Don't own nothing (as you already know) This one's a little short, but I assure you, the next chapter is going to be GREAT!!!
Keita: you among other people have asked me about my name. All the letters stand for different names in different fandoms. Eg: PTV stands for Pan, Trunks and Vegeta from DBZ.
ChaChaChica: you made a VERY good point about how Kel and Neal just leave the border. I've been thinking about how to deal with that (and heaping the problem on my friends, too) I already know how Kel is able to leave, but do you think Neal would just talk things over? I still don't know. But it WILL be dealt with, don't you worry ^_^
Liger and Lady Queescove: tee hee. Very funny review. I luv your little song.
Thanks for the email, Camisole! You made my day! Tangible illusions, eh? Sounds k00l. Yeah, if anyone has title ideas, SUGGEST THEM!!!
If you wanna know when I update, say so in your review and give your email!
Being or Not Being
The going was pretty easy. Kel and Neal didn't make the travelling tough on themselves. And now Mindelan was only a couple of hours away. She actually felt a little happier, a little more like going and doing something for herself than before. Perhaps she would treat herself to a new dress when she got back home.
Jump trotted proudly deside them, investigating a scent in the grass every so often. A couple of sparrows clung to Peachblossom's mane, resting while the others soared about, waiting for some hapless worm to poke it head out of the ground.
Neal breathed in and sighed contentedly.
"What?" Kel asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh. Just thinking. My first book in 4 weeks! I can't believe I've survived that long. I even-" Kel laughed, shaking her head at Neal's antics. He was a healer, a knight, a lover of books and truly her best friend. Neal continued his 'happy thoughts' of books to be read and Kel bustled about, unstrapping a saddle bag to open it. There! She had found the parchment, a note so her parents would be aware of her arrival beforehand.
"Shigo!" The named sparrow flew down to her, swallowing the head of a worm.
"Here. Can you take this up ahead? Just give it to a man at the gates."
Shigo chirped happily and flew away, above the trees and the path in front of the.
Plodding along slowly still, Kel and Neal rode in silence for another half hour before Shigo cam back.
"You gave it to them?" He cocked his head, as though confused. "That message. Did you give it-"
"Kel." Neal drew her attention to and man who was galloping towards them. A servant, Kel recognised, wearing Mindelan colours.
"Sir, mi'lady. Deepest apologies, but the masters' aren't in now. They left for the Yamani Islands just under a week ago. Sirs Inness and Anders are present but we aren't quite keeping up to schedule. A feast is to be held tonight, and the cooks are frantic. Nothing is prepared as it should be. Come as you like, good sir and my Lady, but you'll find no good entertainment whilst you're there."
Kel took in this information. Her parents were in the Islands...
"What message did my father send to me?"
The servant was flustered, dirt on his hands and sweat on his forehead.
"Deepest apologies again, mi'lady, but no word from him came through us. If ye likes, talk to yer brothers, they might know something. Now, if you'll excuse me my Lady, good Sir." The servant nodded his head politely as custom dictated, and turned his horse around quickly and rode off.
The whole occurance left them feeling rather bewieldered.
"Did you know they were planning to go to the Islands?" Neal asked.
"They might have mentioned something...But we can ask Anders when we get there. I'm not too fond of a feast tonight, but I would like to see everyone," Neal nodded, agreeing.
"I wonder what the feast is for..."
.
It turned out, as Kel and Neal found out after meeting some guards at the gates, that the feast was in honour of Adalie's (Kel's sister-is that how you spell it?) anniversary of marriage.
It had already been one midwinter since the last set of balls - something Kel hated thinking of having to endure for any other relation's wedding, including her own.
But it would be good to have a hearty meal for once, they thought. A hearty meal - only if the cooks coulf provide it in time. Apparently Lady Adalie and her husband Erik of Duloc had given Mindelan a 2 days notice. Things still had to be planned, and quickly. The couple would be arriving tonight.
.
Kel sought out her brother Anders as soon as she had organised Neal some rooms and herself a bath.
He was in an upstairs study, reading some scrolls about one boring topic or another.
Anders glanced up, noticing his youngest sister.
"Kel!" They gave each other a warm embrace.
"How are you? Inness had word...I'm sorry about Sir Cleon. I.. know you two were close." Kel nodded, she didn't want to have to think about Cleon now.
"So where did Ma and Pa go?"
"Well, our dear mother and father are off with the Yamani Troupe-"
"What? Troupe?"
"Oh yes, that's what they've called them. A group of delegates from the Islands, Prince Roald, Shinkokami, her ladies, and a couple of Tortall's ambassadors. Now our parents have joined their ranks. They had hoped to be back by last night, to be here for the feast, but they sent us this" Anders indicated a parchment in fron of him "a note saying the Emperor had some important 'post-marital issues to discuss'. You may read it if you wish."
Kel nodded again and he handed her the letter.
"Inness said he'd be outside if you wanted to talk to him. Are you going to stay for tonight? A few more days perhaps?"
"Well," Kel replied "I'd have to ask Neal first. You know." Anders agreed solemnly.
"I wouldn't do anything wrong by him, Kel. I could predict your end." They both grinned. "I hope you decide to stay." Anders finished and left the room. Kel sighed and closed up the letter from her parents after a quick glance; she could do that later. She stepped out onto the balcony, feeling the wind calm and refreshing. If only Cleon were here...
But the thoughts washed from her mind. Now his death was a couple of weeks past, and she felt a little better. More...herself. She wasn't quite up to normal yet, but getting there. 'I think I will stay for the feast' she decided, just hoping that a decent meal would actually be cooked with all the hustlings and bustlings of the frantic servants.
Kel looked down, at the ground some metres below. She could pick out Neal and Iness talking, then raising swors to test each others' strength. She breathed deeply. If only...
.
That night, the feast was pretty good. It wasn't actually as big as the servants had made it sound, and things went fine. Kel got to meet her brother-in-law, see her sister for the first in quite some time and it felt nice to be at home. She didn't know how long it would be until she next got to visit.
That letter from their parents didn't say much, just well-wishes and what Anders had already told her. She discussed with Neal what they should do after they let Mindelan.
"Well," Neal embarked on one of his crazy self-debates, "I never did get to finish studying head wounds, and there were quite a few up at the border. Maybe if we go back to the Palace it'd do me some good. And you can go to the markets and buy wonderful new dresses and go giggly all over yourself." Kel had to smile.
"Yeah, and be able to see some of our friends as well. We can have a break and then plan what to do next. When do you want to leave?"
After a good discussion, they decided to leave in a couple of days.
They went riding, practised against the elder knights with all kinds of weapons and the time passed leisurely. Soon Kel and Neal were waving their 'goodbyes' and heading for Corus. Things aren't going to be tood bad, Kel decided. Not bad after all.
...
Please review.
Does anyone know how to do bold, italics and stuff? I know all this html for my site and everything, but when I try it here it never seems to work.
Keita: you among other people have asked me about my name. All the letters stand for different names in different fandoms. Eg: PTV stands for Pan, Trunks and Vegeta from DBZ.
ChaChaChica: you made a VERY good point about how Kel and Neal just leave the border. I've been thinking about how to deal with that (and heaping the problem on my friends, too) I already know how Kel is able to leave, but do you think Neal would just talk things over? I still don't know. But it WILL be dealt with, don't you worry ^_^
Liger and Lady Queescove: tee hee. Very funny review. I luv your little song.
Thanks for the email, Camisole! You made my day! Tangible illusions, eh? Sounds k00l. Yeah, if anyone has title ideas, SUGGEST THEM!!!
If you wanna know when I update, say so in your review and give your email!
Being or Not Being
The going was pretty easy. Kel and Neal didn't make the travelling tough on themselves. And now Mindelan was only a couple of hours away. She actually felt a little happier, a little more like going and doing something for herself than before. Perhaps she would treat herself to a new dress when she got back home.
Jump trotted proudly deside them, investigating a scent in the grass every so often. A couple of sparrows clung to Peachblossom's mane, resting while the others soared about, waiting for some hapless worm to poke it head out of the ground.
Neal breathed in and sighed contentedly.
"What?" Kel asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh. Just thinking. My first book in 4 weeks! I can't believe I've survived that long. I even-" Kel laughed, shaking her head at Neal's antics. He was a healer, a knight, a lover of books and truly her best friend. Neal continued his 'happy thoughts' of books to be read and Kel bustled about, unstrapping a saddle bag to open it. There! She had found the parchment, a note so her parents would be aware of her arrival beforehand.
"Shigo!" The named sparrow flew down to her, swallowing the head of a worm.
"Here. Can you take this up ahead? Just give it to a man at the gates."
Shigo chirped happily and flew away, above the trees and the path in front of the.
Plodding along slowly still, Kel and Neal rode in silence for another half hour before Shigo cam back.
"You gave it to them?" He cocked his head, as though confused. "That message. Did you give it-"
"Kel." Neal drew her attention to and man who was galloping towards them. A servant, Kel recognised, wearing Mindelan colours.
"Sir, mi'lady. Deepest apologies, but the masters' aren't in now. They left for the Yamani Islands just under a week ago. Sirs Inness and Anders are present but we aren't quite keeping up to schedule. A feast is to be held tonight, and the cooks are frantic. Nothing is prepared as it should be. Come as you like, good sir and my Lady, but you'll find no good entertainment whilst you're there."
Kel took in this information. Her parents were in the Islands...
"What message did my father send to me?"
The servant was flustered, dirt on his hands and sweat on his forehead.
"Deepest apologies again, mi'lady, but no word from him came through us. If ye likes, talk to yer brothers, they might know something. Now, if you'll excuse me my Lady, good Sir." The servant nodded his head politely as custom dictated, and turned his horse around quickly and rode off.
The whole occurance left them feeling rather bewieldered.
"Did you know they were planning to go to the Islands?" Neal asked.
"They might have mentioned something...But we can ask Anders when we get there. I'm not too fond of a feast tonight, but I would like to see everyone," Neal nodded, agreeing.
"I wonder what the feast is for..."
.
It turned out, as Kel and Neal found out after meeting some guards at the gates, that the feast was in honour of Adalie's (Kel's sister-is that how you spell it?) anniversary of marriage.
It had already been one midwinter since the last set of balls - something Kel hated thinking of having to endure for any other relation's wedding, including her own.
But it would be good to have a hearty meal for once, they thought. A hearty meal - only if the cooks coulf provide it in time. Apparently Lady Adalie and her husband Erik of Duloc had given Mindelan a 2 days notice. Things still had to be planned, and quickly. The couple would be arriving tonight.
.
Kel sought out her brother Anders as soon as she had organised Neal some rooms and herself a bath.
He was in an upstairs study, reading some scrolls about one boring topic or another.
Anders glanced up, noticing his youngest sister.
"Kel!" They gave each other a warm embrace.
"How are you? Inness had word...I'm sorry about Sir Cleon. I.. know you two were close." Kel nodded, she didn't want to have to think about Cleon now.
"So where did Ma and Pa go?"
"Well, our dear mother and father are off with the Yamani Troupe-"
"What? Troupe?"
"Oh yes, that's what they've called them. A group of delegates from the Islands, Prince Roald, Shinkokami, her ladies, and a couple of Tortall's ambassadors. Now our parents have joined their ranks. They had hoped to be back by last night, to be here for the feast, but they sent us this" Anders indicated a parchment in fron of him "a note saying the Emperor had some important 'post-marital issues to discuss'. You may read it if you wish."
Kel nodded again and he handed her the letter.
"Inness said he'd be outside if you wanted to talk to him. Are you going to stay for tonight? A few more days perhaps?"
"Well," Kel replied "I'd have to ask Neal first. You know." Anders agreed solemnly.
"I wouldn't do anything wrong by him, Kel. I could predict your end." They both grinned. "I hope you decide to stay." Anders finished and left the room. Kel sighed and closed up the letter from her parents after a quick glance; she could do that later. She stepped out onto the balcony, feeling the wind calm and refreshing. If only Cleon were here...
But the thoughts washed from her mind. Now his death was a couple of weeks past, and she felt a little better. More...herself. She wasn't quite up to normal yet, but getting there. 'I think I will stay for the feast' she decided, just hoping that a decent meal would actually be cooked with all the hustlings and bustlings of the frantic servants.
Kel looked down, at the ground some metres below. She could pick out Neal and Iness talking, then raising swors to test each others' strength. She breathed deeply. If only...
.
That night, the feast was pretty good. It wasn't actually as big as the servants had made it sound, and things went fine. Kel got to meet her brother-in-law, see her sister for the first in quite some time and it felt nice to be at home. She didn't know how long it would be until she next got to visit.
That letter from their parents didn't say much, just well-wishes and what Anders had already told her. She discussed with Neal what they should do after they let Mindelan.
"Well," Neal embarked on one of his crazy self-debates, "I never did get to finish studying head wounds, and there were quite a few up at the border. Maybe if we go back to the Palace it'd do me some good. And you can go to the markets and buy wonderful new dresses and go giggly all over yourself." Kel had to smile.
"Yeah, and be able to see some of our friends as well. We can have a break and then plan what to do next. When do you want to leave?"
After a good discussion, they decided to leave in a couple of days.
They went riding, practised against the elder knights with all kinds of weapons and the time passed leisurely. Soon Kel and Neal were waving their 'goodbyes' and heading for Corus. Things aren't going to be tood bad, Kel decided. Not bad after all.
...
Please review.
Does anyone know how to do bold, italics and stuff? I know all this html for my site and everything, but when I try it here it never seems to work.