Disclaimer: What I said in Chapter One.
A/N: Thanks for reviewing, faithful, uh¡K reviewers!
Ginelle ¡V You are still my first reviewer, that makes you special!!!
Grace ¡V I wrote more, hope it¡¦s soon enough.
Katie ¡V Thank you thank you thank you for reviewing, every review means so much to me. (wipes tears away)
Lauren Carel ¡V I wrote more!
Angel Fish ¡V I reviewed your story, Alex, hope that makes up for this.
Lioness grrl ¡V D¡¦you understand the extra letters now?
Tropicalfrost86 ¡V Whispers of the Heart is K/N, right? ¡¥Cause that¡¦s what I read ¡V K/N stories.
Larzdinn ¡V You ROCK!!! K/N stories are THE best. Btw, I planning to post a K/N after I finish chapter one of it¡K basic story is Tortall is a modern world, Kel and Neal are the same age, Neal asks Kel out. I FEEL SO SPECIAL!!! You are so cool, you reviewed TWICE!!! Go you!!!! And yes, I loved your smilies. Thanks for the tip on the lights. J You are soo right ¡V K/N was made in heaven!!! Neal deserves Kel, Cleon doesn¡¦t. (nods to console herself)
DaniShea ¡V I love Tamora Pierce, ¡¥cause without her, there wouldn¡¦t have been Kel or Neal. (grins)
Daine ¡V Thanko. I¡¦m so glad you love it!!!
The rest of you ppl, hellooooo??? Don¡¦t you want your name on that pretty lil¡¦ list I got there? Isn¡¦t it wonderful? (smiles happily) Anyhow, is anyone else K/N? We need more of that kind of people in this world. Kel and Neal forever¡K You know what? Never IM me when I¡¦m high and hyper, ¡¥cause that¡¦s pretty much all I can think about. K/N and sugar. Right, Alez? ¡¥Cause Kel and Neal ROCK!!! They would look so nice dancing together¡K I¡¦ve read only 266 pages of Squire so far, but who cares? In Page, wasn¡¦t Kel thinking that she was almost as tall as him? Uhh, right. The story.
Dedicated to Blackstar
(Jocelyn)
It was about two weeks later. Kylaia had a whole group of Shang trainees on mats stretching and drilling. Among them were Jade, Jeremy, and I. Then the Unicorn beckoned me out, alone. Mystified, I got up, shook out my still short hair, and went out.
¡§Ariel,¡¨ she intoned softly. ¡§I know you said you wanted to be a knight, and I think your skills are improving. I would say you can leave for the palace in three days.¡¨
I blinked, words catching in my throat. I¡¦d kept putting off leaving here, and finally, Kylaia was telling me I could go in three days? Swallowing, I replied, ¡§That¡¦s ¡V that¡¦s wonderful.¡¨
She beamed. ¡§Yes, I¡¦m so proud of you. You¡¦re so attentive, and you work hard, even at things you don¡¦t care for. You¡¦ve come so far in twelve days or so. You¡¦re going to do great things as a knight, Ariel of Landen, great things.¡¨
It was probably the highest praise I¡¦d ever received in my life. I loved my parents, but they weren¡¦t ones that were high on compliments. My brothers were always teasing me and had never said anything better than a ¡§You look nice.¡¨ Keeping tears back, I whispered, ¡§Thank you, Kylaia.¡¨
¡§No need to thank me,¡¨ she replied gruffly. ¡§It was my pleasure.¡¨
* * *
Somehow, I wasn¡¦t so sure if I wanted to leave or not. Two days had already passed, and I was still wondering about my decision. By this time, I could do simple drills, and I could fall correctly, slapping the ground. ¡§I don¡¦t want you to get too used to Shang ways,¡¨ Kylaia had explained. ¡§What they teach you at the palace will probably be different than these techniques. You¡¦ll have to adjust.¡¨
I asked Jade what I should do. ¡§If you stay here, great. If you leave for the palace, I¡¦ll miss you.¡¨ She shrugged. I was a little hurt by her indifference, but all of a sudden, she leaped up and wrapped her arms tightly around me into a big hug. ¡§I wish you would stay,¡¨ she whispered. ¡§But I know you¡¦ve wanted this for a long time.¡¨ I smiled gratefully. ¡§Now I¡¦m not so sure¡K¡¨ I told her hesitantly. Hope flickered in Jade¡¦s now olive green eyes. Then it died. The green darkened to almost-black. ¡§I know you¡¦re going to go to the palace,¡¨ she muttered dully. The black lightened to a sapphire, then sky blue. I¡¦d learned to tell Jade¡¦s moods by the color of her eyes. Now she was reflecting on her memories. ¡§What makes you so sure?¡¨ I inquired softly. ¡§No one I¡¦ve ever cared about cares enough to stay with me,¡¨ she whispered forlornly. ¡§My grandfather died when I was five. Jocelyn became cruel to me. My dog, Kerry, was killed in an accident. I¡¦ve never had anything to hope for. I have no right to hope for anything. I¡¦m never going to get it.¡¨
I touched her shoulder gently, and walked out of the room. I¡¦d never thought about the fact that Jade wouldn¡¦t be coming with me. I¡¦d miss her for sure. A hot flow of tears threatened to overflow, and I blinked several times.
¡§Hey!¡¨ It was Jeremy. ¡§I heard you were going tomorrow. I just wanted to wish you luck, and ¡V and I¡¦ll miss you.¡¨ He blushed.
I stared critically at him. Was he really blushing? ¡§I might not go,¡¨ I told him finally. ¡§I¡¦m still thinking.¡¨
¡§I think you should at least try,¡¨ he murmured. ¡§Even if they don¡¦t accept you, you¡¦re always welcome here.¡¨ Jeremy smiled that smile over which Jade swooned.
¡§Thanks.¡¨
As we went our separate ways, I thought, Maybe he¡¦s right. I should at least try, and even if I don¡¦t get in, Kylaia will welcome me here.
* * *
I was packed and ready to go. Twilight was saddled, Jade was prepared too, with another mount. I remembered when I¡¦d asked her to accompany me to Corus.
¡§Please, Jade?¡¨ I¡¦d pleaded.
¡§No. It hurts too much.¡¨ She¡¦d looked as if her favorite dog had died¡K but then, it had.
I¡¦d used every strategy there was to persuade her to come, but I felt selfish now. She would have to go through pain and hurt again, just because I wanted her to come so I wouldn¡¦t feel lonely.
Kylaia and Jeremy came to say goodbye. Kylaia just gripped my shoulder and nodded, beaming proudly. I smiled waveringly back at her. She went to go discuss with Jade what route we would take. I turned to Jeremy. He was staring at me.
¡§I¡¦ll miss you,¡¨ he started.
¡§I¡¦ll miss you too.¡¨ There wasn¡¦t much else to say after that. ¡§I¡¦ll come back and visit,¡¨ I added.
¡§Ariel¡K¡¨
¡§Hmm?¡¨
Jeremy leaned over hesitantly, and quickly brushed his lips to mine. Just as swiftly as he¡¦d bent toward me, he pulled back, and ran inside. I stood there stunned for a second.
¡§I knew it.¡¨ I snapped towards Jade.
¡§What?¡¨ I gasped.
¡§He likes you.¡¨
¡§No, he doesn¡¦t ¡V ¡¨
¡§Oh, come on. It¡¦s obvious,¡¨ Jade affirmed loftily. ¡§Let¡¦s go.¡¨
* * *
We had reached Corus. Eyes stinging with unshed tears, I whispered, ¡§I¡¦ll miss you, Jade.¡¨
¡§I will too.¡¨
There was nothing we could really say. Shifting and avoiding each other¡¦s eyes, we rode in the opposite direction. Taking a deep breath, I steered Twilight into the city gates¡K and turned to look at Jade. Watching her back disappear¡K so forlorn¡K Should I¡K?
¡§Jade!¡¨
She turned back, broke into a huge grin, and rode up to meet me.
A¡¦right, I guess you should know what happens next. Ariel goes back, becomes Shang, everything. Anyone know how long it takes to become a Shang _______? Like, the Shang Unicorn? How long do you have to train? Pleez review, as always.