[8-12-03: Well you guys, this is my first ever fan fic. It's not too much of a start, but trust me, it'll get a LOT more interesting. I promise :) I'm sort of using Sulia's format (she leaves notes at the beginning and ending of the chapters). The Tortall Universe and Alanna and Keladry are copyrighted and belong to Tamora Pierce. I DO NOT own them. Hope you enjoy!]

It was early in the morning during Mid-Winter. A woman's moans and yells could be heard all throughout a family's manor in Whitehorn. In one of the rooms lay the distressed woman on a large, cushioned bed. At her feet was a mid-wife, and at her side was her husband.

"Honey...? A-Are you o-okay?" Lord Burton asked his wife, who, at the moment, was squeezing the life out of his hand. The normally confident man was sweating profusely, and was shocked at how suddenly his wife, a sweet, innocent, loving creature, had turned into a beast, just by going through labor.

"Do I look like I'm okay!? I'm having a baby for Mithros' sake, and you ask if I'm OKAY?!? What the hell is wrong with you!?" exclaimed a very red-faced, sweaty, plump woman name Christamime.

"Well sorry," muttered Burton, under his breath.

"Did you say some--"

"Okay, I see it, give me a nice big push...now!" shouted the mid-wife. "That's it, that's it, just a little more, annnd..." A wailing baby exited its mother. The mid-wife cleaned it up, and the baby soon stopped crying. She wrapped it in a small bed sheet and said kindly, "It's a girl."

Lady Christamime, her eyes overflowing with tears of joy, pulled back her dark, ruby red hair and held out her arms to accept her child. Her husband, whose eyes, too, were brimming with tears, whispered,

"What shall we name her?" His wife, after thinking for only a moment, whispered back,

"Keltaline. We shall name her Keltaline Saffur of Whitehorn." With that said, Christamime handed her daughter to Burton, laid back down on her bed, and drifted off to sleep. Lord Burton, spotting a rocking chair in a corner of the room, dragged it over next to his wife's bed and sat down. He cradled Keltaline in his arms, gently rocking back and forth in the chair. Looking into her big, comforting, forest green eyes, he sang a song quietly until her breathing slowed and she was asleep.

~Daughter, don't ever lose faith in yourself;

Be strong, believe, and you will do well;

Always remember that your mother and I,

Will forever love you...~

~~~~~

Fifteen Years Later...

"Motherrr," Kelty whined slightly, "when are we stopping for the night? My dress is making me really hot and uncomfortable." The tall girl, almost five-foot-eleven, figured they really should be stopping soon because the sun was beginning to set. They certainly needed light to set up their camp for the night, didn't they? She pushed her band out of her eyes, and put the rest of her wavy, medium brown hair behind her ears. Kel's hair came just below her shoulders, and though it got hot in the summer, she loved that she could do so many styles with it. Kel's mother turned her head to face Kel. Lady Christamime's eyes, the same as Kel's, bore into her daughter.

"Keltaline, for the last time, I don't know. Go ask your father for once," she said calmly. But just as Kel turned away from her mother and got her horse Lighthert, a tan stallion with white "boots" and a white stripe down his forehead, to trot forward towards her father, her mother beckoned her.

"Keltaline." Kel turned back to face her mother. "Why can't she ever call me Kelty, or Kel, like everyone else?" she thought.

"Yes, Mother?" Kelty question. Sternly, her mother replied.

"I want to hear no more complaining for the rest of this trip. Do you understand?" Kelty's cheeks flushed slightly.

"Yes, Mother." Christamime smiled.

"Good. Now go and talk to your father. See if you can convince him to stop soon and set up camp for the night." There was a twinkle in the Lady's eyes. Kelty grinned.

"Sure thing, Mother," was the last thing Kel said before she made her way to the head of the group, where her father rode. It didn't take very long because the Saffurs had brought very few servants with them on their journey, so there weren't many people to ride through. Lord Burton heard someone ride up beside him, so he turned his head to welcome the individual. When he saw his daughter, so mature for her fifteen years, he smiled and spoke.

"Hello, Kel."

"Hey Dad. Listen, Mother and I were wondering--"

"When we're stopping. Yes, I know, we've traveled a lot today. We've gotten a nice start though." Burton stated, while pulling his horse to a stop. Upon seeing that, everyone else followed suit. Turning to everyone, he spoke,

"Alright everybody, time to make camp for the night." The Saffurs and their servants dismounted and went to work setting up their temporary home.

~~~~~

Curled up under her silk sheets, Kel looked up at the top of her tent as various thoughts ran through her head. "I wish Dad would've let me sleep outside, under the stars. I suppose it is a little more dangerous though, and a tad colder out there. I hope Lighthert is okay, since he's tied to a tree at the edge of the forest. I wonder how many days we have left until we reach Irontown..." She shook off a bad feeling she was starting to get and nodded off to sleep.

The Saffurs were traveling to Irontown in order to visit some of their close friends for a couple months. Lord Burton had decided to make the trip now, before Mid-Winter came and the roads were covered in snow. They would be staying at the Trisant's manor, however, Kel wasn't very excited about that. The last time she had seen the Trisants, their son Arren, who was four years older than Kel, teased her about being slightly overweight, among other things. Now, though, Kel was able to hide her feelings extremely well, especially when conversations turned to weight, clothing sizes, or herself.

She wasn't very gorgeous, nor was she ugly. She was actually quite cute, however, no boy had ever expressed any interest in her. She could care less, though; she had better things to do. Plus, she had learned a lot since the last time she had seen Arren. Thanks to the boys in her town, Kel learned how to successfully pickpocket, and she learned various defensive and offensive fighting moves. Not to mention, after the successes of Sir Alanna of Olau and Trebond and Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan, Keltaline's parents allowed her to take sword fighting lessons, at which she succeeded in.

Suddenly, a group of raging cries was heard. Kelty woke up and immediately ran outside her tent. Fire was everywhere! Wherever she looked, she saw Scanrans and servants fighting, and unfortunately, the Scanrans were winning. Trying to stay calm, Kel took a deep breath, crept over to her parents tent, and snuck in. What she saw sent a strike of fear and anger through her. With that, Keltaline let out a blood curdling scream.

~~~~~

Author: Well, how was that? Please, please, pleeeeeeease give me some reviews. This is my first time doing it, so I need to know how I'm doing...*grin* I have a lot planned for Keltaline--one surprise after another :)

Thanks for the help to the following people:

LadyJenofConte (aka Ally, my editor)

MountainStream

Kes22

Rachel Lupin

CreamOfTheCake (aka Chrissy, who did some last minute editing when Ally wasn't online)