A/N Hi Everyone. This is my first fic. Please don't kill me : (
I know it probably sucks, but what the hell. Constructive criticism welcome.
A/N2 Don't worry, Kel doesn't "get it on" with anybody until later (only a slight chance). At this
point in the story I think she is too young to be sleeping with anyone.
A/N3 If your all wondering why all the squires are still at the palace it's because of the Congress.
Disclaimer: All these people belong to Tamora Pierce, not me.
You'll Never Guess - Chapter 1 - New Beginnings
Squire Keladry of Mindelan walked down the hallway to her new room. She had just been
chosen as the squire of Lord Sir Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak. Kel couldn't even
understand why he had picked her. She was a girl, but she decided not to think about it anymore,
it was just gonna give her a headache.
Anyway, Kel quietly followed her knightmaster to her room. He stopped in front of the
last door and went in.
" Well, this is it," said Sir Raoul, "not much, but it's home."
Kel stepped inside and set down the small chest she was carrying. She looked around. It
was a medium sized room with a small bed, a desk, and a dresser in the corner. A fire was roaring
in the fireplace and the large window was open to let in the fresh spring air. Not bad, thought Kel.
I could get used to it.
"It's fine, my lord."
"Please, just call me Raoul. I don't really like all the formality. It makes me sort of
nervous."
"Okay.....Raoul"
"Let's go get the rest of your stuff. The sooner we bring it all here, the sooner you can get
settled in."
With that knightmaster and squire set out towards the pages' wing once more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey Kel!!!!!"
Kel whirled around and saw Cleon running towards her.
"Hey Cleon. What's up?"
"Nothing much. Enjoying your first day of being a squire??"
"Well I haven't done much except move my stuff into my new room, but I can't really talk
now. I have to meet Sir Raoul. He said he wants to see how I fence."
"Cool. Can I come?"
"Sure."
So Kel and Cleon made their way to the fencing galleries. There were others knights and
squires practicing their fighting skills. Raoul was waiting for her there. He came over to her after
she had finished stretching.
"Are you ready?"
Kel nodded. They stepped into a court and crossed swords. The "duel" had begun. Raoul striked
at her with a butterfly sweep. Kel blocked then quickly countered with the "crescent moon" drill.
The match continued for a few more minutes, neither gaining an advantage. Finally, Kel feinted to
the side than swung her sword and twisted it at the base of his and pulled it out of his grip. Then
she moved into the "kill" position. Raoul let out a full-throated laugh.
"I have to admit I have never been a great swordsman and you could be great someday. I'll
have to ask Alanna to teach you some more."
"Really?!?!?" asked Kel excitedly. She was so thrilled that she was practically peeing in
her breeches, but of course she wasn't. (hehehe)
"Of course," replied Raoul, "some lessons with her and you will be superb. Now go wash
up for lunch. You must be hungry."
Kel bowed and walked to Cleon.
"Can you believe it?!?!? This is sooo great. I wonder when I can start??"
"Kel, calm down. I know this is great, but the Lioness hasn't come back yet. Let's go wash
up."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Kel washed up she thought of how she had always had a hot bath waiting for her when
she got back from practice. Thinking of the hot bath made her think of Lalasa. Just few days
before Lalasa and Kel had gone down into the city to find a shop. They had found the perfect
place next to an inn called the Dancing Dove. Lalasa bought the empty place and started turning it
into her very own dress shop. Right now, Lalasa was staying in a small apartment above the store.
Kel missed her. She had promised to go visit her as often as possible, but that might not be for a
long time. Kel sighed. She would have to hurry up or Lord Wyldon would not pleased. So Kel
changed quickly and ran to the mess hall.
Kel got her food and walked toward where Neal, Cleon, Roald, Merric, Seaver, and
Esmond sat. She sat down and waited for Lord Wyldon to give the blessing.
"Excuse me. May I sit here?"
Kel turned around and stared like the rest of her friends at Joren.
Why does he want to sit with us??? Kel thought.
"Uhhh....do you guys mind?" Kel asked her friends. What were they supposed to say??
"Yeah, I do," said Neal
Joren sat down anyway.
"Okay....I guess I don't mind," said Neal.
Kel and the rest of her friends traded looks. They all looking at Joren and wondering why he was
sitting with them. Slowly, they all started to eat. Joren's being there caused some awkwardness, so
lunch was a silent affair. Kel broke the silence.
"Are you having fun with your knightmasters???"
Neal was the first to answer. "Well......The Lioness is really nice, but she wasn't really,
ummmm..... in a good mood. She's still mad at the King. I'm learning a lot from her though. She's
gonna teach me more healing stuff."
"That's great, Neal. Now you can be a knight and a healer," replied Kel.
When lunch ended they all put up their trays and went to gather their books for their
lessons. Afternoon lessons weren't any different than usual. After lessons Kel returned to her
room. Sir Raoul came in.
"I just wanted to tell you that there is a ball tonight, so you have to dress up. You have to
wear a dress. I'm really sorry about that, but you don't really have a choice. I expect you to be in
the banquet hall by 7."
Just as abruptly as he came, he left. There was another knock on her door. Kel opened it and
there stood Lalasa.
"Lalasa!!! What are you doing here?? Is there a problem down at the shop??"
"No, my lady. Sir Raoul just asked me to come and help you get ready for the ball,"
replied Lalasa.
Kel saw that Lalasa had some bundles in her arms. Lalasa put them all down except one, the
largest one. She handed it to Kel. Inside was one of the most beautiful dresses that Kel had ever
seen. It was a silvery blue and had tiny gems embroidered all over it. To reiterate, it was beautiful.
"I got the order for it as soon as I opened my shop. I just received a letter saying what the
person wanted, money for the dress, and these other two packages. The letter wasn't even signed.
All it said was that I was supposed to make a gown for you to wear to this ball and give you these
other packages. Kel smiled. Another gift from her mysterious benefactor. Kel opened the other
packages. One held white gloves and the other had a necklace with a bluish crystal that matched
perfectly with the dress.
"Put it on, my lady, so I can adjust the hem."
Kel went behind the screen and changed. When she walked out, Lalasa gasped.
" You look magnificent, my lady. Put on the gloves and the necklace."
Kel fastened the necklace around her neck and put the gloves on. Then she walked toward the
mirror and stared at her reflection. She didn't look like Squire Keladry at all. She looked like a
lady. Lalasa began adjusting the hems and fixing Kel's now shoulder-length hair. She then started
to go toward Kel's face with some face paints.
"Absolutely not!!!!" shouted Kel.
Lalasa answered," But my lady, it will complete your new look."
After about 20 minutes of debating, Lalasa won and Kel was forced to sit still as Lalasa applied
the face paints. The final affect was lovely. The bell struck 45 minutes after 6. Kel had to get
going. She thanked Lalasa and took off for the banquet hall.
At the entrance "Lady Keladry" stopped and looked around for Raoul. She spotted him
sitting at a table talking with someone. Taking a deep breath, she walked towards them. She
stopped in front of the table. Raoul saw her and smiled.
"You look wonderful, Kel, and may I introduce Sir Alanna of Olau and Pirates' Swoop
and her husband, Baron George of Pirates' Swoop. Alanna, George, my squire, Keladry of
Mindelan."
Kel's jaw just about hit the floor. She quickly recovered and said," How do you do?"
Alanna said, "Fine thanks," and offered Kel her hand to shake. Kel took it. George smiled
at her and said," You've gotten yourself quite far, lass."
Just then, Neal ran over to the table and said," Sorry I'm late"
"It's quite alright, Neal," said the Lioness while trying to hide a smile at Neal's appearance.
His shirt was hanging out of his breeches, his collar was half under his tunic and half out, his hair
looked as though he just got out of bed, and his face was bright red.
Even looking like this, he's still cute. thought Kel.
"What happened to you?? You're a wreck," asked Kel
"Well, the General wasn't there to inspect my appearance," retorted Neal.
Raoul, Alanna, and George were laughing and finally Kel couldn't help it. She started to laugh
too. Neal excused himself to "freshen up".
Kel was about to sit down when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around
and found herself looking at a pair of ice blue eyes.
"Would you like to dance??" asked Joren.
Kel didn't know what to say.
"Umm...sure."
Joren led her out onto the dance floor and they began to dance. As much as she hated to
admit it, she was actually enjoying dancing with Joren. Her natural sense of rhythm matched with
perfectly his. They "fit" together almost perfectly too. He was only a few inches taller than her.
When the song was over, he escorted her back to her table, bowed and left. By then Neal had
returned.
"Have fun dancing??" he asked with a sly smile on his face.
"It was actually pretty nice," Kel replied.
"Really," said Neal in disbelief.
"Yeah, it was," replied Kel seriously," we just......flowed."
"What do you think is wrong with him?"questioned Neal, "I mean, he sat with us at lunch
and asked you to dance. To me that spells crazy. C-R-A-Z-Y."
"I don't know what's wrong with him. It's just to weird for me to even think about right
now. I just want to have a good time," said Kel in a resigned voice.
"Then let's dance."
Neal dragged Kel onto the dance floor. His hand was warm, too warm. Kel wanted to
drop it, but she refused to do it. After this was the guy she loved. Neal pulled her into his arms
and they began to dance. Kel started to blush when she noticed their proximity to one another.
She looked into Neal's eyes and saw something in them. It was a flame. The deeper she looked,
the more the fire consumed her. Kel made herself look away before she did something really
stupid in front of everybody. She tried to pull away a little, but Neal only pulled her closer.
"Kel...... you look beautiful," he whispered to her.
"Thank you, Neal."
"I'm not just saying that because of your dress or the facepaints. You've always been
beautiful, but I've just been too blind to see it."
Kel's heart was racing.
"Kel..... I..I..love you. I got jealous when I saw you dancing with Joren. You looked
perfect together. I just wanted to go up to him and punch him, then take you away. But I didn't. I
don't care if you don't love me , I just want you to be happy."
The dance had ended and Neal and Kel just stood there.
"I love you too, Neal."
Hand in hand, they walked back to their table.
"Are we allowed to leave?" Neal asked Alanna.
"If you're tired and want to go to bed, yes, you may. If it means moonlight stroll through
the gardens and some......um.....kissing, yes, you may go," said Alanna with a sparkle in her eyes.
Neal looked at his knightmaster in amazement and Kel gazed down at the floor and
blushed.
"Hey! I was young once too."
With that she shooed them away and winked at Kel. As they left, Kel heard the Lioness say,"To
be young and in love again. At least I have you George. Let's dance."
You know, I like this woman. thought Kel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The gardens were beautiful. The moonlight lit the paths and the flowers seemed to glitter
and sparkle. The whole effect was, well, magical, for lack of a better word. They walked among
the flowers for what seemed like eternity, but in reality only a few hours. Eventually, Neal
escorted Kel back to her room and gave her a passionate goodnight kiss.
Kel changed into her nightgown feeling as if the whole evening had been a dream. She
wished with all her heart that it was not. As she lay in bed, she replayed the whole evening in her
mind. From when she had met the Lioness until she and Neal had parted with a kiss. Kel had to
tell someone all that had happened, but who was there to tell. Lalasa had returned to her new
apartment and all of her other friends were guys. Her mother was at their townhouse and Salma
was busy because of the ball. Well, she would just have to wait until tomorrow to find someone to
tell of the night's wonderful happenings. Kel fell asleep dreaming about a certain green-eyed man.
:)
A/N That's the first chapter. I hope you liked it. Please review.
I know it probably sucks, but what the hell. Constructive criticism welcome.
A/N2 Don't worry, Kel doesn't "get it on" with anybody until later (only a slight chance). At this
point in the story I think she is too young to be sleeping with anyone.
A/N3 If your all wondering why all the squires are still at the palace it's because of the Congress.
Disclaimer: All these people belong to Tamora Pierce, not me.
You'll Never Guess - Chapter 1 - New Beginnings
Squire Keladry of Mindelan walked down the hallway to her new room. She had just been
chosen as the squire of Lord Sir Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak. Kel couldn't even
understand why he had picked her. She was a girl, but she decided not to think about it anymore,
it was just gonna give her a headache.
Anyway, Kel quietly followed her knightmaster to her room. He stopped in front of the
last door and went in.
" Well, this is it," said Sir Raoul, "not much, but it's home."
Kel stepped inside and set down the small chest she was carrying. She looked around. It
was a medium sized room with a small bed, a desk, and a dresser in the corner. A fire was roaring
in the fireplace and the large window was open to let in the fresh spring air. Not bad, thought Kel.
I could get used to it.
"It's fine, my lord."
"Please, just call me Raoul. I don't really like all the formality. It makes me sort of
nervous."
"Okay.....Raoul"
"Let's go get the rest of your stuff. The sooner we bring it all here, the sooner you can get
settled in."
With that knightmaster and squire set out towards the pages' wing once more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey Kel!!!!!"
Kel whirled around and saw Cleon running towards her.
"Hey Cleon. What's up?"
"Nothing much. Enjoying your first day of being a squire??"
"Well I haven't done much except move my stuff into my new room, but I can't really talk
now. I have to meet Sir Raoul. He said he wants to see how I fence."
"Cool. Can I come?"
"Sure."
So Kel and Cleon made their way to the fencing galleries. There were others knights and
squires practicing their fighting skills. Raoul was waiting for her there. He came over to her after
she had finished stretching.
"Are you ready?"
Kel nodded. They stepped into a court and crossed swords. The "duel" had begun. Raoul striked
at her with a butterfly sweep. Kel blocked then quickly countered with the "crescent moon" drill.
The match continued for a few more minutes, neither gaining an advantage. Finally, Kel feinted to
the side than swung her sword and twisted it at the base of his and pulled it out of his grip. Then
she moved into the "kill" position. Raoul let out a full-throated laugh.
"I have to admit I have never been a great swordsman and you could be great someday. I'll
have to ask Alanna to teach you some more."
"Really?!?!?" asked Kel excitedly. She was so thrilled that she was practically peeing in
her breeches, but of course she wasn't. (hehehe)
"Of course," replied Raoul, "some lessons with her and you will be superb. Now go wash
up for lunch. You must be hungry."
Kel bowed and walked to Cleon.
"Can you believe it?!?!? This is sooo great. I wonder when I can start??"
"Kel, calm down. I know this is great, but the Lioness hasn't come back yet. Let's go wash
up."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Kel washed up she thought of how she had always had a hot bath waiting for her when
she got back from practice. Thinking of the hot bath made her think of Lalasa. Just few days
before Lalasa and Kel had gone down into the city to find a shop. They had found the perfect
place next to an inn called the Dancing Dove. Lalasa bought the empty place and started turning it
into her very own dress shop. Right now, Lalasa was staying in a small apartment above the store.
Kel missed her. She had promised to go visit her as often as possible, but that might not be for a
long time. Kel sighed. She would have to hurry up or Lord Wyldon would not pleased. So Kel
changed quickly and ran to the mess hall.
Kel got her food and walked toward where Neal, Cleon, Roald, Merric, Seaver, and
Esmond sat. She sat down and waited for Lord Wyldon to give the blessing.
"Excuse me. May I sit here?"
Kel turned around and stared like the rest of her friends at Joren.
Why does he want to sit with us??? Kel thought.
"Uhhh....do you guys mind?" Kel asked her friends. What were they supposed to say??
"Yeah, I do," said Neal
Joren sat down anyway.
"Okay....I guess I don't mind," said Neal.
Kel and the rest of her friends traded looks. They all looking at Joren and wondering why he was
sitting with them. Slowly, they all started to eat. Joren's being there caused some awkwardness, so
lunch was a silent affair. Kel broke the silence.
"Are you having fun with your knightmasters???"
Neal was the first to answer. "Well......The Lioness is really nice, but she wasn't really,
ummmm..... in a good mood. She's still mad at the King. I'm learning a lot from her though. She's
gonna teach me more healing stuff."
"That's great, Neal. Now you can be a knight and a healer," replied Kel.
When lunch ended they all put up their trays and went to gather their books for their
lessons. Afternoon lessons weren't any different than usual. After lessons Kel returned to her
room. Sir Raoul came in.
"I just wanted to tell you that there is a ball tonight, so you have to dress up. You have to
wear a dress. I'm really sorry about that, but you don't really have a choice. I expect you to be in
the banquet hall by 7."
Just as abruptly as he came, he left. There was another knock on her door. Kel opened it and
there stood Lalasa.
"Lalasa!!! What are you doing here?? Is there a problem down at the shop??"
"No, my lady. Sir Raoul just asked me to come and help you get ready for the ball,"
replied Lalasa.
Kel saw that Lalasa had some bundles in her arms. Lalasa put them all down except one, the
largest one. She handed it to Kel. Inside was one of the most beautiful dresses that Kel had ever
seen. It was a silvery blue and had tiny gems embroidered all over it. To reiterate, it was beautiful.
"I got the order for it as soon as I opened my shop. I just received a letter saying what the
person wanted, money for the dress, and these other two packages. The letter wasn't even signed.
All it said was that I was supposed to make a gown for you to wear to this ball and give you these
other packages. Kel smiled. Another gift from her mysterious benefactor. Kel opened the other
packages. One held white gloves and the other had a necklace with a bluish crystal that matched
perfectly with the dress.
"Put it on, my lady, so I can adjust the hem."
Kel went behind the screen and changed. When she walked out, Lalasa gasped.
" You look magnificent, my lady. Put on the gloves and the necklace."
Kel fastened the necklace around her neck and put the gloves on. Then she walked toward the
mirror and stared at her reflection. She didn't look like Squire Keladry at all. She looked like a
lady. Lalasa began adjusting the hems and fixing Kel's now shoulder-length hair. She then started
to go toward Kel's face with some face paints.
"Absolutely not!!!!" shouted Kel.
Lalasa answered," But my lady, it will complete your new look."
After about 20 minutes of debating, Lalasa won and Kel was forced to sit still as Lalasa applied
the face paints. The final affect was lovely. The bell struck 45 minutes after 6. Kel had to get
going. She thanked Lalasa and took off for the banquet hall.
At the entrance "Lady Keladry" stopped and looked around for Raoul. She spotted him
sitting at a table talking with someone. Taking a deep breath, she walked towards them. She
stopped in front of the table. Raoul saw her and smiled.
"You look wonderful, Kel, and may I introduce Sir Alanna of Olau and Pirates' Swoop
and her husband, Baron George of Pirates' Swoop. Alanna, George, my squire, Keladry of
Mindelan."
Kel's jaw just about hit the floor. She quickly recovered and said," How do you do?"
Alanna said, "Fine thanks," and offered Kel her hand to shake. Kel took it. George smiled
at her and said," You've gotten yourself quite far, lass."
Just then, Neal ran over to the table and said," Sorry I'm late"
"It's quite alright, Neal," said the Lioness while trying to hide a smile at Neal's appearance.
His shirt was hanging out of his breeches, his collar was half under his tunic and half out, his hair
looked as though he just got out of bed, and his face was bright red.
Even looking like this, he's still cute. thought Kel.
"What happened to you?? You're a wreck," asked Kel
"Well, the General wasn't there to inspect my appearance," retorted Neal.
Raoul, Alanna, and George were laughing and finally Kel couldn't help it. She started to laugh
too. Neal excused himself to "freshen up".
Kel was about to sit down when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around
and found herself looking at a pair of ice blue eyes.
"Would you like to dance??" asked Joren.
Kel didn't know what to say.
"Umm...sure."
Joren led her out onto the dance floor and they began to dance. As much as she hated to
admit it, she was actually enjoying dancing with Joren. Her natural sense of rhythm matched with
perfectly his. They "fit" together almost perfectly too. He was only a few inches taller than her.
When the song was over, he escorted her back to her table, bowed and left. By then Neal had
returned.
"Have fun dancing??" he asked with a sly smile on his face.
"It was actually pretty nice," Kel replied.
"Really," said Neal in disbelief.
"Yeah, it was," replied Kel seriously," we just......flowed."
"What do you think is wrong with him?"questioned Neal, "I mean, he sat with us at lunch
and asked you to dance. To me that spells crazy. C-R-A-Z-Y."
"I don't know what's wrong with him. It's just to weird for me to even think about right
now. I just want to have a good time," said Kel in a resigned voice.
"Then let's dance."
Neal dragged Kel onto the dance floor. His hand was warm, too warm. Kel wanted to
drop it, but she refused to do it. After this was the guy she loved. Neal pulled her into his arms
and they began to dance. Kel started to blush when she noticed their proximity to one another.
She looked into Neal's eyes and saw something in them. It was a flame. The deeper she looked,
the more the fire consumed her. Kel made herself look away before she did something really
stupid in front of everybody. She tried to pull away a little, but Neal only pulled her closer.
"Kel...... you look beautiful," he whispered to her.
"Thank you, Neal."
"I'm not just saying that because of your dress or the facepaints. You've always been
beautiful, but I've just been too blind to see it."
Kel's heart was racing.
"Kel..... I..I..love you. I got jealous when I saw you dancing with Joren. You looked
perfect together. I just wanted to go up to him and punch him, then take you away. But I didn't. I
don't care if you don't love me , I just want you to be happy."
The dance had ended and Neal and Kel just stood there.
"I love you too, Neal."
Hand in hand, they walked back to their table.
"Are we allowed to leave?" Neal asked Alanna.
"If you're tired and want to go to bed, yes, you may. If it means moonlight stroll through
the gardens and some......um.....kissing, yes, you may go," said Alanna with a sparkle in her eyes.
Neal looked at his knightmaster in amazement and Kel gazed down at the floor and
blushed.
"Hey! I was young once too."
With that she shooed them away and winked at Kel. As they left, Kel heard the Lioness say,"To
be young and in love again. At least I have you George. Let's dance."
You know, I like this woman. thought Kel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The gardens were beautiful. The moonlight lit the paths and the flowers seemed to glitter
and sparkle. The whole effect was, well, magical, for lack of a better word. They walked among
the flowers for what seemed like eternity, but in reality only a few hours. Eventually, Neal
escorted Kel back to her room and gave her a passionate goodnight kiss.
Kel changed into her nightgown feeling as if the whole evening had been a dream. She
wished with all her heart that it was not. As she lay in bed, she replayed the whole evening in her
mind. From when she had met the Lioness until she and Neal had parted with a kiss. Kel had to
tell someone all that had happened, but who was there to tell. Lalasa had returned to her new
apartment and all of her other friends were guys. Her mother was at their townhouse and Salma
was busy because of the ball. Well, she would just have to wait until tomorrow to find someone to
tell of the night's wonderful happenings. Kel fell asleep dreaming about a certain green-eyed man.
:)
A/N That's the first chapter. I hope you liked it. Please review.