@@ Hah...So, the dialogue in chapter 2 didn't stink? Seriously? Good T_T This is very relieving. Now, I know that Dom may have seemed a bit OOC when he was talking with Kel, but you have to keep in mind that his brain was about as good as chopped sushi at the time. XD Ah, yes, dance, my little puppets, dance!
Well, okay...Technically, Tamora Pierce's puppets...But the ficcy is mine! (Nice disclaimer, huh?)
Bon Appetit!
Daybreak
Chapter 3 -- New Developments
+ + +
It was late afternoon when they finally reached New Hope. Kel dismounted Hoshi at the town gates, the whoops and cheers of men filling her ears. The journey back had been a hard one; it had snowed heavily for a day and a half as soon as they had left Corus, stopping for only a couple of hours at a time. The roads had been snowy and in a few places, blanketed with ice, but Kel and the two squads accompanying her had continued on, regardless. It wasn't as though they had had a choice, really: the blizzard had hit the capital the hardest, making the ride back near-impossible.
The town gates creaked open, and Kel strode through the snow-dusted streets of New Hope, Hoshi's reigns in hand. A slow smile spread across her lips; after almost two weeks of traveling, it was good to be somewhere so familiar. The two squads, led by Sergeant Jacut and herself, joined Kel in the streets, off to stable their exhausted charges. Walking among them was Neal, who was slowly leading a pair of horses down the road, and Yuki, who was all but slumping against one of them. After their wedding, Neal had proclaimed that since Yuki was now officially his wife, and since New Hope was officially a town, that he had every right to bring her back to live alongside him, thank you very much. There had been some fussing over the weather at first, but Yuki had ended up being less of an inconvenience in their ride home than her husband - who was, however elated, still prone to at least some complaining.
Kel handed over Hoshi's reigns to Tobe, who was already riding Peachblossom, then walked unsteadily towards headquarters, Jump and the sparrows in tow. She opened the door to her bedchambers and hobbled towards her bed, eyes already half-closed: she was completely drained. The orange and gray cat, now named "Hime" by Kel after the Yamani word for 'princess', lay curled up in a furry ball on the bedsheets. Kel paid the dozing creature no mind; that was where it usually slept. Kel buried herself under the warm covers, and soon girl and cat laid side by side on the bed, fast asleep. It was good to be back.
+ + +
"Oh, sergeant?..." Sir Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak, commander of the King's Own, knocked five times on the door to Dom's bedchambers at fort Steadfast. He stood, waiting quietly. No response.
"Sergeant Domitan?" His voice was sing-song and cheery. Too cheery. Slowly, very slowly, Dom approached the door. He opened it a crack, then a tad farther, and peeked his head out from behind it, staring timidly up at the warm smile on Roul's face. He shuddered involuntarily. 'This is the end...' "Yes, my lord?"
"Ah, good, you're here after all. If you would let me inside?"
Dom quickly stepped aside, swinging the door open as Raoul stepped in. A comforting smile was still plastered on the large man's face, and Dom felt his dread sink in even further. Raoul sat down in a nearby armchair, and Dom sat in one across from it, keeping his eyes on Raoul, watching his face. Not once did the happy expression falter. Dom opened his mouth to speak, but Raoul was quicker.
"Dom, I'd like to discuss some of the events that transpired at my bachelor party." He began, his tone businesslike as he leaned back in his chair.
Dom paused, swallowing hard. "Y-yes, my lord?..."
"You see, sergeant, I'm afraid that in the midst of all the merry-making, there was...a considerable amount of damage done to my living quarters."
"Er, I'm very sorry to hear that, My Lord..."
"Yes...Are you aware, Sergeant Domitan, that you yourself were responsible for quite a bit of that damage?"
"My lord--"
"Dom? Please be quiet."
Dom looked down, his hands clasped tightly together. No escaping now. Raoul grinned down at him, a frightening gleam in his brown-black eyes. "Very good. Now, I've thought very carefully, and if I'm correct, I believe that the things your squad destroyed were worth, altogether, approximately fifty gold crowns.
Dom's eyes bored into the stone floor of his bedchamber. He cringed inwardly. Fifty gold crowns was nothing to sneeze at...
"Now. Dom. Look at me."
He did, reluctantly. Raoul was still as calm as ever: Dom saw this as a very bad sign.
"I have decided to fine each of you -- you, and your squad -- five crowns each, an equally split amount of the fifty crowns you all owe me. Here is my proposition for you: if you were to pay me an extra five crowns, I could be persuaded to let all of you go free of punishment. How does this sound to you?"
Dom stared at him, dumbfounded. No punishments? At all? He ran a hand through his dark hair, taking a moment to compose himself before responding. "I think that would be quite acceptable, my lord."
Raoul smiled again. "Wonderful. I'm glad that we came to this agreement." He got to his feet, and took a step towards the door. He paused. "Oh, and Dom?"
"Yes, my lord?"
"I also wanted to tell you that your squad has been assigned to New Hope for the winter. I've already informed all of your men."
Dom blinked. "All of winter, my lord?" He asked, eyebrows raised. This was an unusual assignment. Why such a long period of time?
"Yes. Even if their townspeople are well-trained, New Hope still has the one of the lowest counts of actual soldiers out of all the forts in the area, and one of the largest amounts of land. Squads are also being sent from Mastiff and Northwatch, though those mostly go to the other, less fortified towns in the area."
"Any particular reason?" Dom asked, suddenly interested.
Raoul turned to him, and leaned against one of the nearest chair's arms. "You've heard of the 'powerful new mage' that joined the ranks of Tortall and did away with Blayce?"
Dom smiled a little. Word of Kel's triumph over Blayce had spread quickly through Scanra, though the stories told there were quite different from what had actually happened. "Why, yes, I believe I have heard something of the sort."
"Well, apparently King Maggur has heard this news as well..." Raoul slumped against the arm of the chair, sliding into its seat. "He isn't taking it very well, to put it mildly. There was a very thorough search of Scanra recently, for undiscovered holders of the gift. Almost all found were drafted," he said, his face grave, "If a child found there is older than 7, and possesses a gift that can be used in battle...they send him or her to training as war mages. Many are to be sent into battle after just months of training, or so we've heard..."
Impulsively, Dom drew the sign against evil over his chest. "Terrible..."
Raoul sighed. "Yes...Nevertheless, Tortall must be prepared for this turn of events. The City of the Gods is assigning many of its mages to various other territories for added magical protection, and Veralidaine the Wildmage has blessed us with hundreds of animal lookouts at the border, as well as airborne spies."
Dom nodded, his eyes pensive. "And we're spreading out soldiers according to land mass so that the numbering will be more even..."
"Right. Most of the men sent from this fort are going to either New Hope or Bearsford. There will be three other squads accompanying yours, though they will be leaving roughly two or three weeks from now." Raoul explained, gaining a confused look from Dom at the last comment.
"And when will my squad be leaving...?"
Raoul stood up once again, making towards the door. "Day after tomorrow."
Dom shot to his feet. "The day after--!? But my lord, the roads..."
"Oh, yes, Dom, I'm quite aware of that. Don't worry, though. It shouldn't take you more than, oh, maybe a week's journey, maybe two. Let's just hope it doesn't snow again." The grave, serious tone had left Raoul's voice, and was replaced by a jovial sort of lightness Dom was sure he didn't like.
"But..."
"Goodbye, Dom! I'd start packing soon!" He called merrily, and slammed the door behind him.
Dom stood, frozen, his mouth hanging open. A moment or two later, he clamped it shut, and his dark eyebrows came together. "...That...sneaky...little..."
The shrill whistling of harsh winds outside interrupted his thoughts, and he glanced back at the nearest window. Snowflakes whirled about crazily in the air.
Dom swore and went to fall against his bed, and pressed his face into the nearest pillow. Raoul had gotten him good this time.
"Damnit..."
+ + +
Kel strolled through New Hope, freshly polished glaive in hand. A calm cerulean glow filled the predawn sky, blue light falling onto the point of her weapon and her unkempt, barely-brushed hair. It was the day after her return from the palace. Nobody expected her to be back out of bed so soon.
Nobody, that is, save the spear-wielding Tobeis Boone. Kel sighed quietly when she saw him walking towards her, ready for training, his dark eyes eager.
"I think you know me a little too well at this point." she informed him, once he was in hearing distance. The boy shrugged in response, a tiny smirk starting at the corners of his mouth. They did their morning practices together, Jump and a few of the sparrows acting as their audience, and Tobe went off to fetch water for the two of them once they were finished. By now the sun was up, coloring the sky a pale pinkish-white, and a handful of New Hope's early risers were already out on the streets, some yawning occasionally, others strolling about and seeming completely refreshed, as though immune to morning grogginess. Kel sat down on a nearby bench, leaning her back against it to rest its aching muscles. Traveling in the snow for so long had certainly taken a toll on her.
Soon Tobe returned with a full water skin, and handed it over to Kel as he sat down beside her. She drank quickly, draining about half of the water contained in it. She passed it to Tobe. He drank as thirstily as she had, if not more so, emptying the skin and putting it aside. They sat there for a while afterwards, exchanging brief comments and watching the town come to life as time dragged on. After a long time Kel got to her feet, slowly walking back to headquarters, suddenly feeling like a nap. Tobe followed behind her. 'Perhaps I should have stayed in bed, after all...' she thought, and covered her mouth to stifle a yawn.
Someone was waiting for her when she came through the headquarters' doors, however. Terrec, the head clerk, waved her over. Curious, Kel sent Tobe away and went to Terrec, leaning one arm against the front of his desk. "What is it?"
"I was waiting to tell you when you had recovered from the trip, my lady. We received word from Sir Raoul of Goldenlake while you were away, and from Lord Wyldon of Cavall; reinforcements are being sent in from Steadfast and Mastiff, six squads in all. They're to stay with us 'till winter's end, if not longer."
Kel's eyebrows raised. "Six more squads? Whatever for?"
Terrec cleared his throat. "Well, you see..." he explained the new situation with Scanra to Kel, and told her of how soldiers were being newly assigned to towns and under-protected forts. Kel was standing up straight by the time he had finished, her hazel eyes dark and blazing, alive with thought. With sufficient training, war mages were dangerous, young or old; without more than a few months, most of them would barely know how to control their magic, if they were forced to use powerful spells. "This is bad..." she murmured, and looked to Terrec, her expression pensive and stone calm. "When are the new squads arriving?"
The young clerk flipped through a small pile of notes, quickly looking over a certain page once he found it. "Ah...Mastiff's are to arrive sometime in January, Steadfast's in late December. Wait, there's something else -- one of Steadfast's squads is expected around a week from now."
Kel arched a brow, blinking. "That's odd. Just the one? Why?"
"It doesn't say. Either way, where should we house these men, my lady? Here, at headquarters? We could get the carpenters started on a new building for them as well."
Kel nodded. "That sounds reasonable. Construction on the building could probably be finished by, what, the end of December?"
"Perhaps, give or take a week or so." Terrec replied, his tone thoughtful. "Depends on how many men would be on the job, I suppose."
"Alright, then. And Terrec?"
"Yes, my lady?"
"Would you mind if I left now? I could really use a nap..." Kel blinked groggily, trying to keep her eyelids from drooping. Now she was really tired.
+ + +
A/N: Voila! ^_^ Interesting turn of events, there, eh, my little readers?
...You aren't surprised at all, are you? XD Oh well. I write for myself, not for my public! So there!
Now, in direct contradiction to what I just said: Sorry that it took so long for me to update, you guys!! 11 whole days @_@;; the horror...Why must school occupy so much of my time? Also, to Csporty128, and all the other readers that pointed out the problem with Raoul's getting drunk: Sharp eyes! I completely forgot about that. Anyway, as you can see I've revised chapters 2 and 3, so now that problem's good and fixed.
One more thing: I hope that the war-related stuff I wrote for this chapter was at least close to acceptable. And yes, it is leading to something. Eventually. ^^;
(...Review please! PLEASE. Don't make me beg.)
~Pheep