Aether Winds
Chapter twenty-one- Home Sweet… Hey! Where Are We?!
By- IceWind
A/N:
This is my first fanfic for The Protector of the Small books by Tamora Pierce. The names, places, things, ect, all are credited to her. The word Aether goes to Juliet E. McKenna, but the way I use it and the gem idea is all mine. This fanfic is set in an alternate universe. I.E: Joren is NOT dead, Cleon and Kel are not together (hehe), and other incidents that have I messed up on and don't feel like making it exactly like the book. Please REVIEW *grins* and as long as its not flames on how Kel and Cleon should be together or something of that trivial nature, flames are fine. This story is PG-13 for anything that might come up lol.
IceWind: *cringes lightly* Really sorry this was late, I didn't even start working on this until after fanfiction.net was up again -_-;;
Raen: *bounds up and licks her face*
IceWind: *glomps him and smiles* On with the story!
Kaye: *kisses Raen on the cheek and grins* I left at the exciting part because I don't write yiffie stuff. *sweatdrop* for some reason it makes me embarrassed and I don't know what to write.
Dream wind: I was thinking about Laynith getting Joren jealous, but there is a fact that I'm going to have to get them back to Tortall in this chapter… *blinks* I'll see what I can do though.
The Dark Lady Adrienne: *laughs* It didn't take that long for them to get around to it! *sees the disbelieving looks and blushes* Ok, ok, maybe I could have sped it up slightly, oh well. I'm not very good with the mushy 'I love you forever' stuff, especially between Kel and Joren.
(I couldn't see a name for this person lol): It's aether winds because… *blinks* Well for one, I thought it was a cool name *shrugs* two, because aetheric energy is like the winds, it comes and goes at increasing and decreasing intervals. I guess it's also because of the Kalyrath horses as well. ^.^ To watch the great evil huh? *evil grin* Just read and find out.
Shivohn: *blinks* That is about the longest review I have ever had ^_^ thanks. You kinda read this story a LOT *sweatdrop* Even I at the max had only read it twice, and I'm the author! Yup, Kel is ooc *angry look* but there isn't really much I can do about it lol, so your stuck with her. Yeah, I know about Card Captor Sakura *grins* I know lots of anime! The soul mates part… *ponders* Well, about this chapter ^.^ Radock and Darial *rocks back and forth on her heels and smirks* You'll find out. Well the part about Kel being a virgin I don't think is really important, but yeah, I think she was lol.
Krazy Kitty: Err… as much as I liked to grant your request… *blushes lightly* I find that I'm more comfortable writing action then romance *coughs* In fact, I get horribly self-conscious writing even a kissing scene! I don't know how they are going to kiss, how I'm going to describe it, how I'm supposed to try to keep them in character at the same time… ^.^;; If anyone wants to write a NC-17 scene, that's fine with me, just as long as they give due credit and tell me so I could tell others… (hmm… I'll go write that in bold on the bottom)
Larzdinn: *gives a friendly pat on the back* Awww… it's ok! Really! Actually, I'm surprised people stuck with me so far with the fic! ^-^
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Warm… Kel gave a happy sigh, feeling a comforting heat surround her, small rays of light streaming through the window and hitting her shut eyes. A peaceful and content look filled her face, feeling more at peace then she had been in a long time. She snuggled closer to the heat source until she hit against it, making a small crease in her forehead by her slight confusion. Wha? Suddenly with a sense of trepidation, Kel slowly opened her eyes, coming face to face with a bewildered and recently awakened Joren. Ice blue eyes stared into hazel before she finally spoke, eyes wide, "Great Mother Goddess… What the hell happened?" Surprisingly her voice was soft and light, most likely because of the comfortable and content feeling she still felt around her.
Joren looked at Kel in surprise, his light blond hair was mussed up, and a look of deep relaxation was apparent on his face. He spoke in a wry tone, looking for once slightly confused, "It looks like we were… how does Daine call it? Oh yes, 'canoodling'" Piercing ice blue eyes looked at Kel, waiting for her inevitable reaction. Before she could even open her mouth, a familiar voice floated into the room.
Well… usually soul mates know that they are in love before they acknowledge the bond and consummate it A decidedly chipper hizar pranced into the stilled room, ears pricked towards the pair, his tail wagging slightly, Even so, it took Mistress and you boy long enough The ebon hizar continued on blithely, for now ignoring the twin pairs of shocked gazes that were trained on his form, By the way Mistress, I kept any and all out of the way of the room so they wouldn't disturb you two
"…What?! Soul mates?" she trailed off, her hazel eyes getting wider with each word that came, well not out of the hizar's mouth, but rather his mind. Kel darted a look towards Joren, wanting to see how he took the news himself, "How did that happen?" …soul mates… that… oh goddess… She then turned away from him, unwilling to see whatever expression may be on his face, though she did not seem to realize that she was still pressed against Joren's chest.
Joren was silent, eyes narrowing slightly in thought, a slightly angry look on his face as he hissed out softly to Raen, "You and the elves knew that little fact didn't you? That's why those elves seemed to know it all, and when they were about to tell me, that elf queen ran them away." His hand clenched around the bed sheets, refusing to dwell on the fact that he and Kel supposedly shared one soul. Kel and I are soul mated? That can't be right! She hates me… and I hate her. He gave a slight shudder, darting a glance at Kel and finding her facing away from him, don't I? Doesn't she?
Kel heard his irate voice and gave a soft sigh, starting to get up from the bed and leave the comforting warmth, I don't think I can deal with this, not now… She felt confusion welling up inside her, but… wait… that wasn't her confusion. Sitting up in the bed, she clenched her eyes shut and searched for where the emotion was coming from, and surprisingly found it coming from Joren who always seemed so in control. She cast him a slightly puzzled look, loathing to leave the warmth and comfort, but feeling as if she should and that he would like it better.
As Joren felt her leave his side, as if something was being wrenched deep inside of him, his hand darted out and grabbed her arm, pulling Kel back roughly into the bed, hissing softly in her ear, "Your not going anywhere just yet." Joren suddenly let go of her arm as if it stung him, eyes widening slightly in alarm.
Good move, maybe this soul bond thing between you two will work out. Arctic Wind says that her Mistress doesn't jump into things without a lot of thought, and may be jumpy right now
A soft, almost inaudible snort came from Joren, he could have told the Kalyrath horses that. He raised a hand and nervously ran it through his messy hair as he propped himself up upon an elbow, looking at Raen emotionlessly.
Suddenly the hizar seemed to pick up upon his emotionless stare and suddenly began to back out slowly, a knowing gleam in his dark blue eyes. His ears were pricked towards the pair, and as he backed out, the door opened silently, I guess, I leave you two to talk it over… When you are done you are to go to the throne room That said, he whirled around and trotted out, the door swinging shut behind him.
Silence hung heavily in the air at the hizar's departure before Kel turned around with a blank face and looked at Joren, a hint in inquisitiveness in her hazel eyes, "What now?" She felt wrung out and confused, here she was trying to digest the fact that she and Joren were soul mates when she had just finished dealing with her having had sex with the man! It was enough to make any sane person's head spin, but things like this seem to be happening every day in the life of Keladry of Mindelan… just my luck. At the thought, her nose scrunched up slightly in distaste.
Joren studied Kel's face silently, ignoring her question for the moment before finally saying in a slightly annoyed voice, "You may not like being soul bonded to me Kel, but it's not like you're going to have a second chance and bond to an elf like Laynith," slight distaste colored his tone at the name. He was annoyed… and was rapidly becoming even more annoyed because he could not pinpoint the reason why he was so annoyed in the first place.
She gave him a scowl, answering him in what she hoped was a calm manner, "I did not want to be bonded to an elf, nor to anyone else for that matter! Ugh! Why can't you just be civil while I try to think this out?" She closed her eyes and fell back onto the broad bed, forehead slightly creased with thought. What am I going to do??? ARG! What is everyone going to say when we get back to Tortall? Maybe he would just agree to hide it… which of course means having to ask him…
"Look Mindelan-" Joren began to speak again, looking irate at Kel's conflicting emotions that appeared fluidly on her face.
"Kel, my name is Kel, Joren," she spoke tiredly, bringing up a hand and flicking a stray piece of hair from his eyes, holy shit, why did I do that? Suddenly she brought her hand back and looked at him guardedly, a faint scowl on her face, just daring him to comment on what she just did.
To her surprise, Joren just ignored that little move, continuing in speaking, "Why do you care if I call you Kel or Mindelan?" He watched her silently; someone is going to have to pay for all the stupid things that are coming out of my mouth right now.
Kel froze, ugh; he just had to ask a question as complicated to explain then what I just did. She gave a sigh and rubbed her forehead, "Because while I don't really like the situation we are in currently, it does not mean that I will degenerate back to what we were before." And calling each other by our last names is definitely that… plus it doesn't really seem right, I'm losing my mind.
He eyed her strangely, suddenly sighing and throwing his ice blue eyes up to the ceiling in an uncharacteristic gesture; "Does that mean I haven't been the bad-ass I usually am around you? Fuck, I'm slipping." His lips curved into a wry smile, glancing at Kel for a moment.
The sentence did its trick, Kel started chuckling softly, shaking her head in amusement, "Ah well… I guess you're not the worse person to be soul bonded to… I think." The last part was said teasingly, if he was going to act out of character then she could as well.
Joren gave her a slightly amused look and thought over his next words carefully, "Hmm… I suppose the same could be said for you," after he spoke, a small silence reigned over the room, both participants uncomfortable, but not willing to admit it. Finally Joren sighed, clearly exasperated, muttering, "Fuck this," he reached out a hand and cupped the back of Kel's head, roughly bringing her forward into a kiss.
Unlike their previous kisses and contrary to his sudden motion, this was soft and slightly tentative, touching down upon her lips lightly… very un-Joren like. At first Kel knew hardly how to respond, before it always seemed like a meshing of their mouths together at a furious pace, but this… this was delicate and gentle… and oh so nice. She gave a soft sound, something between a whimper and a moan as she responded by pushing them together a little closer. He just traced her bottom lip lightly with his tongue, gently persuading her to open her mouth- which she did- and carried it on from there.
Time seemed to fly by as they just continued to kiss, until they finally had to come up for air. Joren ripped his grasp on Kel's mouth and they both just stared at each other for a moment, heaving slightly. Finally Kel murmured softly, "The others are waiting for us…" At his nod she gave a small smile and began to climb out of bed.
"Wait-" Joren grabbed her arm, and once again pulled her toward him, pressing his lips lightly against her own before releasing it, as she stared at him wide-eyes he smirked, "Not bad Kel… not bad at all…" With that he hopped out of bed, completely nude, and began to change quickly.
Kel gave a deep blush as she saw him, turning around swiftly and pulling on her clothes, just because I slept with the man doesn't mean I won't get self-conscious when I see him… naked… in front of me.
~
They both stood before Elladon and Arylanth, Joren giving a slight bow, while Kel standing there uneasily. Really, Joren didn't need to bow, but even though he was bonded to Kel it didn't mean he still didn't like to unsettle her a bit. Kel on the other hand, knew not whether to bow or whether to just stand there, she should give the proper greeting to the monarchs… but on the other hand she was also the relative of said monarchs and technically their elder…
Raen ghosted over quietly from the side of the room he was sitting by, padding over on slender limbs without nary a sound. A faintly smug look was apparent upon his visage, his tail wagging and uplifted in a slightly arrogant manner, befitting of an alpha male; Ah… so the boy and you worked it all out? Good His ears laid back slightly in annoyance as Joren reached out and flicked his tail.
Humph… hizar… just like cats, but only worse. Their arrogance and ego is large enough for more then five humans combined
Joren gave a slight smirk at Demon Wind's quip, inwardly agreeing with the horse. He looked up at Arylanth, finally asking, "Are we going back to Tortall now? We must inform the king of the arising situation with this 'Great Evil' that's trying to destroy our world," he rolled his eyes, "It all sounds so cliché, like something out of one of the minstrel ballads."
Kel glanced at him, saying quietly; "Didn't some say that in the beginning of the immortal wars? Personally, I don't know why Tortall seems to be the one nation that always gets mixed up in situations such as this." She gave a smile as Joren suddenly laughed.
"It must be the females in our country! If anyone has noticed, it seems there is always a particular female that seems to be in the thick of things. They're too damn stubborn for their own good!" He smirked pleasantly at Kel; "Yourself included of course."
She gave him a playful mock bow, hmm… just about 2 weeks ago I would be glaring and stoically standing here for his little comment… Goddess, I'm not sure if the changes are good or bad. She felt amusement from Joren, though he was merely smirking and looking superior, ha! Guess I'll know how he's feeling now. Kel straightened and looked towards two elves, feeling slightly sheepish for ignoring them. "Good morning Arylanth, are we about to depart?"
The queen gave a smile that was slightly tinged with sadness, "Yes Auntie, we'll go right now to the place where you can shift back to your world." She gave a soft sigh, "The elves shall miss you a lot." She and Elladon rose from their thrones, leading the way towards the stables.
As Kel and Joren fell into step behind them, Raen by Kel's other side, Kel could not help but ask, "Why are we going to the stables? Isn't there a room or something where we can 'shift' to our world?" curiosity colored her tone as she cocked her head.
As the rest listened in, Arylanth shook her head, "No, there are set points in where you can shift, and only in those points may you cross over into a new world. We are currently going to go to the nearest Shift point, which is only about a mile away." They continued on walking in silence, only the sound of their steps echoed in the halls.
As they stepped out of the castle and wandered over to the stable, a loud neigh pierced the air and a white figure galloped out, a black stallion following in a statelier pace. Arctic Wind slowed down quickly at the site of Kel and nuzzled her cheek lightly, nickering to herself in what appeared to be a relieved manner. Kel gave a laugh and patted the horse's velvety nose, asking if she was ready to move out. In what appeared to be a nod, Arctic bobbed her graceful head up and down.
"Demon Wind says that she has been beside herself with annoyance. Apparently since no elf could understand her, not to mention that it probably wouldn't have worked anyway," Joren ignored the indignant snort that came from the milky white mare, "she couldn't get into the castle and see you." He looked up at the stately ebony stallion that approached him, patting him lightly on the neck, "Your Kalyrath horse seems much more excitable then mine."
"They say that the Kalyrath's match the owner's personality…" Elladon glanced between each horse and bonded, "Though I'm not altogether sure that is true now." He gave an apologetic smile towards Kel, looking amused when Arctic tried to bury her head, failing miserably, into Kel's shoulder.
Kel gave a slight nod in amusement, looking at her horse fondly, "I've only known you for a little bit Arctic, but your as close to me as I feel to Peach Blossom or Hoshi." She then glanced over the back, noting the many packs that the elves had place upon the horses, "Err… do Joren and I really need that many things? We are going back to Tortall and I don't want to overburden the horses."
Kalyrath horses can carry a much heavier load then regular horses can, being that they are magical creatures who only decided to dwell in bodies that seem very similar to horses. So mount up Mistress, and don't question Arylanth's wishes, it's probably an elf thing Raen's mind-voice chuckled softly into all of their heads as Arylanth frowned at the hizar and just shook her head. He trotted over swiftly to Arctic's side and waited for them all to get started.
Several grooms came out while Joren and Kel were mounting up, leading two high spirited horses for Arylanth and Elladon to ride on. As soon as everything was ready, Arylanth gently kneed her horse into a steady, ground-eating canter, the rest of the group following her closely.
~
The sky was a brilliant sapphire color, the sun positioned in a way that told that it was mid-day. Gentle wisps of clouds rolled by lazily across the horizon, drifting in a slow manner, ever changing. A slightly breezy day, the wind felt good upon the skin, soothing the heat created by the sun's rays beating down against the earth. The air was crisp and clean, nothing sullying it in any way. Gentle sways of branches parted way before the odd group, showing a broad clearing that made Kel gasp out-loud in seeing it.
"I… I know this place," her face showed nothing but surprise before that swiftly disappeared into a reminiscing look. Her hazel brown eyes widen slightly, gazing at the familiar stone altar; the broad stones sunk into the ground that contained inscribed words, even the familiar moss that grew at the base. She nudged Arctic along towards the altar slowly, taking in everything in a single glance before moving on.
Joren followed her immediately upon Demon Wind, Raen already standing beside her as she mounted down. He gave a brief glance around before returning his gaze upon Kel, eyes slightly curious, "What do you mean? We haven't been here before." He brushed back a piece of hair from his eyes, dismounting and leading Demon by the reigns up to the altar.
Kel smiled, seemingly unaware of the fact that Arylanth and Elladon stood mounted on the edge of the clearing, not venturing any farther, "I've been here in a dream I had… and right after it I got my gem. I also believe that it's where I was 'shifted' to Tortall." She glanced up, slightly startled, as Arylanth began to speak.
"Oh Auntie, I believe that you should go back to your world now… just use your gem's power," the elf queen bit her bottom lip slightly, giving a small smile towards Elladon who placed his hand upon her arm in a comforting manner. "Just remember to come back and visit! And… we have messaged an elf that we placed in your world; he will meet you on the other side." She raised her hand and gestured in a way that made Joren and Kel believe was an elfin goodbye, Elladon echoing her movements scant instances later.
Now we will depart and go to your world Mistress… I shall always be by your side, just remember to include the horses and I into your spell Raen seemed only excited, his steps buoyed, ears erect, Goodbye Queen, King, may our paths cross again soon At their nods, the hizar faced Kel, saying simply, Let's go
Kel brought out her gem and cupped it with a hand, letting go of Arctic's reign to use her other hand as well. She pulled deep within herself and tugged on her magic, letting it envelope her… and then the rest of her group. As Joren, Arctic Wind, Demon Wind, Raen, and herself started to fade from sight, she mouthed to Arylanth, Goodbye. For as much as she would like to believe that she would see the elf again, it was highly unlikely with the speed of time flow in Medea and the very good chances of her death in the war.
When they finally faded from sight, Arylanth turned to Elladon, wiping a tear from her eye before saying strongly, "We have a war to fight, and plans to plot out… pray that the other side has enough power to carry out plan Trebalia. That plan and my Aunt may be the only way to win against the Great Evil."
He watched her silently, before nodding once, a small smile upon his face, "I wonder why you didn't tell Lady Keladry about that plan." Elladon's voice was mildly questioning, not an infliction of any other emotion in his voice.
"Because my love, I don't know yet if it will work… and I cannot raise false hopes," with that, the elves wheeled their horses around and began the trip back to home, the castle.
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In a flash of light, Kel, Joren, Raen, and the horses appeared in a small, dark, slightly cramped room… with iron bars. With a sense of trepidation Kel looked around and whispered softly to Joren, her voice dumbfounded, "We're back in the Scanran dungeon!" With the horses it was a very, very tight fit, and with the sound of approaching footsteps, worries and anxiety began to fill in them all.
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IceWind: Finally done! Err… thing to ask: If anyone wants, they can make a lemon scene of Kel and Joren and their time in the elf rooms… ^.^;; Just remember to tell me and give me credit, how else will I tell everyone else? Look at Krazy Kitty's comment reply for my reasons for asking.
Raen: *chuckles and flicks his tail* Was going to say more, but brother is yelling at me to get off, so ja!
~
Facts:
Seibutsu Bond: A bond between a creature and a humanoid. It is less powerful then a life-bond yet it is strong none the less. The bonded can thought-speak to one another and they also feel the others emotions. If one of the bonded dies, the other feels a deep and wrenching pain in themselves, but they don't die also.
Seibutsu Items: These are the items that Raen and Kel got when the bonding was over. Kel had gotten a dagger and Raen a chain. If one of them breaks it symbolizes that one of the bonded has died.
Hizar: A highly intelligent species who are organized like wolf packs with a dominant male and female. All hizar are black and look like large cats, panther sized. They are lithe and graceful, all of them agile and fast. Each one has their own type of magic and that type, and power, is shown by the color of the gems on their forehead. When using their power the hizar's eyes turn that color. The types of gems are fire, water, earth, air, light, dark, ice, lightening, psy, and a silver unknown color. The alpha males must have the silver kinds of gems to lead; the alpha females can have any kind and are chosen by the males.
Jerogil: A type of creature in the world of Medea. They are usually peaceful animals and tend to stay away from others except their own kind. Their color range from black to a muddy gray and they have large eyes for seeing at night. Their tails are curved like a monkey's and can pick things up in that fashion. All over their body they have hard plates for armor, something not easily dented or broken through. Running along their backs is a series of sharp spikes.
Elves: They are tall human like creatures with pointed ears. They all live extremely long lives and each one has magic gems, such as the ones the hizars have, only their powers are stronger. They are a peace-loving race, but they will fight if they have to. They have one king and one queen, both who watch over their lands justly.
Soul Mates: Soul mates are extremely rare in any type of creature. Two people share one soul, literally. They can feel their beloved's emotions and in some occasions, talk to each other mind-to-mind. If one dies, the other dies also because half of their soul just died. You do not know you have a soul bond until you and another acknowledge your feelings for one another, you may go through your entire life without knowing that you have a soul bond. As soon as you acknowledge it, your souls connect and you cannot stay away from the other in a great distance for very long or else you get weak and might even die after an extended period.
Kalyrath Horses: These are extremely intelligent living beings with high stamina and running speed. These horses all have blue eyes, in varying shades, but it is all blue to symbol their purity. They chose their rider, and only one person is allowed to ride the kalyrath horse that is bonded to you unless you are soul mated to a person. Occasionally, there pops up a human/humanoid that can talk to their kalyrath horse, and the horse can talk to any of its kind up to a certain distance. Kalyrath horses are in-tune with their rider and it's rare for any none elf to bond with one since they usually only dwell in Elfin land. They are adept at fighting with their chosen and can be extremely protective depending upon their nature. It is said that they were a gift from the great mother goddess of the elves and they cannot be subvert by any dark magic for that reason.
Aether: The last element, the other nine elements are- fire, water, air, earth, psy, lightening, ice, dark and light. This element is the strongest by far and rare for hizars, extremely rare for elves. It controls all of the elements and its color is always silver for hizars and either a silver or white for elves. White is the most powerful, but none knows why. Aether is not an element known too much about, especially for the elves, all they could discern is that it has something to do with stars… The last elf to have this kind of gem died in a great battle, saving the world of Medea from certain doom.
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My e-mail address is flyby311@hotmail.com and put Aether Winds, so I know what the e-mail is about. Anything you want to add/criticize/comment/whatever you guys just review it… please? Thanks for listening to me ramble for that you get a ice-cream. *hands person a ice-cream*
Raen and Kaori (hizar and rabblite) are MINE! GET IT? MINE!!! *they sweatdrop in the background* no stealing or else I'll blow you up! MWAHAHAHA! Also any other made up characters in the story are mine to, if you want to use any of them please ask before doing so, same goes for Raen and Kaori. ALSO, the poems that appear in the story are also mine (duh) I'll tell you if I use any that aren't. BYE NOW!