Why hullo friends! How are we all? Teehee (Stacey –lol-) CHRISTMAS!!! –lol- it's coming up any day now. Guess what? I'm engaged to Dom! Well, I have been for the last year and a half but we finally made it official! ~Go Me~
Enjoy the chapter!
Test of Truth ~ Chapter 9:
Keladry shook her head, humor wanting to take over her face. Everyone should have been resting. Keladry felt rather amused that half the company was still up; she figured that everyone would be asleep on their feet after the day that they had had. Long and tiresome it was. Unfortunately, the day ahead seemed to be heading in that direction as well. An hour past midnight, Company Traitor Hill and their commander were camped ten miles away from Iron Town. Kel put her foot down, saying that it was best that they rest. It was only a few hours more and they could easily cover that in the morning.
A medium size group of close friends sat huddled up at a blazing fire. Chuckles passed around lightly and small portions of heated broth were given to anyone who wished to eat.
"Now Taryn, I'm sure she wasn't that awful." Daine said with a smile.
Taryn had just recalled the story of when she had worked as a stable girl at an inn called "Rose Flames." The old wench that owned the place had tried to sell her off as a servant to another inn! The women, named Kizzy, claimed that Taryn was an indentured servant!
When she couldn't get away with that, she refused to feed Taryn even though it was in their work agreement, so Taryn left. Before she went anywhere though, she bribed a young gifted mage and had him put a spell on old Kizzy. From what she heard on her travels, some wretched old lady went crazy. She kept thinking that there were snakes everywhere!
Taryn held up her hands in protest. "Mithros strike me down if I lie. She never once was nice to me, let alone fair! I think she would have named herself Queen Of The Known World before she would even consider the idea!"
A wisp of laughter went around the circle.
"She's right. They can be extremely cruel. I myself remember when I did something similar to our main cook when I was younger. Terrible old man he was." Alanna said thoughtfully. She described the time when she was barely eight and stole cherry tarts from the cook. He found out and was going to tell her father, Lord Alan, but never ended up telling him. Everyone thought him crazy, because for some reason he was always hallucinating about large lions following him.
"Well." Buri stated. "I believe I shall get some rest. I surely don't want to be acting like Kizzy or that cruel cook of Alanna's. That would make tomorrow a misery." She said, covering a yawn. Buri got up from her tree stump with the help of Evin.
"I shall retire as well. I won't be a beast like Commander Buri, but I sure will have lost my beauty sleep." Evin said with a grin to Daine, who in turn, grinned back.
Daine, Neal, and Alanna bid their farewells and went to hunt down their own tents, leaving only Taryn, Keladry, and Dom. Paeci and her pup Bronzl sat closed to the fire with Kanha buried deep in their furs warmth. Lairv and Jump were off, getting along quite nicely in the woods, hoping to bring back some meat for the mornings breakfast.
"Well? Only us three and the animals left. What shall we do?" Dom asked with a small nod to Taryn.
Taryn nodded with a yawn and stuck out her pointing finger. Once she was able to talk she said, "It's what will you two do, for I am going to get some sleep. Your cousin Neal will be my breakfast if I don't."
Kel and Dom both grinned. Taryn had had confrontations with Neal all day, with none of them ending in Neal's favor. Kel believed, though it would take more than her opinion for either of the arguing members to admit it, that Neal and Taryn rather liked fighting with each other. An awkward kind of amusement that almost everyone enjoyed.
"Do you need help finding your tent?" Kel asked, offering to locate it with her.
"Oh no, but thank you lady knight, and you too Dom. You have both done enough for me than anyone has done in years. The last person to do that much was Land— someone I used to care about very much." Taryn said with a smile. Kel sensed that a tinge of pain and regret hid behind her bleak expression. Taryn was hiding something. Nothing dangerous, or Kel would have confronted her right then. It was something else, something more personal. Kel would address it when the time was right. Now though, was nowhere near the time.
" We are very thankful of you Taryn. You are a strong and useful young women. We are more than grateful you are here. We are rather happy that someone is here to lighten the mood. All that arguing with meathead is wonderful entertainment." Dom said softly. He smiled warmly at
Taryn.
Kel smiled as Taryn blushed a high crimson that was visible even in the dark. "I thank you, but I believe you over estimate me. Being able to lighten a mood? Yes I can do that. But being useful? Maybe, I'm not so sure. Goodnight commanders. Sweet dreams."
With a nod to her animals and a low whistle to Lairv in the woods, Taryn walked off with a small bounce in her footing.
" Sweet Dreams, I hope." Dom said as he moved closer to Kel and pulled her against him. He put his arm around her, allowing Kel to rest her head on his chest.
Kel sighed and rubbed one of her sleepy eyes. " We have work to do in the morning and I doubt the job will get any easier than it was today. Are you ready for bed, commander?" She asked Dom, looking up to find twinkling eyes.
"If you are. I'll stay up if you want to but if your ready, then I surely won't protest." He answered, leaning down an inch to careful kiss her.
Pulling away after a moment, Dom smiled. "We haven't had time for one of those in the last day or two, have we?"
Kel sighed and shook her head. "No we haven't."
"Well we should make up for it don't you agree?" he asked in an all too innocent tone.
Kel squinted her eyes and poked him, suspiciously. "And just what are you implying commander?"
Dom grinned, "Me? Implying something? Mithros No! I was just—err—suggesting it."
"Oh." Kel answered with a grin. "I'm terribly sorry. I didn't realize the difference."
Dom smiled back. "Neither did I. In fact, I still don't know. It's always up to, of course. You are the Company Commander. I take orders from you."
Kel gagged. This was too much fun for her at this time of night. Kel gulped silently and then blushed. "Well, maybe I'll just take you up on your suggestion, hmm?" she said quietly.
Dom's gagged in shock, then blushed with a smile. "Are you implying something yourself, Mindelan?"
"Yes I am, commander. I surely thought you would recognize someone implying when you saw them." She said with a grin. "But commander's don't order, not when off the battle field. They ask for opinions."
Dom's grip around Kel fastened on tighter. Dom was silent for a moment, thinking. Good. Kel wanted him to think about what they had both just implied. She had been thinking it over for sometime now and was ready when this conversation started. "Most people wait until after marriage." He said finally. He didn't stop there though. "But---you and I aren't exactly normal now are we? And we aren't looking for marriage right now, but that doesn't exactly exclude the idea for the future now does it?"
Kel gulped again. Was he implying that—she couldn't tell. Maybe he was or maybe he was just making reference to the idea of marriage. Kel shook her head. She had had her share of implying already tonight. Answering Dom's question she shook her head. "No, you're right. We're not looking for it and we're definitely not normal. So, what are we implying Dom?"
"We'll find out." He said as he pulled Kel to her feet. "Which way are you going?" he asked, nodded in two directions. One was to her personal tent and one was to his on the far north side.
Kel thought for a moment and nodded to the far north side. Dom smiled. "Well then, lets go, my love."
Dom held out his hand and she took it. "You know." She started thoughtfully. "This is a lot better than Cleon's suggestion of a haystack."
Dom stifled a laugh. "I hope so. He didn't, did he?"
"Twice. Both times were before I jousted with Wlydon. He didn't want me to die in that kind of state. I held off though." She said with a smile.
"I'm glad you did." He said finally.
"Me too." Kel said as they reached his tent. Little to their knowledge did they know that small fits of laughter left tents surrounding them.
~**~
" Commander Laszlo! Thea here! The Company be waitin' for uz bout' a mile out sir. They be off in thosa' Kallindra trees. What's they be called? The Kallind Forest? Aye, that be it sir!" hollered a thief from the barracks.
Laszlo, who was sitting down studying a map, quickly rolled it up and stuffed it in his breast pocket. "That would be good news then, Patrick. Aye, thanks to yez. Get my second please."
"Anson, sir?" Patrick said, slightly confused.
"No Patrick. The New commander you all met yesterday, Commander Landon."
"Oh aye, sir. That be the good lookin' one Lady Harriet tried to pick up?" Patrick asked.
Laszlo snorted. "Yes, boy. The one Lady Harriet, the pearl, tried to pick up. She failed pretty miserably, don't ye agree?"
Patrick smiled. "Aye sir. She could have every man in town and she couldn't snag him up!"
"Well, enough small talkin', get yer boots a walkin' and a find him!"
Patrick saluted Laszlo. "Yes sir!"
Laszlo just laughed. Pulling on his freshest tunic, he went out to meet Commander Alanna.
~**~
"What is taking them so long?" Neal said impatiently. "It's only a small ride! You would think they would have been here yesterday!"
Kel sighed as Taryn answered. "Their thieves Nealan. They can't just marched out the gates like trained army troops! Honestly, they don't make honorable living! They steal. They cheat. They lie their way into people's homes. It's not like they walk around plainly! They have to be in disguise. They have to separate and walk out in small groups! You think people aren't going to notice common people carrying sword and long bows? Their weapons have to be disguised as well. I bet they are going as merchants or a traveling caravan." Taryn said, annoyed with Neal's excellent portray of an idiot.
"You would know wouldn't you? Just your kind of living I suppose? Your whole family must have been into it, hmm?" Neal spit, angered by Taryn's attempt to make him look like a fool.
"You dare not talk of my family like that! They never had anything to do with the like! They did not deserve the fate they were given! My mother, my father, and my middle brother were good people! You bring them up again and talk about things you don't understand than by Mithros I will hurt you!" She screamed. A strong silence went around the Company. Even the horses grew silent.
Kel, who was discussing with Buri, turned to look at Taryn. Although her emotions were hid well, her eyes were shining like glass balls. She was trying to keep tears in and was barely succeeding. The same pain she had seen last night reappeared.
Neal's face was blank. He hadn't meant to actually cause her pain. It hadn't dawned on him that something bad might have happened to her family. " I'm—I'm sorry Taryn. I didn't—mean it literally." Neal said quietly.
Taryn returned to her normal self. Unexpectedly, she sighed. "Everyone's always sorry. You're forgiven, for now. But don't expect me to be easy on you all the time." She added warningly.
Neal smiled slightly at her. "Believe me, I'll be happy with five minutes with out you."
Taryn glared at him and rolled her eyes. "This is one thing I will be pleased to grant you." She said as she rode off on her horse, Rhider.
"Well." Dom said trying to lighten the mood. "Their here."
Dom pointed westward as heads turned. A small group of merchants on a traveling caravan crawled slowly in the distance. "One of many to come." Kel said with a sigh, noting that there was probably four or five more a small distance behind the one that was now visible.
~**~
"Let me get this straight." Laszlo said as he stood in front of the Lioness. "You are not in command?"
Aggravated slightly, the redhead growled quietly. "For the fifth time. No I am not. I am holding fourth by my request."
Laszlo, noticing the growl, backed up a step and held up his hands. "Got it. May I ask who I should go to then?"
Ironically, Keladry walked up from behind Alanna and approached her. "Alanna, The last of the new recruits have arrived." Kel was about to continue when someone behind her cleared their throat.
"Excuse me soldier, but I was asking the Lioness a question. You have absolutely no right too interrupt our conversation. I suggest you report back to your commander and allow us important people to converse on important subjects." Laszlo said, with high authority.
This time, Alanna growled furiously. Laszlo didn't seem to her it. Alanna was about to tell him her ideas when Keladry held up and hand and shook her off. Alanna nodded to Kel politely and then glared back at Laszlo, fist clenched tightly.
"I'm sorry I interrupted you. May I ask what rank you hold, sir?" Keladry asked, trying to keep back her anger.
'This man sure is full of himself.' Keladry thought before the man answered.
"I command the thieves, soldier. That's all you need to know, because frankly, I'm offended in the tone you speak to me in. I shall make sure your commander is notified and that you are punished. Now if you will?" He said stubbornly.
Kel was heated. She herself had yet to meet someone who talked so foolishly. Instead of showing her anger, she nodded carefully. "Well, when you get a chance to talk with the queen, I certainly won't hold you back from telling her of my wrongful actions."
Laszlo eyes filled with obvious stupidity and ruthlessness. He would not be talked to like this! In turn, he stated his thought. "I never have been talked to so rudely in all my life!"
About to say more, Kel cut him off. "Neither have I."
Laszlo's ears turned a bright red and his cheeks turned a marvelous shade of magenta. "I was talking about your Company Commander you fool!"
Again, a silence formed around the entire company. Small whispers were made. Dom, seeing hatred in Kel's eyes rushed to her side. Buri, Neal, Evin, and Daine also came at a hurry. Once they arrived at Alanna's side, Alanna gave them a signal to stay quiet. Kel would handle this one alone.
"Ahh." Kel said, raising an eyebrow. "And what is your name, Commander?" She asked thoughtfully.
Laszlo stiffened and held his head high. "Laszlo. Laszlo Scanlon."
"Well then Laszlo Scanlon. It's a real honor to meet you." Keladry said, trying not to mock him as much as she would have liked. She held out a hand. He just looked at her blankly.
"And you are, soldier?" Laszlo asked rudely.
Kel smiled and then laughed. "Not soldier, soldier." She stuck both hands back in her pocket. Her fists were tightly clenched and her knuckles were white with anger.
"Excuse me?" Laszlo said, confusion playing his face.
Again, Kel held out a hand, hoping he wouldn't take it. "Welcome Laszlo Scanlon. I'm Commander Keladry of Mindelan, Knight of the realm of Tortall. I'm first commander here, soldier."
Laszlo paled while his eyes bulged. He looked as if he had just hung himself. In a sense, he did.
"This," Kel continued. "Is my second, Buriram Tourakom of Goldenlake, baroness of Malorie's Peak, and Commander of the Riders."
Buri nodded, glaring at Laszlo, making him gulp.
Kel continued to introduce the others. "My third, Sergeant Domitan of Masbolle, Sergeant in the 3rd company of the King's Own." Dom also glared at Laszlo. That fool had no right to talk to Kel like that!
"My fourth is Sir Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau, King's Champion." Kel said, destined to introduce down to fifth position. Alanna, who was already fiery, couldn't control her temper any longer.
"Why you barbaric Amazon! How dare you insult the commander in such a fashion! You're lucky you're worth a noble, or else we would be meeting for a duel later this evening!" She spit out quietly, but venomously. Laszlo, again, backed up.
"May I lastly introduce my fifth, Evin Larse, second in command of the Riders." Evin just looked at him blankly.
"I would nod soldier Scanlon, but you see, nodding is a polite courtesy, and well, it's for people who deserve it." Evin said, showing no emotion at all.
"But—but—I" Laszlo started. Then growing angry again, he hollered at Keladry. "You cannot honestly be in command!"
"Well soldier Scanlon, I am, and if you would like me to introduce myself again I will." Kel said firmly.
"But—I ---I still don't see –how—how" Laszlo stuttered.
"I never asked for your understanding. Many people do not understand, but that does not give them permission to insult me as you did. In fact, you have no right to talk to anyone in my company like that. If I find out you have, your worth as a soldier is useless. I will not have arguments within my company, understood?" Kel said sternly. She was angry and was trying to control her temper as much as she could. Hopefully she was doing a satisfactory job.
"But—I" Laszlo started again.
Kel sighed, growing impatient. The man needed to know when to stop. "Enough. I'm Commander Keladry, lady knight of the realm of Tortall. Perhaps I'm the fool that you called me as well?" She said, letting a bit more of her aggravation show.
Laszlo was about to start again when Buri and Alanna teamed on him, growling lightly. He looked down. "No, my lady. You are not. Forgive me for being out of my place. It shall not happen again. Please accept my apologies."
Kel relaxed. At least he had the decency to be polite and apologize. "It's past us now, soldier Scanlon. Now if you will show Evin Larse and Buriram your recruits?"
He looked up and smiled slightly. "Of course, lady knight. If you two will follow me?"
Buri and Evin exchanged looks and then smiled at the man. "We will come." Buri said with a shrug. Within moments all three of them were out of sight.
"Good move, Commander. I like how you handled him." The Lioness said, approval showing up upon her face. Keladry blushed while Dom laughed.
"Still can't take a compliment, Mindelan?" Dom asked with a smile.
Kel punched him lightly in the shoulder. The Lioness bid goodbye and walked off to the Rider's to explain what had happened with Keladry and Laszlo.
As Keladry walked by Dom, she smiled and whispered in his ear. "Me? Not be able to take compliments? I'm not sure if you realize it, but I received more than a handful from you last night and I took it okay." She said innocently.
Dom, shocked at her words, starred at her. "Why you little show-off." He said quietly. "Of all the women I have courted, I never expected to hear that out of your mouth." He said astonished.
Kel laughed. "You gave me compliments to you know." Dom said with a boyish grin.
"I know. I did, didn't I? But I'm positive I received more." Kel said.
Dom smiled. He never realized that Kel could act this way. But then again, he had never thought of her in that way until last night. Sure, he had loved her before then, but he hadn't even really thought about "hay stacking" [term used thanks to Cleon] with her until, well, last night.
"Are you implying that I wasn't good?" Dom asked with a grin.
Again, Kel laughed. "Never. I would be lying. But then again if you are the only man that I" Kel was cut off when Dom picked up a crab apple and threw it at her back.
"Please, stop there. I dread what you have to say." He said quietly.
"But honestly, Dom, to make you feel better, it was good."
"It? It or me?" Dom said, confusion filling his eyes.
"It and you. It was good and you were great." Kel said, making Dom laugh.
"I'm glad to know that I'm great." He said, blushing slightly.
Kel thanked Mithros for the perfect answer to Dom's blush. "Can't take a compliment, Masbolle?"
Dom ran up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. Swiftly, he turned her around. "Can it, love. I get it. Besides, you're flirting with me in public. I thought that wasn't allowed." He said, locking his eyes on hers.
"I never said it wasn't allowed. Evin and his lover, Lainey, flirt all the time. Why, do you not allow it?" She said with a broad smile.
"Certainly not." He answered as he picked her head up and kissed her gently. A small cheer could be heard in the background. The thieves cheered and whistled, while the Riders grinned and sighed. "Hey Kel?" he asked as he held out his hand for her to take.
She grasped his hand and walked off. "Hmm?"
"You were great too."
~**~
"Commander Keladry?" Laszlo called politely. Obviously, one time being rude was enough.
"Yes soldier Scanlon?" Kel answered, looking up from her map. The next day, the entire company would be heading to Pirate's Swoop. The traveling time was about a week and Keladry was calculating the amount of food was needed before they moved on.
"If you're not to busy, I would like to introduce my second to you." Laszlo asked quietly.
Kel nodded and stood up, leaning forward and placing her hands on the table. She had learned from Lord Raoul that this helped gain attention. Laszlo, taking that as a yes, waved in a handsome young man from the doorway. "May I introduce to you my second, Landon. He grew up in Scanra and knows many areas back and front. He's no spy miss. Cadmus, his majesty, made sure of that. Baron Cooper taught Cadmus himself.
Again, Keladry nodded. She would not even go into the factors of spies. If George trusted this Cadmus, then she surely would have to trust his judgment. She had to admit, the man was extremely handsome and she was definitely attracted to him. He looked to be a few years older than her. He compared with Dom in looks. Well, almost. She loved Dom and that made him three hundred times more attractive.
"Welcome Landon. It's a pleasure, I hope you enjoy your time here." She said in a friendly tone. She held out her hand and he grasped it solidly. She looked at him and smiled.
He returned the smile and nodded in a pleasant voice. "Yes, commander. It is an honor to serve with you and your company. You have many here, including yourself who are known across continents. It's quite thrilling. I lost my sister a while back and all she ever wanted was to be in something like this and be able meet you, the wild mage, and the Lioness. Yes, that was her dream. I just wish she was her to witness what I am." Landon said lightly.
Kel winced. Like Taryn, he held back emotion. Ironically enough, behind his gorgeous eyes was a tinge of pain, just like Taryn's held. They even looked a lot alike. Kel shook the thought from her head and smiled at Landon once again. "I'm thrilled that you are thrilled. I'm also pained to hear of your sister, Landon. I too, wish she could have stayed true with her dream."
He looked at her gratefully. Her heart sank for him. He must have loved his sister very much.
'I wonder what happened to her.' Kel thought silently.
"You will both need tents and other camp gear. I'll have someone fetch them for you." she said.
Both men nodded and thanked her. She brushed away their thanks and told them that if she didn't, she just might be court-marshaled! Landon and Laszlo laughed at this. They both knew that the Company was going against orders and that her punishment for that would be death on Traitor's Hill! Not that it was a comforting thought to think about. Landon doubted the King to be so cruel.
"Taryn! Could you please assist me?" Kel called over to the next tent.
The walls of the tent were thin. Taryn answered joyfully. "One moment Keladry! Would you like me to bring the maps or scrolls? "
"The maps of the Conte Road please!" Kel hollered back.
"Got them. You know Kel, you really should just keep these with you." Taryn said, still outside the tent.
"Shush and come over here. I have you to carry them for me, so why should I? It's not like we have clerks everywhere! So just bring them please!"
Taryn laughed and entered the room, only to look up and see an oddly familiar face. Taryn stopped her walking and just starred at a young man standing in the room. She had no idea why he looked so familiar.
"Hullo." Landon said with a smile.
"Taryn, this is Landon, he's one of the new recruits." Kel said, wondering why Taryn was starring at him in such a matter. It certainly wasn't the kind of fickle stare that young girls made on their crushes. It looked more like one of anger and confusion and happiness all in one look.
For the next minute Taryn just stood there. Suddenly she gasped and put her hands over her mouth, dropping the maps. "What's your name—sir?" she asked quietly.
"Um, Landon." He said hesitantly. He wasn't sure why she was looking at him so awkwardly.
She continued to stare. "Landon?" she replied quietly to herself. Before Kel could ask if something was wrong, Taryn gasped again. This time her hand reached out for help and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Fainting heavily, she collapsed into her own dark dream.
'Dear gods, it's him.' Taryn thought as she dreamed in her own pit of darkness.
~**~
Gahh! It's him! I love twisted plots. Well I'm out. ::Waves for insanely long time::
~Karr
"The Last Name."
Email: LadyKnight36@aol.com
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