Title: The Traitors in Our Midst
Author: Pickzee
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance/Angst
Pairing(s): Kel/Cleon, Kel/Dom
Spoilers: Up through Squire; written as though Lady Knight wasn't published.
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 the really short version: Kel's gonna have a baby... in a Scanran prison.
A/N: Nothing to say for a change, other than I'm getting over my cold ...type... thing and that I have a quote of the day. Hugz to all reviewers, I'm getting closer to 100 every chapter. Keep up the good reviewing!
Quote of the Day: "I will simply deny you the crown and ...live... forever!" The King from Ever After.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Only plot is. And people are trying to steal that. Those people know who they are.
~Chapter 9~ ~~
A council meeting (with what was left of the council after the troops moved off towards Scanra) was in session when the package reached the palace. The courier was recognized by none of the council members, but until the parcel was opened no one thought anything of the messenger. King Jonathan opened the parcel carefully with his letter opener and drew its contents from steady hands. When he saw the package's contents his hands began to shake ever so slightly.
"The Scanrans have a message for us about our demands for them to return Keladry. They say: 'Stop your foolish attacks and petty pleas for the return Lady Keladry of Mindelan. If you want her come and claim her.' They sent us this as proof that they have her." Jon held up a hank of honey-colored hair. "Numair, could you check and see if this really is Keladry's hair?" Numair rose and walked over to where Jon was sitting. He cast some spell and a wash of black fire flickered over the locks. It stayed black until Numair released the spell.
"I'm resigned to say it is Your Majesty. They really do have her." Numair fingered the hair for a second before giving it back to Jon and returning to his chair. Jon put is head in his hands and began to rub his temples with an uncharacteristic lack of conviction.
"Mithros knows what they are doing to her there in order to make her tell. Who knows how long she can last under what is probably endless torture. We need her back dammit, if just so our military information isn't spilled to the enemy." Jonathan's voice was muffled from inside his hands. Raising his head slightly he noticed the message boy who had brought the letter from what was obviously Scanra. He fixed the boy in his memory setting each tendril of near white hair, the exact shade of his eyes and skin, his every blemish and birthmark into an unshakable image that mirrored the boy completely. "The Scanrans however were sloppy in sending this message. They have given us a source of information, however small it may be. And this my friends," Jonathan up and held the courier by the arm "is it. The Scanrans have given us a small, walking, talking information source." He got up and began to question the boy. He answered the questions with a surprisingly small amount of reluctance, fear etched on his features.
"Where is Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan being held, boy?" Jonathan asked.
"Ke-" The boy wreathed and squirmed before falling stone dead at the feet of his questioner.
~
A magical surge ran through Warlord Maggur as his messenger died. He released the thumbscrews he had been using to try and pry information from Kel and howled a stream of vulgar language to the sky. "Why that traitor, he was going to hand feed the Tortallan king all our secrets."
"Yer Highness calm down. The king never learned where Keladry is so she can't be rescued by them yet," Erik tried to reassure the king.
"She's of no use to us. Just cull her. We can send her back to Tortall in pieces." King Maggur said all this as though Kel was not sitting right beside him, limp against the metal backed chair. The news however, was of no great surprise to Kel who had suspected her death since the warlord had appeared at her prison. Currently she did not really care, in fact death would be a sweet release from the physical and mental wounds the last several hours of torture had inflicted upon her.
"Begging yer pardon Yer Majesty I have a better idea. The wench is already six months with child, why not keep her alive until her child is born , then use the kid fer a culling machine and cull the lady knight. The Tortallans would be attacked by their one of their own bastards." Erik stood up from his seat across from the restraining chair.
"Irony... I like the way you think... what's your name?"
"Erik."
"Yes of course, Erik, I knew that." The king absentmindedly said the name of Kel's guard several more times to imprint it in his own brain. "Take the prisoner away, I have no more use for her now. Remember to take her to the healer so we can be sure that her child comes safely and with no defects. I want this killing machine to be perfect."
"O' course Yer Majesty," Erik replied before untying Kel.
~
"You saved me. Why?" Kel snapped as soon as she was returned to her cell. " I wanted to die then. Have you ever had thumbscrews used on you? Or third degree burns all over your hands? What about a back so raw from being whipped that you can't lean against the back of your chair?" Kel's mood swings had her emotions all tied in knots. Sometimes she was her old self, others she was depressed enough to have the air of being quasi- suicidal. (A/N If you haven't noticed I really like that phrase/word. Actually I just like using quasi, it's a cool word or whatever it is.)
"Did I ever say I did that fer ye? I jest wanted His Highness te be able te rub in yer capture. " Erik smiled obnoxiously as he said that.
"Whoever or whatever you did it for, thank you. I didn't really want to die." Kel was almost in tears now but the trace of Yamani attitude she had left holding strong and making her stop from doing so.
"Er... Whatever ye say wench. The better the king likes me the more I get paid. That's all I care about."
~
Dom and the rest of his squad were cold and lost. Again.
"I have a magical map dammit! Why are we getting lost if I have a magical map?" Dom threw the map into the slushy snow at his feet and resisted the urge to stamp on it. He picked it up again and cleansed it of ice.
"Sergeant, it may help you read the map if you hold it right side up. Just a suggestion sir." An indiscriminate man came up to Dom and flipped over the parchment in Dom's hands.
"Thank you Maddock. This cold must be affecting my brain to keep me from being able to read a map correctly." A slight chuckle rose from the squad at the attempt to joke. The pun however was not appreciated mainly because of the fact that the men were lost and the cold was affecting everyone's mind somewhat. Dom had lead the men to the first of the locations they expected Kel to be in but found it utterly deserted. They had sent spies to the nest spot on the list of possible prisons but had found it held no captives. In that sense they had made progress however on their way to the next spot a blizzard had sent them off track.
"I do believe I found a way for us finish visiting the rest of the spots soon. If we take this route here," Dom traced the path he meant on the map, "we could reach here," Dom pointed to a purple star on the map, "in a week if we work quickly and don't need to stop for an entire day again. From there we can head onto this fort. Travel would take about three weeks but we would be able to make it." Dom gestured to the map and told the rest of his travel plans quickly, he could explain them better when they were ready to go to those places.
~
In Malaeduraeterrae on the exact opposite side of the prison from Kel were some other prisoners-of-war. An entire block of cells was filled with soldiers who had been captured while protecting the Tortallan-Scanran border. These men had never seen Kel at the prison or even heard of her arrival. Before Kel's capture the soldiers had been tortured for information the same way Kel was being questioned now. Now the soldiers were stricken with revenge and prayed with all their heart that Mithros would let them take their vengence from their captors. Pity none of the men had any skill for command, or else they would be executing plan to free themselves already. Good thing that they were in the same prison as Keladry.
~
A/N: Okay...... Kel is acting *very* bipolar. Mood swings I guess, I don't have total control over these characters, Kel's bipolarness wasn't my doing, neither is Dom's affinity for getting lost. The characters created that for themselves. Short I know. I'm none too fond of this chapter, my writer's block is being a brat. Don't kill me please. Kel is bipolar and quasi-suicidal, Dom's lost (again) and the Tortallan court is in an uproar. What is the deal with Erik? Can things get worse? Yup, they can. Will they? Who knows? But remember, Tortall and Dom have three months of bought time to get their act together. Raoul shows his tall self next chapter and more weird stuff happens. Remember review to review be review kind review and review review.
Author: Pickzee
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance/Angst
Pairing(s): Kel/Cleon, Kel/Dom
Spoilers: Up through Squire; written as though Lady Knight wasn't published.
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 the really short version: Kel's gonna have a baby... in a Scanran prison.
A/N: Nothing to say for a change, other than I'm getting over my cold ...type... thing and that I have a quote of the day. Hugz to all reviewers, I'm getting closer to 100 every chapter. Keep up the good reviewing!
Quote of the Day: "I will simply deny you the crown and ...live... forever!" The King from Ever After.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Only plot is. And people are trying to steal that. Those people know who they are.
~Chapter 9~ ~~
A council meeting (with what was left of the council after the troops moved off towards Scanra) was in session when the package reached the palace. The courier was recognized by none of the council members, but until the parcel was opened no one thought anything of the messenger. King Jonathan opened the parcel carefully with his letter opener and drew its contents from steady hands. When he saw the package's contents his hands began to shake ever so slightly.
"The Scanrans have a message for us about our demands for them to return Keladry. They say: 'Stop your foolish attacks and petty pleas for the return Lady Keladry of Mindelan. If you want her come and claim her.' They sent us this as proof that they have her." Jon held up a hank of honey-colored hair. "Numair, could you check and see if this really is Keladry's hair?" Numair rose and walked over to where Jon was sitting. He cast some spell and a wash of black fire flickered over the locks. It stayed black until Numair released the spell.
"I'm resigned to say it is Your Majesty. They really do have her." Numair fingered the hair for a second before giving it back to Jon and returning to his chair. Jon put is head in his hands and began to rub his temples with an uncharacteristic lack of conviction.
"Mithros knows what they are doing to her there in order to make her tell. Who knows how long she can last under what is probably endless torture. We need her back dammit, if just so our military information isn't spilled to the enemy." Jonathan's voice was muffled from inside his hands. Raising his head slightly he noticed the message boy who had brought the letter from what was obviously Scanra. He fixed the boy in his memory setting each tendril of near white hair, the exact shade of his eyes and skin, his every blemish and birthmark into an unshakable image that mirrored the boy completely. "The Scanrans however were sloppy in sending this message. They have given us a source of information, however small it may be. And this my friends," Jonathan up and held the courier by the arm "is it. The Scanrans have given us a small, walking, talking information source." He got up and began to question the boy. He answered the questions with a surprisingly small amount of reluctance, fear etched on his features.
"Where is Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan being held, boy?" Jonathan asked.
"Ke-" The boy wreathed and squirmed before falling stone dead at the feet of his questioner.
~
A magical surge ran through Warlord Maggur as his messenger died. He released the thumbscrews he had been using to try and pry information from Kel and howled a stream of vulgar language to the sky. "Why that traitor, he was going to hand feed the Tortallan king all our secrets."
"Yer Highness calm down. The king never learned where Keladry is so she can't be rescued by them yet," Erik tried to reassure the king.
"She's of no use to us. Just cull her. We can send her back to Tortall in pieces." King Maggur said all this as though Kel was not sitting right beside him, limp against the metal backed chair. The news however, was of no great surprise to Kel who had suspected her death since the warlord had appeared at her prison. Currently she did not really care, in fact death would be a sweet release from the physical and mental wounds the last several hours of torture had inflicted upon her.
"Begging yer pardon Yer Majesty I have a better idea. The wench is already six months with child, why not keep her alive until her child is born , then use the kid fer a culling machine and cull the lady knight. The Tortallans would be attacked by their one of their own bastards." Erik stood up from his seat across from the restraining chair.
"Irony... I like the way you think... what's your name?"
"Erik."
"Yes of course, Erik, I knew that." The king absentmindedly said the name of Kel's guard several more times to imprint it in his own brain. "Take the prisoner away, I have no more use for her now. Remember to take her to the healer so we can be sure that her child comes safely and with no defects. I want this killing machine to be perfect."
"O' course Yer Majesty," Erik replied before untying Kel.
~
"You saved me. Why?" Kel snapped as soon as she was returned to her cell. " I wanted to die then. Have you ever had thumbscrews used on you? Or third degree burns all over your hands? What about a back so raw from being whipped that you can't lean against the back of your chair?" Kel's mood swings had her emotions all tied in knots. Sometimes she was her old self, others she was depressed enough to have the air of being quasi- suicidal. (A/N If you haven't noticed I really like that phrase/word. Actually I just like using quasi, it's a cool word or whatever it is.)
"Did I ever say I did that fer ye? I jest wanted His Highness te be able te rub in yer capture. " Erik smiled obnoxiously as he said that.
"Whoever or whatever you did it for, thank you. I didn't really want to die." Kel was almost in tears now but the trace of Yamani attitude she had left holding strong and making her stop from doing so.
"Er... Whatever ye say wench. The better the king likes me the more I get paid. That's all I care about."
~
Dom and the rest of his squad were cold and lost. Again.
"I have a magical map dammit! Why are we getting lost if I have a magical map?" Dom threw the map into the slushy snow at his feet and resisted the urge to stamp on it. He picked it up again and cleansed it of ice.
"Sergeant, it may help you read the map if you hold it right side up. Just a suggestion sir." An indiscriminate man came up to Dom and flipped over the parchment in Dom's hands.
"Thank you Maddock. This cold must be affecting my brain to keep me from being able to read a map correctly." A slight chuckle rose from the squad at the attempt to joke. The pun however was not appreciated mainly because of the fact that the men were lost and the cold was affecting everyone's mind somewhat. Dom had lead the men to the first of the locations they expected Kel to be in but found it utterly deserted. They had sent spies to the nest spot on the list of possible prisons but had found it held no captives. In that sense they had made progress however on their way to the next spot a blizzard had sent them off track.
"I do believe I found a way for us finish visiting the rest of the spots soon. If we take this route here," Dom traced the path he meant on the map, "we could reach here," Dom pointed to a purple star on the map, "in a week if we work quickly and don't need to stop for an entire day again. From there we can head onto this fort. Travel would take about three weeks but we would be able to make it." Dom gestured to the map and told the rest of his travel plans quickly, he could explain them better when they were ready to go to those places.
~
In Malaeduraeterrae on the exact opposite side of the prison from Kel were some other prisoners-of-war. An entire block of cells was filled with soldiers who had been captured while protecting the Tortallan-Scanran border. These men had never seen Kel at the prison or even heard of her arrival. Before Kel's capture the soldiers had been tortured for information the same way Kel was being questioned now. Now the soldiers were stricken with revenge and prayed with all their heart that Mithros would let them take their vengence from their captors. Pity none of the men had any skill for command, or else they would be executing plan to free themselves already. Good thing that they were in the same prison as Keladry.
~
A/N: Okay...... Kel is acting *very* bipolar. Mood swings I guess, I don't have total control over these characters, Kel's bipolarness wasn't my doing, neither is Dom's affinity for getting lost. The characters created that for themselves. Short I know. I'm none too fond of this chapter, my writer's block is being a brat. Don't kill me please. Kel is bipolar and quasi-suicidal, Dom's lost (again) and the Tortallan court is in an uproar. What is the deal with Erik? Can things get worse? Yup, they can. Will they? Who knows? But remember, Tortall and Dom have three months of bought time to get their act together. Raoul shows his tall self next chapter and more weird stuff happens. Remember review to review be review kind review and review review.