A Life Less Ordinary: Chapter 12
By Sulia Serafine
[12-5-00. Since, I got an overwhelming amount of responses on the last chapter, I've decided to write this chapter instead of study for a much loathed biology exam. So, if I get a C, it will be out of love of the story. *sniff* You better enjoy this…
This is a Protector of the Small fanfic; all credit goes to Tamora Pierce. I'm broke, so you can't sue me.
Oh, one more thing: BAD LANGUAGE (I. E. cursing, swearing…). You have been warned!]
She smoothed down her skirts. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she wore anything ladylike. Erasing it from her mind, she decided to think about her 'date'. Keladry tapped her foot out of anxiety rather than impatience. What if she suddenly did something so stupid that Owen would never want to see her again? What if he turned out to be a jerk? What if--
"Stop tapping your foot. It's irritating," Joren scolded from his bed. "And some people are trying to get some sleep."
She stopped. "Isn't it a bit early for you to start sleeping?"
"It's been an exhausting day," he replied.
"Right. Hanging around the tavern flirting with girls? You haven't even tried to look for the Truth Stone."
"Owen's is the only shop around. What? You want me to go up to all the nobles in this city and ask to see their jewels? And even then, we would have to steal it from them," He turned over and faced the wall.
"Wouldn't we have to steal the Truth Stone anyway? If we find it in a shop, there's certainly no money to buy it. If it belongs to a noble or anyone else, then we would still have to steal it. If it belonged to the Mirans for goodness' sake! Go out and do something!"
"Argh… Fine. I'll get up right now and take a walk around town. I'll spend my night breaking into fancy houses while you make plans to get married with Neal."
"Owen! His name is Owen!" she reproached angrily.
He swung his legs over the bed and turned to look at her. His expression was hiding the fury she knew he had. "Yeah, his name is Owen. But I bet all you can see and hear is Neal." He flung on his vest, then his jacket. With a few quick strides, he past her and was halfway out the door before he said, "I frankly feel sorry for Owen. Having to play second to his twin from another life."
He slammed the door behind him. She stood there for a long time. She wanted to throw something, punch something-- anything to get this bad feeling out of her. It was like a bitter taste in her mouth, that no matter how much she spat, just remained-- reminding you every time you moved your tongue. Keladry buried her face in her hands and took a shaky breath.
"Is Joren right?" she wondered to herself. "Do I want to see Neal rather than Owen?"
She fought down the urge to scream and gripped the door handle. It was time to find out.
~~
"Hey!" Owen greeted her with a broad grin when she appeared at the door of his closed shop. He was still locking up. "So, how have you been?"
"Fine, really. My brother and I are still looking for the right betrothal present for his lady, and uh," Keladry didn't know what to say. She didn't want to lie to Owen. She knew that the jewel they were looking for wasn't for an engagement. And she knew that they were not brother and sister. Lying to someone like Owen made her feel guilty all over.
"Oh, well I hope he finds something nice," Owen nodded. He offered his arm. "Come on. I was hoping we could take go to the other side of town. My friend owns a bakery, and he always lets me sample some of his cake. I'm sure you'd love it. After that, maybe we can take a stroll around the city. Get to talking about each other."
She took his arm. "That would be nice."
They walked slowly to the bakery. It would take an hour at their pace, but Keladry liked it. Owen loved to talk. And it wasn't the kind of talking that bored you out of its continuity, but it rather fascinated you with its content. There were things Keladry had never the time to notice-- and here Owen was pointing it out as if he looked at it every day.
"So, you see, maybe it would be better if they opened up a school around this district. The children need it and I'm not sure home schooling will get them as far. A whole group of friends learning right beside you is comforting, don't you think?"
She nodded. "I went to a place like that."
"You did?" he looked at her with extreme interest. She liked the way he gazed at her. It was just like N-
She shook her head. "Uh, yeah. At first, I didn't fit in, but then someone as kind as you helped me to fit in. Before I knew it, I was friends with almost everyone." She thought of Joren when he was still pestering her with his cronies. "… almost everyone."
"Well, some people never grow up. It's a sad fact, but true."
"Yeah," she said quietly.
They continued walking. Their conversation was filled with the most enlightening things Keladry had ever heard. And there were still a lot of jokes that lightened her mood. It felt good to laugh like that. It was more happiness than she'd felt in a long while. Finally, they reached his friend's bakery. The man was taller than Owen was by half a head's width and also with two children running around his knees. Owen scooped one up and swung her around. The little girl squealed in delight and planted a wet kiss on his cheek. Her golden brown curls bounced as Owen lifted her up and made funny faces at her.
"Hey, Owen," the baker said. He leaned on his broom. "Come to steal a cake?"
"As a matter of fact…" Owen began as he put down the girl.
"Ah, for your lovely lady here, right?" The baker winked at Keladry. "I think I have a little one that would be nice for the two of you. Come inside, please."
They went inside. The bakery was warm to Keladry. "Must be the ovens," she thought. The two children-- a boy and a girl-- ran around the bakery with more energy than she could ever hope to have. "I wonder what it's like to have children," she thought idly, watching the two examples of innocence. Owen reached for her hand.
"Come, have a bite. This cake is delicious."
She gratefully accepted a small piece of cake with fruit and cream on top. Keladry never tasted anything so wonderful. It immediately made her lose the sour taste in her mouth from arguing with Joren earlier. She turned to Owen. "I love it."
Owen finished his a long time before hers. He licked his fingers like a young boy. "Yeah. Isn't he a great cook?"
The baker laughed and leaned against one of his counters. "Yes, and you are a great customer-- even if you don't buy half the things you eat here!"
Owen smiled sheepishly. Keladry laughed.
~~
Joren climbed down carefully from the window. He dropped to the ground five feet off and landed gracefully on his feet. From there he jumped up and yanked his rope down again. All the rope came down at once, falling on him. He swore under his breath and attempted to extricate himself from the coils of rope. He only succeeded in entangling himself further. After a few vicious kicks of his left leg and twisting his arms about him, he flung the rope off and took a deep breath.
"Two houses down. Five dozen to go," he mumbled discontentedly. "Fine jewels everywhere but not one that can keep me from telling a lie." He started coiling the rope properly and carried it on his shoulder. Then he ambled out of the shadows and across the road to the next building, which had three stories. He groaned.
"This isn't fair. Why can't people be happy with living on the ground level?"
He reached for his grappling hook and took it from where it hung on his belt. Then he adjusted the hood he wore over his head to keep anyone from seeing his face. For a few seconds, he fumbled with the rope, tying it with the grappling hook. He hadn't meant to undo it from the rope the two previous times, and now he had to redo it. The brim of the hood fell over his eyes. He pushed it back a little to see the rope. It fell back over his eyes. He pushed it back a little farther. It fell back over his eyes again.
"Argh…" He threw back his entire hood and started tying the rope again. With his task accomplished, swung the rope around to get a good distance throw up in the air. Then he let it fly.
"Perfect," he whispered. The hook caught the edge of the window. There were no lights anywhere in the building. He had a good chance of getting in and out without being caught. He tugged on the rope to test it, then quickly climbed up. "This whole ordeal is a lot easier than I thought it would be."
~~
"So, Keladry, where are you from?"
"From? Uh, I live here, Owen."
"No, I mean originally. Where were you born?" He leaned on one elbow and gazed at her curiously. His eyes were so bright and full of life, she found it hard to look anywhere else but at him. And when you look a person straight in the eye, it's also very difficult to lie to them.
"Far away from here," she finally answered. "It's really a nice place, but I prefer not to live in the past."
By her sudden change in attitude and tone, Owen knew to leave it at that. "Oh. I've lived here all my life. I'll probably live and die in this poor little place, but I don't mind. I can't think of any other place I'd rather be."
"That's good to hear," she nodded. "Would you defend it if the Miran army came this way?"
He tapped his chin. "I suppose so. I like this city. Maybe by then, I'd love it enough to fight for it."
"Do you think women should be allowed to fight?"
"Well, if they have the skill and potential for it, they can do whatever they want. I have no problem with that. What, do you like to fight?" he asked teasingly.
"Actually," she began. She paused. "Yes. Yes, I do."
He frowned. "I thought you and your brother were traveling merchants your whole lives."
"We are," she said.
"You're not lying to me, are you?"
"No," she said quickly. "Why would I lie?" On the inside, she reprimanded herself for being a hypocrite. She spent all that time scolding Joren for lying and avoiding it as much as possible herself-- and here she was doing exactly what she loathed. Keladry pinched the bridge of her nose. Owen watched her calmly.
"Are you tired?"
"Yeah. A little," she confessed. He stood up.
"It's all right. We've been out for quite a few hours now. I never really talked so much with any one person like this before."
Keladry took his arm when he offered it. "Neither have I. I feel like we can ramble on and on together and never get bored."
"I hope we do," he replied softly. "So, where should I escort you? I want to see where you live."
She blushed. "Live?"
He chuckled. "What? Are you ashamed of where you live?"
"No! Not even. It's just, that we-- my brother and I-- don't normally live like this and--"
"--and to put it all together is that you and your brother fell on hard times and you're living somewhere different," he answered for her. Keladry was instantly reminded of how Joren always taught her to let other people come to their own conclusions. She bit her lip to keep from screaming her frustration.
"It's okay, you know. I couldn't care less. Besides, I should say hello to your brother. I don't know why he seems so naturally distant from me." He stopped in his tracks. She looked at him expectantly. "Is your brother one of those over-protective types?"
She didn't know how to answer that. "Does… does he seem that way to you?"
"Well, I haven't seen that much of him. I can't really say. Does his constant presence bother you?"
Keladry smiled wryly. "If only you knew."
"That's what siblings are for, I guess. I wouldn't know. I was an only child."
"Oh," she nodded sympathetically. "What about your parents?"
His mood lightened up considerably. "They were wonderful people-- hardworking, honest, humble. There was always time for me. No matter what happened, they were there. I miss them."
"I miss my parents, too."
"How long have you and Joren been on your own?"
"I'm not really at liberty to say. I'm sorry."
"I understand. Now, which way to your place?"
~~
Keladry stopped right in front of the inn. "You really want to come up and say hello to my brother?"
"Why not?"
"Okay. Please be calm if he's mad at us. We are very late coming in."
They went upstairs to Keladry and Joren's room. She fished her key out of her pocket and opened the door. "Hey, Joren, I'm h--"
Joren stood up fast from where he was resting on his bed. Then he immediately grimaced and hopped around on one foot while cradling one bandage wrapped arm. Keladry rushed over.
"What happened?!?"
Owen closed the door after them and also went over to the hurt blonde. "Yes, what happened?"
Joren glared at Keladry, as if blaming her silently for his injuries. Controlling his voice with all his strength to be soft and quiet, he said, "They had a dog in their sitting room."
She blinked. "What?"
" I said: They had a dog in their sitting room! " He sat back down on the bed and grabbed her arm. "Do you know how much I hate dogs right now? That little feral beast! I didn't think 'house pets' would have so many sharp teeth!" He growled. "This is all your fault, you do know that! You said," he cleared his throat to imitate her voice, "Go out and do something! Well, I did, Kel! Thanks a lot! Thanks to you, I have teeth marks all over my leg from that mongrel and some more on my arm!"
Keladry shook her head. "I can't believe it. I'm sorry, I didn't think you would actually do something like that."
"Something like what?" Owen asked. "I'm very confused here."
"Oh, butt out. This is family business," Joren snapped.
"Joren! Stop being so rude!"
"Oh, I'm sorry I'm not in the best of moods here," he held his hands up, "but maybe you can guess why!"
Owen got up. "I better go…"
"No, Owen, wait," Keladry pleaded. "Joren will apologize."
"That's okay. I can see everyone is a little bit under the weather anyhow." He smiled weakly at her and went out the door. Keladry sighed and looked at Joren.
"Are you happy now?"
Joren winced when he felt something sore in his leg get worse as he moved to a laying position on his bed. "Well, no, but it's a vast improvement seeing your boy-toy walk out feeling a little neglected and offended."
She punched him in the arm. He immediately clenched his teeth to stifle his cry. "KELADRY!"
She started laughing. Then she covered her mouth with both hands. "I'm sorry! Did that 'feral beast' hurt you there, too?"
"No. That's when I fell from the window."
She cracked up. "We're supposed to be professionals and sneaking around and fighting, and here you are getting beaten by a dog and gravity!"
"It was a fluke!" he argued.
"Sure it was."
"We've faced crazy generals, more soldiers of the Miran army than we like to admit, and you think I can get beaten by an animal and some stupid environmental obstacle?" he glared at her.
She grinned. "Yes. It is called being human."
"Yeah, well, it's really uncomfortable."
She shook her head and patted his arm. "I'm sure it is. Now why don't you get your poor dog-bitten self to sleep and we can clear things up with Owen tomorrow."
He yawned. "How'd it go with the Neal-guy anyway?"
"I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't refer to him like that."
"Fine. How'd it go with Owen?"
"Fine," she answered, mimicking his voice.
"Hmph. If you really like this guy, then so much the worse." He turned on his side and threw his quilt over him, ending the conversation. There was not so much as a goodnight. She hated his childishness. Maybe Owen was right and Joren was over-protective. But why?
"Good night, Spider Boy."
He betrayed his show of defiance towards her by turning and peering at her. "Spider Boy?"
"You know, climbing every building from here to the next district."
He narrowed his eyes. "Haha. Very funny. Tomboy."
"Spider Boy."
"Tomboy."
"Spider Boy."
"Tomboy."
"Spider Boy."
"Tomboy."
"You are so annoying."
"I'm so glad you finally noticed."
There was a pause.
"Spider Boy!"
"Tomboy!"
"Ha! Beat you to it!"
"Oh, and this is coming from the girl who despises name calling."
"I blame it on your terrible, terrible influence."
"Ooh… I'm so offended…"