Title: The Traitors in Our Midst
Author: Pickzee
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
Pairing(s): Kel/Cleon, Kel/Dom
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. Or Kel's gonna have a baby... in a Scanran prison.
A/N: I beg of thee REVIEW! If you care a wink about this story REVIEW! Not a happy chapter by any stretch of the imagination, unless you really hate Kel and you want her to be dragged off to some prison in a warring country. The new part of my summary is from Sweet Home Alabama even though I haven't seen it yet. Please review I'm not feeling well plus I got in major doo-doo for something that wasn't my fault at school today. Oh and lets just say Raoul has been blissfully ignorant of most of this chapters goings on until I have his scene. Sorry to all you people who like the spy but I had to chose one of Kel's friends for this job and got to be him.
Disclaimer: All rights reserved for Ms. Tamora Pierce. I am not Tamora Pierce, one I'm not that gifted and two if I were the all mighty Tammy do you really think that Neal would be demanding that I raise Joren from the dead so they can play cards until his next scene?(It won't happen. I'm not Thom, I don't go around resurrecting people just for the heck of it. Thom's dead anywho so I can't hire him.) Now that we've got that cleared up on to the legal crap. These 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 6~
Malaeduraeterra
Kel's stomach gave a loud growl as she stalked to the kitchens of the palace. Most of the torches were out aside from the occasional flicker. Kel wanted a banana and she wanted it now. Never mind that it was two in the morning and that sleeping would refresh her and plunge her into temporary bliss. But the baby wanted banana and there was nothing Kel could do until the baby was satisfied. So feeling her way through the palace and knocking over a couple suits of armor would be the best course of action. Finally in the kitchen she faced a large crate of fresh bananas from Carthak. Grabbing a bunch she left the realm of chefs and tried to find her way back to her room.
"There are slightly under two hundred knights in the realm that are prepared for action plus how ever many soldiers Jonathan can muster. We would need about a hundred or so killing machines, Blayce."
It was that eerily familiar voice Kel had heard the night she bedded Cleon. Knowing she was already lost beyond redemption Kel decided to investigate.
"Good work Faleron, when those Tortallans come up North to reclaim their border we will have a lethal welcoming party for them to gore themselves on. With any luck we won't even need to send in any living soldiers, just sacrifice-able metal machines..."
Kel gasped, there was only one Faleron at court right now and that was her supposed friend. He had been very distant lately, keeping to himself and locking the door to his room. And the mass production of killing machines? She had faced at the end of her time as a squire and they were not something you would like to come across unprepared.
"Wait Blayce, I think I heard someone around the corner. I'm going to check it out," Faleron said.
Kel bolted, who knew what they would do if they caught her. Unfortunately for Kel all the lights in the hall were out and she fell flat on her face. The spy came right up behind her prone figure and tied her arms behind her back. she struggled and tried to kick her captor away but her legs were already immobilized. A gag was stuffed into her mouth as she tried to scream and the captor chuckled softly. "Trying to spy on the spy, Keladry? Naughty, naughty, naughty."
Kel was certain of the spy's identity now. as much as she hated to admit it. "Fwawerown why awe uw doiwg dis?" Kel tried to say through her gag.
"Because I want to." A knife hilt headed for Kel's temple and there was no more.
~
The next day the court gossips were on fire with the disappearance of Sir Keladry of Mindelan though they never expected any underlying plot at foot.
"I bet she is just sharing some man's bed and she has decided to take her sweet time in leaving his room," said a blond haired beauty by the name of Lady Canidance of Hidden River.
"When I was going to supper two days ago I saw Sergeant Domitan enter her room and he was still there two hours later when I passed her room again." This speaker was the homely Lady Arista who made up for her plain features with her upbeat personality.
A comely lady who was new to the circle threw in her two cents,"Maybe she was kidnapped, I did hear a scuffle outside my room last night."
"No one asked for your opinion, Gililan, she is a knight of the realm so she could defend herself against one person who was trying to attack her," Canidance said.
Dom suddenly ran up to the group, scattering several stragglers. His hair was disheveled and there were dark circles under his eyes but the gossips obviously still thought him handsome. Canidance flashed her flirtiest smile and fluttered her eyelashes while Arista tried to involve him in some small talk, but Dom wanted their flirtations, he just wanted to know where Kel was.
"Have any of you ladies seen Keladry? I have been searching the palace from top to bottom but I didn't see so much as a hair of hers. She was supposed to join me for breakfast today but she never showed up, so naturally I searched the whole castle for her but I have not seen her," Dom told this whole story using all the etiquette that speaking to ladies of their rank required but he did so grudgingly, he despised the gossips and he only was speaking to them right now to see if they knew Kel's where abouts.
"I'm sorry good sir, but we have neither seen nor heard of Keladry's where this day." Gililan surprised her companions by answering the question with a lack honesty for integrity had always been Gililan's strong suit.
"Thank you ladies but I must be going now. Good day." The gossips answered in a semblance of unity. Dom rushed away apparently to search for Kel some more.
"So Gililan what's this of Keladry being kidnapped?"
~
Dom paced his chambers, he had no idea where Kel was and what was happening to her. He had been to see the gossips a week past which had proved fruitless and he was now toying with the idea of going to alert Raoul. He that if he took that course of action something would be done but he also knew that Raoul would be at his angriest and he would throw some type of fit to hear that Kel had gone missing.
"Damn, what should I do? I need to find Kel, but I don't want to upend the entire country just because I'm searching for my lover and friend. Damn, damn, damn! I'll go see Raoul, I can't just wait while nothing happens." With that last comment to his mirror Dom turned and left to go see Raoul.
~
"Kel's what? She's MISSING?"
"Yes, since a week ago, I don't know anything else, that's why I came to see you, you could do something, even if it was just hiring a scry mage to try and find her." Raoul's reaction had been exactly how Dom knew it would be, a fit of anger and worry at Kel's disappearance.
"I'll see if I can find someone who can scry to try and find her, if not you and your squad may be going on a rescue or search mission. But are you sure she is not just at Mindelan?" Raoul seemed to be pleading with the gods through Dom for Kel's safety.
"Why wouldn't she have told me or anyone else for that matter? I need to know that Kel is safe just as much as you do."
Raoul was fiddling with some papers on his desk. Dom glanced at the desk and saw that he had juxtaposed a small portrait of Kel and a presumed missing form. "If anything bad happens to her... I'll go insane, just go insane. She was like my daughter when she was my squire. She still is."
~
Alanna stared hard into the rose gilded mirror she was using to scry. She was poring all the magic she possessed into searching for Kel, but all that showed in the mirror's face was a midnight blue fog.
"She's being hidden by someone's magic. With all the magic I threw into the spell I should have been able to see her anywhere within the Eastern Lands. Also if she were outside my range of power the mirror would have refused to respond rather than show a fog." Alanna's voice was heavy with worry and she was fiddling with the handle of her mirror. Raoul dropped his head into his hands as Dom began to shred the piece of parchment he was holding. "This could only mean that she has been taken captive or is paying a mage to cast an hiding spell over her, but knowing Kel I feel the second option is out of the question."
Dom's voice was hesitant as he asked; "Does this mean that I'll be taking my squad out to search for them? Or will we be waiting for her to suddenly appear at court even though she has most likely been taken captive by some enemy of hers."
"You have my leave to begin a search," a Raoul's muffled voice affirmed.
"We shall leave tomorrow."
~
Kel was shackled hand and foot in the back of a Scanran bound wagon and was getting no pleasure from the experience. The floor was hard, the blankets wet and the temperature was steadily dropping as they drew closer to the mountains. She was supplied food once a day, and even then not only were the portions meager, they were stale and moldy as well. She was forced to wait on every whim of the Scanrans who kept her bound in the wagon, one had even been so bold as to attempt to rape her, but luckily Faleron would not put up with any such behaviors from his men and he made them stop their conquesting in its tracks.
"Mindelan, your meal." A plate of three crusty biscuits and a flask of rusty water was slid through an opening in the canvas. Kel ate one biscuit took a small swig of water and ate the second biscuit took another swill of the liquid and put the rest of her rations away in the barrel that held some old beaten up clothes, suitable only for a beggar or street rat. Now she would be able to gnaw on the biscuits.
One of the Scanrans came and took off the chains binding her feet and replace it with a single ball and chain. The man yanked on the rope tried to her handcuffs and Kel obediently followed along. Now looming in front of her was a huge barracked gothic style building.
"Hur's yer new 'ome wench, Malaeduraeterra, top prison in oll o' Scanran." The Scanran chuckled and the shocked expression on Kel's face. "T'ain't that bad, they either cull yer first week or they leave ye to die yerself, could be worse, to bad they don't do torture though."
"Stop givin the girl false ideas Erik, this is a war not some petty murder offense like you served. Now Kel, take a good look at the outside of Malaeduraeterra, because you will be seeing only the inside for a long time," Faleron spoke up his cultured voice mocking her. "But we won't tell them to be too hard on you, just enough so that you learn your lesson about spies and actions in prewar time." Faleron laughed wickedly, his head turned up to the sky like a wolf. "You may be freed or you may become some farmer's fertilizer." With that all the Scanrans howled with viscous laughter.
Kel knew that if she made it through this ordeal she would have a lot to thank the gods for. ~
A/N: Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Review! Constructive criticism is always welcome. Malaeduraeterrae is actually a combination of three Latin words, the word malae (adjective feminine nominative plural) which means bad and durae (adjective feminine nominative plural) which means hard and terra (feminine nominative plural) that means earth or land.
Author: Pickzee
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
Pairing(s): Kel/Cleon, Kel/Dom
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. Or Kel's gonna have a baby... in a Scanran prison.
A/N: I beg of thee REVIEW! If you care a wink about this story REVIEW! Not a happy chapter by any stretch of the imagination, unless you really hate Kel and you want her to be dragged off to some prison in a warring country. The new part of my summary is from Sweet Home Alabama even though I haven't seen it yet. Please review I'm not feeling well plus I got in major doo-doo for something that wasn't my fault at school today. Oh and lets just say Raoul has been blissfully ignorant of most of this chapters goings on until I have his scene. Sorry to all you people who like the spy but I had to chose one of Kel's friends for this job and got to be him.
Disclaimer: All rights reserved for Ms. Tamora Pierce. I am not Tamora Pierce, one I'm not that gifted and two if I were the all mighty Tammy do you really think that Neal would be demanding that I raise Joren from the dead so they can play cards until his next scene?(It won't happen. I'm not Thom, I don't go around resurrecting people just for the heck of it. Thom's dead anywho so I can't hire him.) Now that we've got that cleared up on to the legal crap. These 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 6~
Malaeduraeterra
Kel's stomach gave a loud growl as she stalked to the kitchens of the palace. Most of the torches were out aside from the occasional flicker. Kel wanted a banana and she wanted it now. Never mind that it was two in the morning and that sleeping would refresh her and plunge her into temporary bliss. But the baby wanted banana and there was nothing Kel could do until the baby was satisfied. So feeling her way through the palace and knocking over a couple suits of armor would be the best course of action. Finally in the kitchen she faced a large crate of fresh bananas from Carthak. Grabbing a bunch she left the realm of chefs and tried to find her way back to her room.
"There are slightly under two hundred knights in the realm that are prepared for action plus how ever many soldiers Jonathan can muster. We would need about a hundred or so killing machines, Blayce."
It was that eerily familiar voice Kel had heard the night she bedded Cleon. Knowing she was already lost beyond redemption Kel decided to investigate.
"Good work Faleron, when those Tortallans come up North to reclaim their border we will have a lethal welcoming party for them to gore themselves on. With any luck we won't even need to send in any living soldiers, just sacrifice-able metal machines..."
Kel gasped, there was only one Faleron at court right now and that was her supposed friend. He had been very distant lately, keeping to himself and locking the door to his room. And the mass production of killing machines? She had faced at the end of her time as a squire and they were not something you would like to come across unprepared.
"Wait Blayce, I think I heard someone around the corner. I'm going to check it out," Faleron said.
Kel bolted, who knew what they would do if they caught her. Unfortunately for Kel all the lights in the hall were out and she fell flat on her face. The spy came right up behind her prone figure and tied her arms behind her back. she struggled and tried to kick her captor away but her legs were already immobilized. A gag was stuffed into her mouth as she tried to scream and the captor chuckled softly. "Trying to spy on the spy, Keladry? Naughty, naughty, naughty."
Kel was certain of the spy's identity now. as much as she hated to admit it. "Fwawerown why awe uw doiwg dis?" Kel tried to say through her gag.
"Because I want to." A knife hilt headed for Kel's temple and there was no more.
~
The next day the court gossips were on fire with the disappearance of Sir Keladry of Mindelan though they never expected any underlying plot at foot.
"I bet she is just sharing some man's bed and she has decided to take her sweet time in leaving his room," said a blond haired beauty by the name of Lady Canidance of Hidden River.
"When I was going to supper two days ago I saw Sergeant Domitan enter her room and he was still there two hours later when I passed her room again." This speaker was the homely Lady Arista who made up for her plain features with her upbeat personality.
A comely lady who was new to the circle threw in her two cents,"Maybe she was kidnapped, I did hear a scuffle outside my room last night."
"No one asked for your opinion, Gililan, she is a knight of the realm so she could defend herself against one person who was trying to attack her," Canidance said.
Dom suddenly ran up to the group, scattering several stragglers. His hair was disheveled and there were dark circles under his eyes but the gossips obviously still thought him handsome. Canidance flashed her flirtiest smile and fluttered her eyelashes while Arista tried to involve him in some small talk, but Dom wanted their flirtations, he just wanted to know where Kel was.
"Have any of you ladies seen Keladry? I have been searching the palace from top to bottom but I didn't see so much as a hair of hers. She was supposed to join me for breakfast today but she never showed up, so naturally I searched the whole castle for her but I have not seen her," Dom told this whole story using all the etiquette that speaking to ladies of their rank required but he did so grudgingly, he despised the gossips and he only was speaking to them right now to see if they knew Kel's where abouts.
"I'm sorry good sir, but we have neither seen nor heard of Keladry's where this day." Gililan surprised her companions by answering the question with a lack honesty for integrity had always been Gililan's strong suit.
"Thank you ladies but I must be going now. Good day." The gossips answered in a semblance of unity. Dom rushed away apparently to search for Kel some more.
"So Gililan what's this of Keladry being kidnapped?"
~
Dom paced his chambers, he had no idea where Kel was and what was happening to her. He had been to see the gossips a week past which had proved fruitless and he was now toying with the idea of going to alert Raoul. He that if he took that course of action something would be done but he also knew that Raoul would be at his angriest and he would throw some type of fit to hear that Kel had gone missing.
"Damn, what should I do? I need to find Kel, but I don't want to upend the entire country just because I'm searching for my lover and friend. Damn, damn, damn! I'll go see Raoul, I can't just wait while nothing happens." With that last comment to his mirror Dom turned and left to go see Raoul.
~
"Kel's what? She's MISSING?"
"Yes, since a week ago, I don't know anything else, that's why I came to see you, you could do something, even if it was just hiring a scry mage to try and find her." Raoul's reaction had been exactly how Dom knew it would be, a fit of anger and worry at Kel's disappearance.
"I'll see if I can find someone who can scry to try and find her, if not you and your squad may be going on a rescue or search mission. But are you sure she is not just at Mindelan?" Raoul seemed to be pleading with the gods through Dom for Kel's safety.
"Why wouldn't she have told me or anyone else for that matter? I need to know that Kel is safe just as much as you do."
Raoul was fiddling with some papers on his desk. Dom glanced at the desk and saw that he had juxtaposed a small portrait of Kel and a presumed missing form. "If anything bad happens to her... I'll go insane, just go insane. She was like my daughter when she was my squire. She still is."
~
Alanna stared hard into the rose gilded mirror she was using to scry. She was poring all the magic she possessed into searching for Kel, but all that showed in the mirror's face was a midnight blue fog.
"She's being hidden by someone's magic. With all the magic I threw into the spell I should have been able to see her anywhere within the Eastern Lands. Also if she were outside my range of power the mirror would have refused to respond rather than show a fog." Alanna's voice was heavy with worry and she was fiddling with the handle of her mirror. Raoul dropped his head into his hands as Dom began to shred the piece of parchment he was holding. "This could only mean that she has been taken captive or is paying a mage to cast an hiding spell over her, but knowing Kel I feel the second option is out of the question."
Dom's voice was hesitant as he asked; "Does this mean that I'll be taking my squad out to search for them? Or will we be waiting for her to suddenly appear at court even though she has most likely been taken captive by some enemy of hers."
"You have my leave to begin a search," a Raoul's muffled voice affirmed.
"We shall leave tomorrow."
~
Kel was shackled hand and foot in the back of a Scanran bound wagon and was getting no pleasure from the experience. The floor was hard, the blankets wet and the temperature was steadily dropping as they drew closer to the mountains. She was supplied food once a day, and even then not only were the portions meager, they were stale and moldy as well. She was forced to wait on every whim of the Scanrans who kept her bound in the wagon, one had even been so bold as to attempt to rape her, but luckily Faleron would not put up with any such behaviors from his men and he made them stop their conquesting in its tracks.
"Mindelan, your meal." A plate of three crusty biscuits and a flask of rusty water was slid through an opening in the canvas. Kel ate one biscuit took a small swig of water and ate the second biscuit took another swill of the liquid and put the rest of her rations away in the barrel that held some old beaten up clothes, suitable only for a beggar or street rat. Now she would be able to gnaw on the biscuits.
One of the Scanrans came and took off the chains binding her feet and replace it with a single ball and chain. The man yanked on the rope tried to her handcuffs and Kel obediently followed along. Now looming in front of her was a huge barracked gothic style building.
"Hur's yer new 'ome wench, Malaeduraeterra, top prison in oll o' Scanran." The Scanran chuckled and the shocked expression on Kel's face. "T'ain't that bad, they either cull yer first week or they leave ye to die yerself, could be worse, to bad they don't do torture though."
"Stop givin the girl false ideas Erik, this is a war not some petty murder offense like you served. Now Kel, take a good look at the outside of Malaeduraeterra, because you will be seeing only the inside for a long time," Faleron spoke up his cultured voice mocking her. "But we won't tell them to be too hard on you, just enough so that you learn your lesson about spies and actions in prewar time." Faleron laughed wickedly, his head turned up to the sky like a wolf. "You may be freed or you may become some farmer's fertilizer." With that all the Scanrans howled with viscous laughter.
Kel knew that if she made it through this ordeal she would have a lot to thank the gods for. ~
A/N: Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Review! Constructive criticism is always welcome. Malaeduraeterrae is actually a combination of three Latin words, the word malae (adjective feminine nominative plural) which means bad and durae (adjective feminine nominative plural) which means hard and terra (feminine nominative plural) that means earth or land.