his life, but at the moment, he had no weapons, not even a dagger, and could almost certainly not win using hand-to-hand combat against a glaive.
She heard the footsteps begin and started to run after him. He ran out the exit into the palace gardens, which made a good maze for foreigners. She would never find him.
He made it to the center of the gardens and sat on a bench for a moment to think. Suddenly, she burst around a corner, glaive ready, and halted when she saw him. He realized, slowly, that it was Keladry.
"I did as you said, Stump. I trained. And I returned. Too bad for you, I'm not a Tortallan anymore."
He looked into her face and saw hate and madness there. He stood and backed towards the opposite side of the square.
"I've exacted my revenge, Stump. Now-you always insulted Yamani weapons and Yamani fighting. Shall I show you what a glaive can do?"
He stumbled, and fell. She was instantly standing over him, the blade of her glaive pressed against his throat.
He woke again; this time it was near enough to dawn that he did not go back to sleep. Not that he would have had a real sleep anyway. Why was he getting dreams about Keladry? Was she really as dangerous as the dreams told him?
There will come a day. whether or not she was, both dreams told him the same thing; that he would indeed regret his actions. But was it warning or prophecy?
There was another month before Shinkokami arrived at Court. He had a month to figure it out.
~*~*~*~*~
Yes, I had this one written as a possible follow-up to either the first or second options. So shoot me. I wanted to know which of the options was better.
I'm feeling totally crappy tonight, like I'm about to puke, so I'm in a bad mood. And also doing some HW, b/c I have to go to school tomorrow.
Review. It is required.
Ships: Kel/Wyldon or Neal/Wyldon. If I choose Neal/Wyldon, then there will also be Kel/Zahir.
Summary: Uh, basically, Kel is going to exact her revenge on the king and Lord Wyldon. And maybe Joren and his friends as well. It depends on what kind of mood I'm in when I write each chapter, because I'm probably not going to go back and change anything, ever.
~*~*~*~*~
It was night, he knew that. He stood in the Chapel of the Ordeal again, as he had years ago, though in his dream he was not a squire being tested, but as he was now, training master to the pages. Then suddenly he was attending a feast, and one that must be in the future, as there was the Princess Shinkokami-how he recognized her immediately, he did not know- seated beside the Prince. Seated next to her was one of her ladies-in- waiting. He face was vaguely familiar. With a jolt, he realized it was Keladry of Mindelan. As he watched, Shinkokami leaned to whisper in her ear in Yamani.
When Keladry replied, it was in Common, though she kept her voice low. "Speak in Common at all social functions at all times, understood? And yes, it does hurt to be here now as a lady-in-waiting rather than a squire, but I swore I would return to Tortall." He knew those words had been meant for him to hear; he was seated directly across from the second lady-in-waiting, whose seat was beside Keladry's.
She seemed to know he was watching her, and turned. "Yes, Sir Wyldon?" she asked quietly. Her voice had the same ominous quality it had when she had told him he would regret the day he dismissed her.
"What is your purpose here?" he asked, even more quietly. His words were meant for her, and her alone.
Her face betrayed no expression. "That is irrelevant," her eyes told him, as she kept her face blank. Aloud, she replied, "It is to serve my lady."
He remembered her last words to him. "Your loyalties are no longer to Tortall."
"They have been to my lady since you dismissed me, sir."
"You feel no loyalty to Tortall, though you were once to be a Tortallan knight?"
"That loyalty was gone when I entered the service of my lady."
"You will never care for the land again?"
She appraised him, showing nothing. "Never."
"I am glad to find your loyalties as they should be."
"No, sir, you are not."
Her response surprised him; evidently, there was a bit of Neal left in her.
"Excuse me?"
"You are not glad to find the direction of my loyalties. It means I am a potential danger to the crown." Her eyes danced. "Not to mention your beliefs about my people."
"They are your people now?"
"I am a Yamani. I ceased to be Tortallan when you dismissed me."
Yes, she had said that. "Then I ask again: What is your purpose for coming here?"
"To serve my lady," she replied levelly, even as her eyes warned him. There are others listening.
"Do you still bear me ill will?"
Her eyes remained serious. "Sir, I cannot answer that question."
"I had expected not." His eyes said, "It is rude not to answer a question."
She opened her fan and covered her face to show her embarrassment. "You should not have asked such a question."
He nodded brusquely. "Your response tells me what I wish to know."
She did not respond.
"Do you bear the King ill will as well?"
"Sir, I cannot answer that question either."
"Is it the same as you bear me?"
She considered him for a long moment. "Yes."
"I feared that."
"Did you?"
How to respond? There was a question in her eyes that threatened him. He cleared his throat.
"No. Not until just now."
"You do fear it?"
He paused. "I do now. I did not-before-I asked you." Before I realized how dangerous your ill will would be.
Silence. Then, "I expected that." She turned away, towards the Princess, and nodded at Shinkokami's question.
Turning back to him, she said only, "We will depart."
He watched her leave with the Princess, wondering at why he felt such apprehension.
He woke, sweating. He had not thought of Keladry in two years, and did not wish to remember her now. The dream had seemed so real, too, and did not fade after his awakening; rather, it imprinted itself in his memory, forever branding him to remember the girl he had not allowed to continue training.
He did not try to pretend it was only a dream; he knew it had been sent to him, either from the Chamber, or from the gods. Obviously, they wanted him to remember her, to know something.
He reviewed the dream in his head, with the increasing feeling that she was dangerous. If the dream did come to pass, and she did return, in such a fashion, or any other, he would have to keep a careful eye on her.
If the dream was a warning, then she was a danger, even though her eyes in the dream had joked about it. She was a danger to the King, and to Tortall. He doubted she would be a danger to her former friends, Neal, Cleon, Seaver, Merric, Faleron, and Roald-unless they found her to be dangerous, and disagreed. Roald-he seriously doubted she would harm Roald, ever, so the heir to the throne was safe. He had no idea what it would mean for her former enemies, Joren, Vinson, Garvey, Zahir, and Quinden. Perhaps she would no longer care about them as individuals; perhaps she would hunt them down.
If she truly was as the dream said, then she had changed a great deal- and very little.
Wyldon looked outside. It was barely past midnight. Sinking back into the sheets, he fell into a new dream.
He was once again in the Chamber. Looking around, he breathed a sigh of relief. She was nowhere in sight. He was not being tested. As he looked, the door opened. Comforted, he walked out-
-to find himself standing among the charred remains of the palace. Bodies lay strewn in the classroom, blood on the floor. He ran into the hall, to find the King stumbling down the hall, clutching a wound in his side.
".done for," Jon gasped, and reached out to the wall for support. "Healers. all dead. They're in control. Get. out. Now. You'll die if. you stay."
Wyldon stood speechless. Slowly, he began to think, taking in the condition of the King and his wound. "My liege, we must get you into the city. Surely there is a healer there."
"No." Jon muttered. "I won't. make it. Get out. If you meet. with others. tell them the same. Get out. Leave. the city. They're in control of. the country now."
The King slumped against the wall, breathing heavily. Seeing Wyldon kneel beside him and cut strips from his tunic, he shook his head.
"Obey your orders. Get out." He leaned back and closed his eyes. "Don't search for others. Save your skin."
Still uncertain, Wyldon nodded. He hurried down the hall to the exit. Behind him, he heard Jon gasp, "Run!"
Looking behind, he saw a Yamani woman wielding a glaive run down the hall. He bolted around the corner and looked back, to see the Yamani lean over Jon. He heard her speak, her voice amplified by the empty corridor.
"Hold on, Your Majesty," she said. "As soon as Baird and his son wake up-a few minutes yet-he'll be down here. I told them not to kill you. I'm sorry they disobeyed orders."
"Why did you. do this?" the King asked.
"Mostly to get back at you, Your Majesty. Though I never meant for you to be harmed, I swear."
"What did I do?"
"Hush," she told him. She cut a swath from her kimono and wrapped it about his middle. "No vital organs spilling out, and this will stop the bleeding as best as I can. Sleep for now, and try to hang on. The healers will be here in a few moments."
"The healers." he muttered. "Dead. All dead."
"No," she disagreed. "Not all. Not Baird and his son. Now hang on. If you die, then Roald will kill me. If you don't, he's promised a royal pardon for my actions, and those accompanying me-such as Roald." She stood and began down the hall, muttering to herself, "He's almost certainly gone. Damn."
Wyldon ran. He had never run from a foe in his life, but at the moment, he had no weapons, not even a dagger, and could almost certainly not win using hand-to-hand combat against a glaive.
She heard the footsteps begin and started to run after him. He ran out the exit into the palace gardens, which made a good maze for foreigners. She would never find him.
He made it to the center of the gardens and sat on a bench for a moment to think. Suddenly, she burst around a corner, glaive ready, and halted when she saw him. He realized, slowly, that it was Keladry.
"I did as you said, Stump. I trained. And I returned. Too bad for you, I'm not a Tortallan anymore."
He looked into her face and saw hate and madness there. He stood and backed towards the opposite side of the square.
"I've exacted my revenge, Stump. Now-you always insulted Yamani weapons and Yamani fighting. Shall I show you what a glaive can do?"
He stumbled, and fell. She was instantly standing over him, the blade of her glaive pressed against his throat.
He woke again; this time it was near enough to dawn that he did not go back to sleep. Not that he would have had a real sleep anyway. Why was he getting dreams about Keladry? Was she really as dangerous as the dreams told him?
There will come a day. whether or not she was, both dreams told him the same thing; that he would indeed regret his actions. But was it warning or prophecy?
There was another month before Shinkokami arrived at Court. He had a month to figure it out.
~*~*~*~*~
Yes, I had this one written as a possible follow-up to either the first or second options. So shoot me. I wanted to know which of the options was better.
I'm feeling totally crappy tonight, like I'm about to puke, so I'm in a bad mood. And also doing some HW, b/c I have to go to school tomorrow.
Review. It is required.