A Life Less Ordinary: Chapter 5
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. 11-14-00
Oh, one more thing: BAD LANGUAGE ( i.e. cursing, swearing…) You have been warned!]
"We're surrounded. It would be dumb of us to do anything."
"Oh, really?"
Joren heard Keladry say something to herself as he followed Xargo to the carts and wagons where they were loading. He ignored her and focused at the task at hand. Xargo wasn't even looking at them. It was too perfect.
"He really is too smart to turn his back on us. I should thank him," Joren thought.
A few minutes later, as they made their second trip from the ship, Joren looked around. They were many of the Mirans walking back and forth around them. This would be fine for what he planned. He tripped forward on purpose, hoping it looked fake enough. He slammed into Xargo, who was shoved forward. He fell.
"Why, you little…"
All the men stared at Xargo. It wasn't because he fell thanks to Joren, but because gold coins and jewels started to fall out of his shirt. Joren folded his arms in satisfaction. "See! Your own man tried to steal from you!"
The reaction was instant. The other Mirans gathered around Xargo, towering over him with menace. "You back-stabber. What do you think you're doing?"
"I say we kill him!"
"Yeah!"
Another man who looked a little more civilized than the rest came up to Joren and clamped a hand on his shoulder. Keladry gaped at the sight. "No way…"
"Hmm… That's a good thing you did for us, boy." He examined him with his one good eye. "Perhaps you'd like to take Xargo's place now that he's going to be leaving us. Recovering our precious haul from him is worth granting loyalty to. So, would you like to be a Scourge of Miran?"
The squire smiled at him. "Why, that would be an honor to me, sir."
Keladry's mouth dropped open. "W-what?"
"We'll have to send away this girl of yours," the man continued, eyeing Keladry with distrust.
"That's no problem with me."
"Joren!"
"Oh, fine," he rolled his eyes. He took a deep breath. "Sir, I'd really like it if she stayed. Maybe as a serving wench."
"Wench??" Keladry seethed.
"Maybe," the man replied. They continued talking, ignoring her large display of anger. "She'll stay with you of course, and you'll be responsible for her. And by the way, it's brotherly to share your possessions." He flashed a crooked smile at her.
"I think I'm going to be sick," she said.
"You're not the only one," Joren muttered.
While this went on, Xargo was bound and tied by his former crewmates and being humiliated as they dragged him away. The large crowd of men moved off the docks, then down the road as they went to tie him up and leave him hanging by the feet for all to see.
That night, they stayed on land at a third rate inn. Most of the men stayed up, getting drunk and partying. Joren and Keladry stayed off to the side. Every now and then, a man would come up to them either to coax Joren to get drunk or to make a grab at Keladry. They held off from all these attempts.
"How did you know he was embezzling all that money?" she asked him. She didn't bother whispering since it was too loud in the inn.
"I didn't," Joren replied and rested his head back against the wall. A man crashed to the floor in front of them. For a few seconds, they stared at him, then went back to their conversation.
"What do you mean, you didn't? You just bumped into him and hoped for the best?"
He bit his lower lip to stifle his urge for laughter. "Um, hoping for the best was part of it…"
"I'm going to regret knowing this, aren't I?" she said in angry tone.
"Okay, okay!" He started laughing, his cheeks becoming pink. "I planted the money on him."
"Don't be mad. Get calm. Don't show your emotion," she thought to herself. After a deep breath, she turned to him and just stared.
"Stop staring at me like that! I did what I had to do!" he argued.
She shook her head. "And a fine thing you did," she said sarcastically. "Once again, you surprise me with your less than valiant behavior. But then again, this is you."
He grabbed her by the wrist. She didn't bother to tug back. "Hey," he said through clenched teeth. "Being valiant and knightly isn't going to help us right now. It will do the opposite. We are alive and well, be thankful."
Another man tripped over the fallen one in front of them and started to puke.
"Yes, alive, but not quite well. That's disgusting." Keladry wrinkled her nose and turned away. Joren did the same.
"For once, I agree. Let's get some fresh air," he suggested and stood up.
They picked up their bags and walked outside. No one stood in their way. But, a few men did whistle at Keladry. "Psst… Byron, look at that. The boy is having the best kind o' fun at his age. Lucky little punk."
Joren was about to stalk right up to the man and punch him. Keladry grabbed his wrist this time and dragged him out the door. She pulled him into the shadows of the alley.
"I'm not going to let him get away with that!" Joren said, still trying to get back inside. Keladry planted her feet solidly in the ground and anchored him down.
"Stop being so hard-headed!"
"I am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
Keladry closed her eyes. "I refuse to argue with you so childishly."
He stopped leaning toward the inn and yanked his hand away. Grouchily, he folded his arms and leaned on the side of the tavern. The blond squire kicked his bag. "So what now?"
Keladry looked into the tavern's window at all the drunken men. She frowned. "You know, it would be so easy for us to walk away. They wouldn't even know it until tomorrow afternoon when they woke up with hangovers."
"We're bound to get caught," Joren pointed out.
" Get caught by whom? They're all in a drunken stupor or passed out. The citizens of this town don't seem to like them very much, so I don't think they would tell them we're gone." She started counting on their fingers. "And we have some possessions and money. Steal their horses…"
"By the Gods, you're right." His face lit up. "What are we waiting for?"
They started around toward the back. There was a man asleep in the hay. Quietly as they could, they led two horses out of the stables and prepared for their escape. They mounted their horses just as the man in the hay awoke.
"Hey, what do you two--"
"Keep still your tongue," Joren threatened and threw down a few coins. "We steal from pirates and the corrupt only, and you'll do well to remember that when they awake in the morning."
Keladry looked at him strangely. "J--"
"Let's go," he said sternly and they galloped off down the back roads.
The two Tortallians rode out of the city in darkness, hoods covering their faces. Finally, Keladry halted and looked around. Joren stopped and urged his horse to return back to hers.
"Where do we go?" she asked him. "First, we wander into Freilan. Then, we get taken across the sea to this West Continent. We escape from men of the Mira Empire, and we're in…"
"Lon Falas," he supplied. "There's no point trying to look for that little mangy animal that sent us here. We're too far from where we started."
"How about finding a wise man or a mage? Someone who knows about weird matters like this."
"We'll try in the next town. Now, let's find a place to sleep. I don't trust traveling by the light of the moon."
They settled down to sleep when they came to the edge of a small forest. Keladry tied the horses up and turned to Joren. "Are we going to set a watch? There might be bandits in this area."
"Yeah, sure. I'll take first watch," Joren said. "Besides, you'd probably let them sneak up on us."
"Oh, stop talking so negatively about yourself," she retorted.
"Sarcasm," he nodded. "Nice. Really, it is." He threw a blanket at her. "I'll wake you up in two hours."
She took the blanket and found a place to sleep across the tiny clearing. Joren leaned up against a thick tree with large, crooked roots causing him to nearly trip in the darkness. He looked up through the trees and saw pieces of the moon. With that relief of familiarity, he settled into a position that would keep him awake. A knotted root dug into the back of his heels and a stub of a branch poked him in the back.
An hour went by. Joren's boredom was at its climax. He resorted to counting the shadows of leaves on his stomach that came from the light of the moon above and thinking of ways to kill an animal with purple fur. He looked over at Keladry. Truth be told, he never thought she would last so long. It had been years since that first time she came into the Palace and just stood there…
"Like a lump," he whispered to himself. He half smiled. "A tomboy who loves and honors the Yamanis and their ways, who has this overwhelming sense of justice and equality. It's so annoying. She's too good for the job."
"Of course, you'll never tell her that."
Joren sprung to his feet. "Who said that?"
A man who wore a purple tunic and deer hide breeches appeared in the clearing. He smiled kindly at Joren and gave a little bow. His raven hair spilled over his face. It was still too dark for Joren to see.
"I apologize for startling you," the man said in a heavily accented voice. "My name is Egavar, and my cottage is not too far from here. Would you and her like to join me? It's better than sleeping out in these scary woods."
Joren reached for his hunting knife (given to him by the Mirans after Xargo was gone). "How do I know we can trust you?"
Egavar chuckled. He turned his cloak pockets inside and out and showed that he had nothing tied to his belts. "You have a weapon; I do not. You are welcome to keep yourself armed and at a distance."
"Why would you bother to help us?"
"You're two young kids all on your own. You shouldn't be out here."
Joren growled. "I'm sick and tired of everyone pointing out how young we are. I can hold my own, thank you."
"I'm sure you can with reflexes like that," he replied. "Now, wake up your friend or whoever that is and bring your horses along. The trees space out from here inward and you can lead them through."
Joren, keeping one eye on Egavar, walked over to Keladry and shook her roughly by the shoulder.
"Has it been two hours already?" Keladry yawned as she stretched and opened her eyes. Seeing his serious expression, she knew something was up. She looked past Joren. "Who is he?"
"Calls himself Egavar," Joren whispered. "I don't trust him, but he's unarmed and offering to share his cottage with us."
Keladry stood up and brushed herself off. She felt the strange man's eyes on them and shuddered inwardly. "How did he find us? Does he walk around the woods at night?"
"I don't know. Maybe he has a Gift. Anyway, get your stuff. We'll see what happens."
Joren started to pick up his bags and walk over to where their horses rested. Egavar waited patiently. The blond squire signaled Keladry with his eyes to keep one hand on her own knife and see what happened.
~~
Author: Sorry this chapter took longer than usual. Please, if you wish to send any flames about keeping you waiting, then address them to my teachers, who have given way too much work for poor little me. Thanksgiving holiday should make up for this time lapse, though. That is, if I can get my relatives to leave me alone. (You know how it is. Ugh.)
Please send all comments, criticisms, and suggestions my way. I appreciate all the reviews I've gotten. I'm definitely motivated to write more and more, so don't worry about that.
Oh, and by the way: Yes, I do know that Joren isn't that much of a jerk in the ending part of this chapter. Out of character definitely, but I like to speculate that he is only a jerk 98.1 % of the time.