Title: The Traitors in Our Midst
Author: The Lady Rogue
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
Pairing(s): Kel/Cleon
Summary: In her first year as a knight Kel discovers a bit more about traitors than she ever wished to know. She finds that in the war against the Scanrans one of the most trusted of her friends is really the most traitorous of enemies. To make matters worse her relationship with Cleon deepens and in a moment of distraction the one she finds most traitorous is herself.
Author's Note: If you want to know what the chapter titles find a web-site or book that translates Latin to English. Thank you to you wonderful reviewers. *happy tear* Keep reviewing it makes me write more quickly. Replies to the favored few who think they know what is going on, have asked an intelligent question, have written a review as long as this chapter, said something really nice : ), or said something mean or wrong and I need to yell at them.
MagixPawn: I'm glad you liked the end, I wasn't sure how to end it but then I got that idea.
White-Wolf: *Claps for White Wolf* If your thinking I'm evil because of what I think you're thinking you're right and you're the first person to guess. Except my friend but I told her the entire plot line so that doesn't count. I love being mean to characters especially ones that aren't mine. But according to Tamora Pierce "New, hard circumstances force characters to sink or swim, the way you show it will move things along." But this does work out in the end, in fact it saves her life so don't get too mad at me.
Ashley: *claps on back for being first reviewer* Don't very used to fluff and mush, this really isn't supposed to be fluff I just needed that because I needed a plot starter and that worked very well. This does really have a plot and the real plot starts in a few chapters, propably chapter five but I'm not sure. YET.
Disclaimer: All rights reserved for Ms. Tamora Pierce. These characters, settings, and background are the sole property of Ms. Tamora Pierce and are only being borrowed for the amusement and enjoyment of the author and the readers of this fan fiction. No money is being made off the distribution of this story and even if money was being made I have no money for a lawsuit.
Chapter 2
Quid Fit?
Though Cleon brushed off the hushed voices in the hall without a second thought it haunted Kel's every thought. She had no idea why it seemed to be so stuck in her mind. She would be sitting with her friends talking and whenever anyone spoke her mind would recall and try to the voices with the sounds of the secretive voice that she heard that night she spent at Cleon's.
The night at Cleon's. This posed another question. Ever since then she had felt odd, more hungry, more tired. She couldn't stay up as late as her friends, she would fall asleep before anyone else was even yawning. She had skipped her monthly cycle, not that she missed it much, but it worried her enough to put her on her guard. Her mind wondered, what's happening to me?
Probably spent to much time worrying and staying up past my bed time.
You should find out if that is really what it is, the rational side of her brain countered.
But I know what is wrong. I've worked myself to the bone for Raoul for four years straight and it's catching up with me. The not-very-realistic side of Kel adamantly denied any real physical problem that would not be fixed by a week off work and a very large feast.
Whatever you say...
"Kel, wake up." Cleon's voice seemed to echo and bounce around her brain. Using every ounce of willpower she had she peeled her eyes open and propped herself up on her elbows. "You really should see a healing woman about this Kel, this is the third time you've fallen asleep before eight in three days, Neal noticed too but he thought it would be best if I told you. He left the name of this healer for you though, she's Alanna's mother's in law friend or something. D'you want me to come with you?" He managed to say all this in one breath and from the look in his eye it seemed he knew what was wrong but did not want to say it.
"Fine, I'll go. You can come if you really want to, I doubt you'd have much fun waiting with me at a healer's. When should we go? I want to get this over with and prove that I don't have anything wrong with me," Kel said, her tone indignant.
"Let's go now then." Cleon's answer was curt and short, different than any tone he had used in the past two years towards her. He opened the door for her and followed her out. They silently made their way out of the sprawling stone palace and out into the bustling town. Cleon knew his way through the town better than Kel because Lord Wyldon had granted him many more days off than he had Kel so he guided her quickly and efficiently to Street of the Willows and to the building with a wooden cup circled in brown and red hanging as a sign.
"Hello is any one home?," Kel asked as she hesitantly knocked on the door."
"Who's there and what is your business here?" replied a weathered, old female voice.
"Kel ma'am, I'm here as a patient"
"Come in and sit yourself down on this table, I'll get right to you." A old woman with almost entirely snow white hair except for a few chestnut strands stood holding the door open for Kel and Cleon to come in. The air smelt of herbs and medicines. The soothing yet invigorating smells wafted from potted plants that hung from the ceiling. The aforementioned table was wooden with a white sheet draped across it. It was placed strategically in the center of the room so the healer could examine her patient from all angles without having them move in excess. The lady bustled around the room straightening boxes and watering some of the plants. Washing her hands of dirt in a basin of water and drying them on a rough towel she pulled a stool parallel to the table and sat down. As she did so her very bones seemed to creak and strain with the effort. "Two right noble guests sitting in my little hovel at the same time, well I'll be darned. What brings ye to my mediocre practice when you have the honorable Duke Baird up at the castle to heal your tiniest of sniffles?"
Cleon spoke for the first time since they left the castle. "Though we're not sure what it is quite yet , we don't want to be the center of court gossip as we would have been if we had it delt with through the palace healers."
"Ah I see," the lady said though her voice betrayed that she really did not. "So lass, tell me what is ailing ye and I'll see what I can do to aid ye."
"Well since about a month ago I've been very hungry and extremely tired, falling asleep at odd times, not even being able to stay up past nine. And my cycle skipped, I know it happens once and awhile with every woman but with all the other odd things it worries me."
"Before you felt this way did you lie with a man recently?"
Kel blushed, "Yes, but only once before I started feeling so odd."
"Have you a charm against pregnancy?"
"Yes I got it last year from a healer and a peddler last year on the Grand Progress. Here it is," Kel procedeed to fumble under her shirt for the thin gold chain it was strung on. "Damn where is it?"
"Is this what you're looking for?" Cleon held up an exact replica of her charm. "I was going to give it to you earlier but we haven't had a chance to be alone since that night and I didn't want any of the boys to see."
"I think I should send you to a specialist. There is one just three doors down."
Leaving with words of thanks and a coin tossed in the lady's direction, the two left.
"Cleon you know but you won't tell me. What is it?" Kel was straining to keep her voice level but was starting to fail miserably.
"Weren't you ever around a woman who is going to have a child?" Cleon's voice was high with stress.
"No, I'm the youngest in my family. Why? Should I have been?"
"They're constantly eating and sleeping, they have very bizarre mood swings. They skip their, um, 'that time of the month'. Right now you're all of those things, you haven't had your 'that time of the month' and the fact that I found your charm after that night. Well, everything is pointing to that you'll er we'll being hearing the patter of little feet in nine monthes."
"No, I'm not! I can't! I won't let it! You're wrong! I'm just tired and worn down! Whatever I am ONE THING I'M NOT IS PREGNANT!" Kel's irrational outburst made all the heads on the street whip around to see who was screaming like a mad woman about a gift from the Mother Goddess, in the lower levels whether the child was a legimate or illegimate babies were considered a blessing. One head however was not common. Butchard of stone mountian was sure the court gossips would be *very* interseted in the first legal lady knight in over a century having slept around and now being pregnant with some man's (probably the redhead she was standing with and yelling at) little bastard. Butchard giggled (A/N know, I know GUYS DON'T GIGGLE) gleefuly. The girl would never know what hit her not after her name had been dragged through enough mud to fill a twenty foot deep hole and hung right where the entire court could see it. All those fights her little friends had gotten in to defend her honor would have been in vain, not when in a few monthes the truth would be visable to anyone who looked.
Author: The Lady Rogue
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
Pairing(s): Kel/Cleon
Summary: In her first year as a knight Kel discovers a bit more about traitors than she ever wished to know. She finds that in the war against the Scanrans one of the most trusted of her friends is really the most traitorous of enemies. To make matters worse her relationship with Cleon deepens and in a moment of distraction the one she finds most traitorous is herself.
Author's Note: If you want to know what the chapter titles find a web-site or book that translates Latin to English. Thank you to you wonderful reviewers. *happy tear* Keep reviewing it makes me write more quickly. Replies to the favored few who think they know what is going on, have asked an intelligent question, have written a review as long as this chapter, said something really nice : ), or said something mean or wrong and I need to yell at them.
MagixPawn: I'm glad you liked the end, I wasn't sure how to end it but then I got that idea.
White-Wolf: *Claps for White Wolf* If your thinking I'm evil because of what I think you're thinking you're right and you're the first person to guess. Except my friend but I told her the entire plot line so that doesn't count. I love being mean to characters especially ones that aren't mine. But according to Tamora Pierce "New, hard circumstances force characters to sink or swim, the way you show it will move things along." But this does work out in the end, in fact it saves her life so don't get too mad at me.
Ashley: *claps on back for being first reviewer* Don't very used to fluff and mush, this really isn't supposed to be fluff I just needed that because I needed a plot starter and that worked very well. This does really have a plot and the real plot starts in a few chapters, propably chapter five but I'm not sure. YET.
Disclaimer: All rights reserved for Ms. Tamora Pierce. These characters, settings, and background are the sole property of Ms. Tamora Pierce and are only being borrowed for the amusement and enjoyment of the author and the readers of this fan fiction. No money is being made off the distribution of this story and even if money was being made I have no money for a lawsuit.
Chapter 2
Quid Fit?
Though Cleon brushed off the hushed voices in the hall without a second thought it haunted Kel's every thought. She had no idea why it seemed to be so stuck in her mind. She would be sitting with her friends talking and whenever anyone spoke her mind would recall and try to the voices with the sounds of the secretive voice that she heard that night she spent at Cleon's.
The night at Cleon's. This posed another question. Ever since then she had felt odd, more hungry, more tired. She couldn't stay up as late as her friends, she would fall asleep before anyone else was even yawning. She had skipped her monthly cycle, not that she missed it much, but it worried her enough to put her on her guard. Her mind wondered, what's happening to me?
Probably spent to much time worrying and staying up past my bed time.
You should find out if that is really what it is, the rational side of her brain countered.
But I know what is wrong. I've worked myself to the bone for Raoul for four years straight and it's catching up with me. The not-very-realistic side of Kel adamantly denied any real physical problem that would not be fixed by a week off work and a very large feast.
Whatever you say...
"Kel, wake up." Cleon's voice seemed to echo and bounce around her brain. Using every ounce of willpower she had she peeled her eyes open and propped herself up on her elbows. "You really should see a healing woman about this Kel, this is the third time you've fallen asleep before eight in three days, Neal noticed too but he thought it would be best if I told you. He left the name of this healer for you though, she's Alanna's mother's in law friend or something. D'you want me to come with you?" He managed to say all this in one breath and from the look in his eye it seemed he knew what was wrong but did not want to say it.
"Fine, I'll go. You can come if you really want to, I doubt you'd have much fun waiting with me at a healer's. When should we go? I want to get this over with and prove that I don't have anything wrong with me," Kel said, her tone indignant.
"Let's go now then." Cleon's answer was curt and short, different than any tone he had used in the past two years towards her. He opened the door for her and followed her out. They silently made their way out of the sprawling stone palace and out into the bustling town. Cleon knew his way through the town better than Kel because Lord Wyldon had granted him many more days off than he had Kel so he guided her quickly and efficiently to Street of the Willows and to the building with a wooden cup circled in brown and red hanging as a sign.
"Hello is any one home?," Kel asked as she hesitantly knocked on the door."
"Who's there and what is your business here?" replied a weathered, old female voice.
"Kel ma'am, I'm here as a patient"
"Come in and sit yourself down on this table, I'll get right to you." A old woman with almost entirely snow white hair except for a few chestnut strands stood holding the door open for Kel and Cleon to come in. The air smelt of herbs and medicines. The soothing yet invigorating smells wafted from potted plants that hung from the ceiling. The aforementioned table was wooden with a white sheet draped across it. It was placed strategically in the center of the room so the healer could examine her patient from all angles without having them move in excess. The lady bustled around the room straightening boxes and watering some of the plants. Washing her hands of dirt in a basin of water and drying them on a rough towel she pulled a stool parallel to the table and sat down. As she did so her very bones seemed to creak and strain with the effort. "Two right noble guests sitting in my little hovel at the same time, well I'll be darned. What brings ye to my mediocre practice when you have the honorable Duke Baird up at the castle to heal your tiniest of sniffles?"
Cleon spoke for the first time since they left the castle. "Though we're not sure what it is quite yet , we don't want to be the center of court gossip as we would have been if we had it delt with through the palace healers."
"Ah I see," the lady said though her voice betrayed that she really did not. "So lass, tell me what is ailing ye and I'll see what I can do to aid ye."
"Well since about a month ago I've been very hungry and extremely tired, falling asleep at odd times, not even being able to stay up past nine. And my cycle skipped, I know it happens once and awhile with every woman but with all the other odd things it worries me."
"Before you felt this way did you lie with a man recently?"
Kel blushed, "Yes, but only once before I started feeling so odd."
"Have you a charm against pregnancy?"
"Yes I got it last year from a healer and a peddler last year on the Grand Progress. Here it is," Kel procedeed to fumble under her shirt for the thin gold chain it was strung on. "Damn where is it?"
"Is this what you're looking for?" Cleon held up an exact replica of her charm. "I was going to give it to you earlier but we haven't had a chance to be alone since that night and I didn't want any of the boys to see."
"I think I should send you to a specialist. There is one just three doors down."
Leaving with words of thanks and a coin tossed in the lady's direction, the two left.
"Cleon you know but you won't tell me. What is it?" Kel was straining to keep her voice level but was starting to fail miserably.
"Weren't you ever around a woman who is going to have a child?" Cleon's voice was high with stress.
"No, I'm the youngest in my family. Why? Should I have been?"
"They're constantly eating and sleeping, they have very bizarre mood swings. They skip their, um, 'that time of the month'. Right now you're all of those things, you haven't had your 'that time of the month' and the fact that I found your charm after that night. Well, everything is pointing to that you'll er we'll being hearing the patter of little feet in nine monthes."
"No, I'm not! I can't! I won't let it! You're wrong! I'm just tired and worn down! Whatever I am ONE THING I'M NOT IS PREGNANT!" Kel's irrational outburst made all the heads on the street whip around to see who was screaming like a mad woman about a gift from the Mother Goddess, in the lower levels whether the child was a legimate or illegimate babies were considered a blessing. One head however was not common. Butchard of stone mountian was sure the court gossips would be *very* interseted in the first legal lady knight in over a century having slept around and now being pregnant with some man's (probably the redhead she was standing with and yelling at) little bastard. Butchard giggled (A/N know, I know GUYS DON'T GIGGLE) gleefuly. The girl would never know what hit her not after her name had been dragged through enough mud to fill a twenty foot deep hole and hung right where the entire court could see it. All those fights her little friends had gotten in to defend her honor would have been in vain, not when in a few monthes the truth would be visable to anyone who looked.