A Life Less Ordinary: Chapter 4
By Sulia Serafine
[This is a Protector of the Small fanfic, all credit goes to Tamora Pierce. I'm broke, so you can't sue me. I've only read The First Test, but as I read the others, the story will fit into place with them. Well, it won't really, but it'll be as accurate as I can make it. I usually don't write fanfics of this style, so forgive me if I relapse into my angst/action Gundam Wing things again. 11-12-00
Oh, one more thing: BAD LANGUAGE ( i.e. cursing, swearing…) You have been warned!]
"Is that fire?" Joren pointed to the smoke rising from past the trees. They had been traveling for an hour, and Raven's Keep was not that far away. "It is fire. Do you think that the keep--"
"There's only one way to find out," Keladry shrugged as they started to run.
"I wish I had my sword."
"What good would a sword do? The place is burning."
He glanced at her, annoyed. "It's obvious that these are raiders from the empire that Ida was talking about and they have just set fire to Raven's Keep."
"We're not sure of that, yet! Don't go rushing in without a plan," she argued as they neared the large stone walls and towers. The whole keep was crawling with flames. People leapt from the battlements and ran through the open gates. Men in black and blue armor battled with knights, or those similarly dressed, while others set fire to more structures and looted the keep. A man in a bright yellow tunic called to the fleeing people and called to more soldiers wearing yellow crests. They hid in the bushes and watched the battle with wide eyes.
"As long as I, Baron Renimeo, stand, I will not let you take Raven's Keep! Fight, men! To the bitter end! Drive out these Miran scum!"
"We have to fight," Joren insisted impatiently. "I have to find a weapon…"
"Fight? We don't even know half these people," she said. Keladry leaned forward and looked at each side of soldiers.
He turned to her and yanked her back into the shrubs. "Well, fine. Girls shouldn't fight anyway. You stay here and I'll fight."
"They might think you're one of the raiders," she pointed out, trying not to let the insult about girls fighting get to her.
"Oh, well, I don't think you're raiders," a deep threatening voice said from behind them.
Before either of them could turn around, two other men grabbed them. Keladry immediately went into self-defense and moved to toss one over her shoulder, but the Miran Raider kicked her legs out from under her. Joren managed to escape the man's lunge and threw a punch at the man's jaw. His fist connected with flesh, but another fist lodged itself in Joren's midsection. All the wind being knocked out of him, he doubled over and collapsed onto the ground. Keladry's arms were pinned behind her back, and she couldn't reach her dagger.
"Let me go! Hey!" she thrashed and tried to free herself, but they already tore off her jacket sleeves and used them to tie up her wrists and ankles. The men laughed at her attempts. "I'll wipe those smiles off their faces," she swore silently and stopped moving. Joren, coughed and growled at the man who was holding him down while another punched.
"What, boy, I, dare you! Try to fight back. Come on! It'll be fun," the man punching Joren taunted.
"You son of a whore!" Joren yelled back. He cried out in agony as he was punched in the face. It was an explosion of pain. Every single little part of his nose and his cheekbone screamed fire and hurt.
"Leave him alone," Keladry threatened in a low voice-- not that she didn't mind seeing Joren get a taste of his own medicine, but these barbarians were a little bit over the top.
Amidst the stars in his vision, Joren replied, "I don't need your help!"
"Haha! They're a spirited pair of kids, aren't they, Tusca?" the man holding back Joren said. The tall and thick man holding Keladry down agreed.
"I say we take them back with us. They might provide some good entertainment. And when we get back to the West Continent, we can put them to work as slaves!"
"No!" Keladry cried. He slapped her across the face.
"Shut up, girl! Take them back to the ship, Tusca. You, too, Xargo."
"I'm going, I'm going," the other man holding Joren said. Tusca grabbed a fistful of Keladry's hair and yanked her to her feet. She gritted her teeth and bore it. Her eyes were open for any chance of escape.
As they were dragged to the raiders' horses, Keladry whispered to Joren. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he hissed. "I don't need your damn concern."
"I was trying to be nice," she muttered back. Tusca yanked her hair again.
"Shut up, you! I'll cut out your tongue, if it'll silence you. Maybe I should just put you in a Miran whorehouse and see how you like it." He leaned toward her face. "And I'd visit you fresh young thing every day… or should I say night?"
Keladry spat in his face. He backhanded her viciously and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt.
"Try that again, missy, I dare you."
Keladry spat out blood from her split lip and remained silent. Joren seethed with fury, but he knew better than to rush into an obviously uneven fight. He looked behind him, to where Raven's Keep was now collapsing in on itself. The screams and cries of the dying and those burning alive echoed in his ears. It would haunt him for nights.
Hours later, the raiders were back at the beach, loading their spoils into the cargo holds of their ships.
Keladry and Joren were thrown into the cargo hold. Xargo towered over them. "Don't even try to escape. We'll kill you slowly and painfully, and you'll wish you were never born."
He stomped back to the deck and slammed the hatch, leaving the two Tortallians in darkness except for a tiny beam of light from a halfway closed porthole. Joren laid down on his back, nursing his wounds quietly. Keladry leaned against the side of the hull and closed her eyes.
"How are we going to get out of this one?" she asked with a little bit of hopelessness.
"Does it look like I know?" he croaked from the floor. Then he sighed and shook his head. "And I guess, we now have other things to worry about besides that purple furball."
Keladry folded her arms and tried to get into a comfortable position. "If they take us to this West Continent, we'll be farther away from where we landed. Farther away from… from the furball. And we won't be able to get home."
Joren muttered a curse and peered through the darkness at her shadowy form. "That would mean I'd be stuck here forever, with you. It doesn't get any worse, does it?"
"Oh, please. You're not the only one suffering here," she retorted.
"Assuming that we are taken back to this West Continent they mention and we haven't died from starvation or abuse before then," Joren began, "How do we escape these raiders?"
"I don't know. I just…" Keladry shook her head and sighed.
They listened to the noises above. Men laughing. Heavy footsteps on the wooden boards and planks. Keladry pulled her knees up to her chest and very slowly fell asleep. Joren stayed up the whole night, staring at the space above him. He was busy formulating a plan.
~A few days later~
"I'm starving," Keladry thought as she looked out the porthole. During the day, the Miran raiders let them out onto the deck to do menial labor, or just to play with her-- "play" meaning her dodging all their disgusting attempts to get down her pants. Joren always refused their commands and orders, showing them he wouldn't bow down. They liked his spirit. But Joren would never intervene for her. He just pretended he never saw her getting grabbed in the rear by some farting, black-toothed barbarian.
"A big help he is," she muttered. "Who am I kidding? This is Joren. And I don't want nor need his help."
"What are you mumbling, Lump?" Joren called as he came back from swabbing the deck.
"Nothing," she answered and toyed with her wrist restraints. They made the two Tortallians where them so if they decided to rebel, it was easier to control them.
"How long until we reach the West Continent of this world?" she asked him after a few moments of silence.
"I heard them say it would be maybe tomorrow. I couldn't hear them well. I was eavesdropping through the wall of the cabin."
"You have a plan?"
"Working on it."
She nodded and turned away when a Miran came to watch them. Joren went down below to avoid being called to more work.
The day after, they reached the West Continent. Keladry and Joren were in their usual place in the cargo hold. She tapped him on the shoulder.
"You sure you know what you're doing?"
"Just do as I say, Lump, and we'll be fine."
"Lump? Can't you think of something new or is your head to thick for such a challenging task?" she said wittily and smirked to herself when she saw his response.
"Challenging task? Challenging task, oh you should talk. Tell me Keladry, how hard is it to climb a small chestnut tree when all you do is quit after the second branch and go vomit in the bushes, hmm?" He glared at her spitefully and started toward the hatch to the deck above. "Get ready. We're going to make a run for it when I say."
"Yes, Joren, when you say. Just like when you said to chase after that purple thing," she nearly hissed. She couldn't help it. There were only so many people that could annoy her that well. She was ashamed of it more than anything. What Yamani warriors let words get to them?
Joren made a loud and noisy exit, slamming the hatch behind him. She impulsively kicked the short step ladder under it and hoped he heard. After a few deep breaths, she calmed down and started to prepare their departure. She gathered some food (saved from the rotten leftovers given to them by the Mirans) into a few small bags and secured them under her shirt. Keladry reached for her jacket. While she put it on, she also took into thought her belt knife and dagger. The Miran raiders had taken both away from her, so she had nothing with which to fight with. "Joren better have something planned for that, too."
~
"Get ready. We're coming into port," one man shoved Joren aside as he passed. "Don't try anything, boy. You're going to love living in Mira."
"Is this Mira?" Joren asked nonchalantly.
"Gods, no! What's wrong with you, boy? Mira is on the far west of the continent. We're in Lon Falas. Now get out of the way!"
Joren stepped further away from the walkway of raiders and deck hands. He smiled inwardly as he took a spot near the anchor. From across the deck, he could see Keladry get up from the cargo hold. She glared at him before moving to a spot not too far from him, against the starboard rail.
They pulled into port. Soon, the whole ship was swarming with busy men trying to unload as quickly as possible. From the casual looks of the sailors already on the docks of Lon Falas, Keladry guessed that either Mira and Lon Falas had a treaty or that they simply did not know that the ship was a pirating, pillaging one. Joren and Keladry were promptly ushered off the boat and set to work. Xargo was put in charge of the two Tortallians.
"Come on, you two. Time to put you to work. Pick up those bags and follow me."
"He's smart to turn his back on us," Joren muttered to her.
"We're surrounded. It would be dumb of us to do anything," she whispered back.
"Oh, really?"
He hefted the bag over his shoulder and followed Xargo down the plank and onto the dock.
"He thinks he has it planned out. It would appear as so," she tried convincing herself. Keladry narrowed her eyes. "Oh, Gods help us. He has no idea of what he's doing."
~~
Author: I'd like to say thanks for all the R&R! Comments, suggestions, criticisms, ANYTHING, just send it my way. Hey-- it's all for the readers.