Disclaimer: Ferdinad, Nacean, and Katei are mine-- NO ONE ELSE.
Author's Note: Just a quick reply to the person who had mentioned Ferdinad being a lot younger than Kel-- good point, but I guess I'm either playing with the rules of genetics or Kel was forced to marry a very young, thick, annoying git (poor girl).
Don't Ever Underestimate a Yamani
Division 2: The Open Road
Third Person Narration:
The sun beamed down on the landscape that day, from time to time being covered by a wandering cloud that had crossed its path. A gentle breeze stirred plants and trees branches to life, giving a slight whistling sound to those who faced against it.
A man in green and black clothing meant for riding trotted on his horse over the rolling hills near Mindelan. In all the splendor of that beautiful day the man was cheerfully whistling to himself..
The wind tousled his short, strangely spiked metallic black hair, and forced him to squint his alert, dark green eyes if he ever looked towards the sky. (Come, come people, you have GOT to know who this is!) Tapping a finger against his straight, proud nose, the man stopped his horse and thought for a second.
Mindelan was North, he knew that much, but couldn't remember how to get there. He had been to Mindelan only once, and for ah, not-so-friendly reasons. This was Katei, or to be more specific, Katei of Nirason, ex-Emperial Yamani warrior.
Katei knew he was going against his love's wishes by entering the realm of Tortall again, but he couldn't help it-- he needed Tortall's help. Kel would help him, he knew that much, and was looking foreword to seeing her again.
Shrugging, Katei turned his horse a bit and trotted toward a small village for directions.
~~
Back at Mindelan:
Kel finished dressing in her riding clothes and picked up her backpack; she was going back to Corus for a while. Walking care-free out of her room, she noticed a note lying on her desk.
Picking it up, she recognized Nacean's handwriting, it read:
Hey,
I know you are probably leaving Mindelan right about now, and going to Corus? As you know, Ferdinad had guards escort me out of Mindelan, I'm going to Corus to continue training. See you there.
Your Friend and Serious Fighting Competition,
Nacean
Grinning, she left the castle, leaving a note for Ferdinad. Nacean knew her very well, well enough to know that she would be leaving Mindelan as soon as possible once there was no one left who was competent. True, Ferdinad would have a fit when he finds out that she was at Corus, but what revenge could he do to her?
~~
At the small village, Nacean:
Nacean, the Shang Eagle, stepped out of the inn he had stayed in that last night since being kicked out of Mindelan. Looking around, he saw nothing but commoners walking, buying, selling, or working.
Nacean knew that Kel would already be on her way to Corus by now. He couldn't blame her; that Ferdinad was a pain in the--
"Asshole! Yeah you, get out of my way!" a loud, obnoxious voice rang out a ways away from Nacean. Glancing over, he saw a horserider yell again to a man in front of him.
The man gave no sign of hearing, but instead turned to face the rider. He said something and then walked away. The rider seemed more worried than miffed and continued to ride down the streets.
Curious, Nacean walked over to talk to the other man. "What did you say to make him so worried?" he asked, or more like demanded; he didn't like strange people who scare commoners.
The man looked at him, face indifferent and said, "I just told him to watch out for his family, you never know what may befall them." he shrugged and turned away.
Nacean shook his head and muttered, "If only Kel was here." the only reason he had said that was because he knew Kel handled situations like this better. Usually when he dealt with it, it ended up in a fist fight.
The other man turned on his heel abruptly and asked with sudden interest, "Kel?"
Nacean stiffened, not liking this ruffian's tone, and shook his head, starting to walk away. But the man grabbed his arm and turned him around again. Acting on instinct, Nacean pulled on the man's arm and sent him flying over his shoulder.
To Nacean's great surprise, the man turned in the air and landed on his feet. Aiming, he kicked Nacean in his chin, and attempted a punch that was blocked by Nacean.
The other man noticed a crowd started to gather and panic jumped to his eyes. He stopped fighting and whispered, "I yield. I don't want to attract a crowd or attention."
Puzzled, Nacean asked slowly, suddenly having an idea of who this man was, "Who are you?"
"First you inform me where Keladry of Mindelan is." was the reply.
"How do you know her?"
"First you tell me."
Nacean thought for a second, and said, "I met Kel in Tusaine. She was a new knight and traveling, I'm the Shang Eagle. Now, who are you and what do you want with Kel?"
"Protective aren't we?" the man sneered, but it had a little sorrowful worry in his jeer, "I'm Katei of Nirason." when he saw Nacean's eyes widen, he said, "I need Kel's help, that and I- I miss her." recovering from his stammer, Katei narrowed his eyes and asked, "Where is Kel now?"
Nacean's mouth twisted for a second, eyes narrowed into slits, thinking hard about whether he should say anything or not; afterall, he had heard about Katei and the crimes he had committed.
"She's on her way to Corus." he said finally, "I'm meeting her at the royal palace. She had to get away from--" he stopped abruptly, deciding it would not be wise to tell this Yamani fellow that Kel was married.
"Had to get away from who? Or is it a what?" demanded a suspicious and anxious Katei. Nacean recovered quickly, he may be a little anti-social, but he still was able to talk freely-- maybe a little cocky-- to people.
"That is none of your business, and I have no plans on telling you. Now if you would excuse me, I have traveling to do today, it does take a while to get to Corus you know." Nacean turned and walked to his patiently waiting horse.
When he had mounted and turned his horse around, he saw Katei waiting at the village exit.
"And what exactly do ye think yer doin'?" he spat, for some reason he got the feeling of strong dislike towards this fellow.
Katei showed no signs of any emotion, like a true Yamani, as he shrugged and said apathetically, "I haven't been in Tortall for years, and unlike last time I was here, I don't have all the time in the world to wander around the realm until I bump into Corus. I need to find Kel, and if she is in Corus, that's where I go. So I will be accompanying you or following you, take your pick."
Nacean let out a low growl as he trotted past Katei's gelding, "You are not accompanying me anywhere. And I doubt you will be able to follow me." with that, Nacean's horse reared up and galloped headlongingly away from the village and Katei.
Katei galloped after the other fighter, suddenly remembering why he hated Shang fighters so much; they are annoyingly sneaky, fast, and very hard to follow.
~~
In Corus, Kel has just arrived:
"Kel! You got away from that thick-headed--" Cleon's words were put to an end and Neal jabbed him with his elbow.
"What Cleon means," he said, shooting Cleon a warning glare, "is that we are glad to see you back. You must be restless, not having got to fight or do work in such a long time."
Kel enjoyed talking to her friends as they walked down to the Great Hall where the King would be having a banquet in honor of Congress time. Kel sat down with her friends, recognizing faces that she had not seen in at least a year. Ferdinad had been
Diagonal from her was the dark, handsome Faleron of King's Reach, just one year younger a knight than Cleon. Across from Kel sat Owen of Jesslaw, still short, and a first-year knight. Merric was away, and her friends told her that he was visiting his mother who had taken ill back at Hollyrose. To her other diagonal sat Seaver of Tameron, who had been in the same year as her with a dark complexion and even darker eyes. Prince Roald was forced to sit with his parents and with his new wife, Princess Shinokami.
Princess Shinokami was the other princess that her parents had drawn up a treaty for before they had been murdered. Roald had married her just one year back, when he was of the age of twenty-one. From the letters Kel had received, Roald thought the Shinokami was nice and all, but just couldn't love her.
Neal and Cleon sat beside Kel as they ate, and when music started playing, asked her to dance. Out of friendship and good manners Kel accepted, and vaguely wondered what the court would say to the married Kel dancing with other people.
Kel pushed those thoughts away-- they were her friends, and to hell with what the court thinks! Besides, would any of that matter once she was finished with her plan?"
To the traveling Nacean and following Katei:
Nacean's icy blue eyes were constantly narrowed dangerously as he rode rapidly through the countryside. He knew that Katei was following, but just barely. He hid a cocky grin for that; that should teach the blasted Yamani never to annoy a Shang fighter.
Wind whipped against him as he rode, and he wondered briefly how much further Corus was. It shouldn be only a few more hours?
His thoughts were stopped as the wind died down and he reached the top of the steep hill he had been riding up. Slowing his horse down, he stopped at the top of the hill and gasped.
The peak of the hill overlooked the entire city of Corus in all its brilliance. Temples for the Goddess and Mithros stood tall and strong in the correct district, gleaming of importance with the sun. From the hill you could see the market place, bustling and busy with people trying to either sell, buy, or even steal. Then, built on a very close-by hill, stood the Royal Palace. It was if it had been built there specifically to look higher than everything else (It probably had been, mind you), yet looking down over the city with protection.
He heard the quiet sounds of a horse approaching his and cursed himself mentally; while he had been gazing at the city, Katei had caught up to him.
Cursing softly, Nacean knew that Katei could now easily find Kel. Shaking his head, Nacean began to gallop down and into the city.
~~
In the King's Council Room, Kel:
"We may have created that treaty with the Yamanis, but those plebeian-like people do not care for such civilized motives." Duke Gareth, the older, of Naxen may have been getting senile in his old age, but his voice still was able to ring coldly through the un-homely room. The council were meeting to discuss the matters of the Yamanis; spies reported that they might be planning an attack (A/N: for those of you who are wondering why Tortall might have spies in the Yamani Islands even if they are on terms with eachother-- basically every country spies on every other country, even if they are on friendly terms with one another)
"But we have there princess, I mean, Roald is married to her! That must count for something down at the Yamani Islands!" Neal protested, and at the same time trying to bite back a grin at the Duke's chosen words.
Sir Gareth, the younger, of Naxen and Prime Minister of Tortall, decided to stand up for his father, "But don't you remember what happened when that Chisakami died? The Emperor of the Yamani Islands didn't care, he didn't even hold a proper mourning period! His own daughter! Why would he care if Roald is married or not to his other daughter?"
King Jonathon of Conte' sighed and rubbed his temples as Neal and Gary began to fight. He knew very well that the latter and former could both go on for hours without ceasing their debate. Someone would have to shut them up!
And that someone ended up being Kel, "Neal shut up and sit down, same to you Sir Gareth." after a moment of seeing the outraged look on Gary's face, she added, "If you please."
"I do have acquaintances in the Yamani Islands, and I trust him with my life, I am sure that he would tell me if the Yamanis were planning an assault on Tortall." she said coolly.
"What if this connection of your's sent you a letter and you haven't got it yet; the Islands are far away from Tortall. Or what if the messenger had been killed by them so no information could be passed on?" Sir Myles of Olau pointed out to his grand step-daughter, "You see there are so many things that could go wrong, how can we be sure. It is only for our own safety that we remain at steady vigilance until the potential danger has passed."
Kel nodded stiffly and sat back down, keeping her emotions hidden under her facade.
~~
Corus, outside of palace:
Katei let Nacean go to the palace, he was in Corus and that was what mattered. Having dismounted, Katei had walked around for a while until he had reached the spot he had originally wanted to visit.
The town square of Corus was where he had been the day they attempted to hold an execution for him. His life could've come to an end that very day, if it wasn't for Kel.
The town square was just a large circle area clear of any buildings. An area where children could play, people could ride through. In the center was a fountain of water, carved from marble only found in Tyra.
Katei took in all the scenes around him in one swift movement of his narrowed eyes. Grinning slightly, he let emotions flow out of him, as he lifted his gaze to the sky. His slight grin broke into a broad, cocky smirk; he was back in Corus, back in the business (that does NOT mean that he will be going on another killing spree-- that would make no sense).
~~
Palace hallways:
Kel walked angrily through the hallways, this day seemed to be getting worse and worse.
"Kel! There you are!" a familiar voice exclaimed with relief. Kel turned and spotted Nacean running towards her. Kel ran to meet him and slapped him on the back.
"What's the matter Nacean? You look a bit... I don't know... rushed." she asked slowly. Nacean looked as if he were trying to find the words to say something.
"Kel... I have somet-- someone to show you." he said and impatiently grabbed her hand, running away and dragging her behind. Before she could do anything, they were running out of the palace and into Corus.
"Nacean? What the hell are you doing--" Kel stopped talking as they entered the town square. Nacean dropped her hand and watched her. In the middle of the square stood a tall man with his back to Kel, twirling a small knife through his fingers with ease.
Kel shook her head; she was suddenly dizzy, "It couldn't be." Kel walked up to the man and tapped him on the shoulder.
~~
Katei's POV:
Katei felt the tap on his shoulder and fought the instinct of flipping whoever it was over his shoulder; you never know how the commoners would react to such a move.
Hesitantly, Katei turned around-- and his thoughts froze. His whole body stiffened in disbelief. After years of missing her, and thoughts of how it would be when they met up again-- he couldn't believe it. Standing in front of him was Keladry of Mindelan, and she looked as shocked as he.
"Katei?!" she whispered softly, before her eyes closed and she fell to the ground in a faint.
~~
Author's note: Right, first of all, this story will not be completely romance. Yes, there will be romance in it, but I feel that if there was nothing but romance, it would defy the nature of Kel's character-- she is a knight afterall. And the real plot of the story will make itself known in the next chapter, there is two main parts to the plot. Thanks to those who reviewed and well review again!
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