Disclaimer: The Eastern Lands and its characters are all property of Tamora Pierce.
The Protectors
Chapter Two: Dinner and a Note
by meghna
Kel sighed. They had been waiting in line to be announced to dinner for a while. She was getting tired of standing in lady's slippers; the young knight yearned for a pair of soft, worn-in boots. This is what you get for being the last to come, she chided herself.
"Excuse me, madam?" a voice said. Kel turned around to see a young man bearing the silver Conte crest on his blue tunic and an iron shod staff in his right hand waiting patiently for her attention.
"Yes, how may I serve you?" she asked the nervous herald with a smile. He is a little young to be doing this, she thought. This must be his first time.
"Yes, um...well, would you rather be announced as 'Sir Keladry of Mindelan' or Lady Keladry of Mindelan?" he stuttered.
"Sir, please. And thank you for asking." She wanted to be sure that everyone knew her as a knight above all else. She turned to Neal, a delicate question surfacing, but noticed that her best friend was deep in thought. His gaze was directed at a group of young nobles, laughing and carefree, but Kel had a feeling that he was not really seeing them. "Neal, what's the matter?" she inquired. He did not answer. "Neal?" she tried again, this time putting a hand on his green-clad arm and shaking gently.
Her touch served to jolt him out of his reverie. "Yes, my dear?" he asked, a little teasingly at her worry, but a small sadness still in his tone.
"What were you thinking about?" she asked, concern not gone from her voice.
"About how I'm going to have to fend off the enormous onslaught of suitors after you and your beauty to save your virtue for Cleon, of course," Neal joked, skirting around the subject adeptly.
Though recognizing the compliment as a fruitless diversion, she blushed anyway. "Seriously, Neal."
"Relax, Kel. Tonight is a night for you to have fun. I wouldn't want to ruin that. Plus, the real question is what was so important that you chose to startle me out of my deep thought."
She let him change the subject but was still a little hurt that her best friend did not find it fit to confide in her. "I was just wondering if you were sure you wanted to escort me to the ball. When you're known as an indecent whore, there's bound to be talk," she replied, not without bitterness.
He frowned at her blunt language but refused to treat the matter as if carried importance. "Is that all you are worried about? Honestly, Kel, I thought you knew better. Of course people will gossip. What fault is it of ours if they have nothing better to do than ruin the lives of others just because they are jealous?" he said, brushing away her worries with the sweep of a hand.
"I know," she persisted, feeling a bit sheepish, "but it's just that you and Yuki are so new together. I wouldn't want to cause any trouble."
"Don't worry. Yuki understands our friendship, and if she does not, I should not be with her anyway." Neal turned her towards him, forcing intense green to meet calm hazel. "Nothing, or no one will come between us, ever," he vowed. "You are my best friend, and I refuse to let you go for any reason."
Kel returned his promise with equal sincerity, touched. As the youngest of many in her family, no one had ever put her in first priority like Neal just had. Even Cleon had his mother and fief to look after before her.
Another question formed in her mind. What had brought about this sudden emotion from Neal? She welcomed it as a good excuse to avoid her previous thoughts about Cleon. It was as plain as Kel thought her appearance to be that Neal's sudden vow was linked to the reason he had been so sad earlier. She was on the verge of demanding to know when she heard the herald.
"Sir Keladry of Mindelan, escorted and accompanied by Sir Nealan of Queenscove!" he called.
"That's our cue," Neal said, offering her his arm.
She put her arm inside it as was done, whispered, "Nice job," to the herald, and let Neal lead her through the huge doorway.
Kel, having no idea that almost fourteen years of warrior training had eliminated any of her clumsiness, was extremely self-conscious. "I've faced hill bandits, Balor's Needle, the Kraken, and my Ordeal, yet I'm terrified of a flight of stairs," she whispered as they descended.
Neal put a comforting hand on the one that lay on his arm. "You look beautiful, and you're not going to trip. Look down at the proud faces of the people who love you. You can do this, Kel; you've made it. Now, relax, and enjoy the moment."
She followed his advice, her heart feeling much lighter. First, she found her family. Her mother, Ilane, looking about ready to burst into tears, and her usually serene father, the Baron Piers, beaming. Even her two sisters, Oranie and Adie, looked proud.
Her glance turned to Sir Raoul and the Lionness. Both wore expressions that said, "I knew she could do it," and, "Those are our squires."
When they reached the red carpet at the bottom of the stairwell, however, Kel's unease returned with full force. They were approaching the King! She quickly slipped her Yamani mask on and forced a smile as she studied her monarch.
He looked splendid in a deep sapphire outfit. From afar, it seemed that the only design was a silver embroidery on the edge of the long open vest he wore over his silk shirt, but as she came closer, Kel noticed that the pattern was embroidered all around it, in a shade just darker than the rest. Either way, the ruler was a picture of elegance.
Upon reaching King Jonathan, Neal bowed. Kel had to settle for a curtsy, however, for she was afraid that Lalasa's delicate creation would not be able to handle her bending over. When he kissed her hand in response, she was surprised to feel a note being slipped into her palm.
"For you and Nealan only," he whispered before going through the proper greetings and directing them to a seat. Kel hid her puzzlement as they were greeted by Sir Raoul, Buri, the Lioness, and the Baron Cooper, their dinner companions.
"I wonder why we didn't have any balls thrown for us when we were knighted," Raoul joked with Alanna. "I'm sure you would have loved to dance the night away with all those ladies trying to snare the elusive 'Sir Alan'."
"Excuse me, but I recall another knight who happened to turn into a block when any court lady approached him. Strike your memory?" the violet-eyed knight retorted.
"No, it doesn't ring a bell," he replied innocently.
"Stop mocking her," Buri interjected. "At least she had a reason to avoid the girls. What was wrong with you?"
"What?!? Surely you've heard from the court gossips?" he exclaimed, feigning disbelief. "I also have adequatereason for not being attracted to the girls. It's because I'd much rather have the-"
The Baron cleared his throat. "I think you'd best save your conversations for when there ain't a lad in your presence, waitin' t'serve you," Alanna's husband said, bringing all their attentions to a nervous looking, red-haired boy standing frozen, holding six glasses of wine. He's stunned to be in such company, Kel thought, remembering how she had dropped a bowl the first time she served the Lioness.
As if snapping out of a trance, the grey-eyed boy swept a quick bow, muttered apologies and set the glasses down on the table before rushing back to the kitchens.
She watched the boy go, frowning in thought. There was something familiar about that page, Kel just couldn't place it.
"Don't you feel like you know him?" the young knight asked. Only Neal and Buri heard her, however, because the rest were starting to discuss how Tortall's current problems with Scanra compared to their previous war experiences at the River Drell and in the Immortals War, a conversation Kel and Neal were ill-suited to participate in, seeing as how they had no previous experience.
"Nope, never seen him before," the leader of the Queen's Riders replied, before rebutting Raoul's point that they were similar by saying Tusaine was an organized kingdom, opposed to a unity of Scanran tribes, pulled together by single person.
Neal, on the other hand, seemed to agree. "Yeah, it feels like I know him from somewhere."
They both sat in silence a bit, trying to place the boy's face, but came up with nothing. Kel was the first to break away from her thoughts. She used this moment of peace to take in her surroundings.
Tapestries decorated the walls of the Hall, depicting war legends and knight heroes, including warrior maidens of the past, she noted with satisfaction. From the ceiling hung the banners of the newly-knighted from her year. With pride, she singled out the Mindelan owl on a cream and blue banner. In the midst of all the color, Kel's eyes unconsciously sought out all the people she knew. Merric and Esmond were at a table on the opposite side of the room, seated with their former knight-masters. Her parents sat at the High Table, with the Yamani diplomats, at the right hand of King Jonathan.
The thought of her monarch jolted Kel back to her table, more specifically her palm. She had never read the note. She was about to tell Neal when she heard a crash behind her and felt the splashing of water on her back. She turned around to see his soaked gold tunic sag as the page who was serving them bent down to pick up the upside down finger bowl laying on the floor.
He looks terrified, Kel thought, eyeing the boy's blanched face under his freckles. She looked around; no one else had noticed but her and Neal, who had probably felt the splash. The rest were too engulfed in their conversation about Scanran war to have heard. She called to the boy. "Come here, please," she said in what she hoped were soothing tones. At her friend's questioning look, she quietly asked, "Do you remember what happened when you told Master Oakbridge that you spilled something in front of the people you were serving?"
He winced and nodded, catching on the her plan.
The page came forward slowly, expecting to be punished, despite Kel's effort to sound nice and well-meaning. "I'm so very sorry, my lord, my lady," he apologized. "If you would just excuse me, I'll tell my Master Oakbridge what happened and he'll send you someone else."
"What's your name?" Neal questioned.
"Kris, sir."
"Ok, Kris, do you know who we are?"
"N-no, sir." The page looked even more alarmed at the possibility that he might have offended someone of stature.
Knowing that Kris had probably took her friend's dry voice for anger, she said, "I am Sir Keladry of Mindelan and this is Sir Nealan of Queenscove," in the kindest voice she could muster.
It didn't help. If anything, the boy was even more frightened. "Mithros, you're the ones who are being honored today?" At their nods, he commenced apologizing again, "I'm so sorry for ruining your night-"
"It's alright, can you give me that?" she interrupted, pointing to the bowl he was holding.
"Sure, my lady," he replied, handing her the bowl, "or is it 'sir'?"
"Kel's fine." The page watched, dumbstruck, as she poured water from her glass into it. "Neal, could you warm it a little with your Gift?" she requested.
"Sure." Green fire shimmered around his fingertips as he waved a hand over the bowl.
"Thank you. Now, you," she said, turning her attention back to Kris, "go around and have them wash their hands in it."
"But surely, they'll know-"
"Have they noticed anything so far?" Neal inquired. The page looked at Raoul, Alanna, Buri, and the Baron for a moment, shook his head, straightened the towel on his arm, and took the bowl.
When he returned, Neal used his Gift to dry off the boy's tunic as well. "Thanks a lot," he said. "Cousin Cleon always said I was a clout-"
"Cousin who?" they asked simultaneously.
"Cleon of Kennan. He's a knight too. Wait, you said your name is Keladry?" At her nod, he smacked his forehead as if remembering something and continued, "You're the girl he fancies. He's betrothed, you know, but he's trying to get out of it, so he can marry you. Kicked up quite a dust back at home, Aunt was so angry. They argued about it."
Kel felt sick. Cleon and his mother had been fighting because of her? About marriage? First of all, she would never want to cause a rift like that between mother and son. And he hadn't even talked to her about marriage. They weren't ready; they hadn't even said, "I love you," to each other yet.
"Are you alright?" Neal's voice gently brought her back to reality.
"Yes." She looked around. Kris was gone. "Where'd he go?"
"He went back to the kitchens. I think he knows that he upset you. Are you sure that you're alright?"
"I'm fine."
"I didn't know you and Cleon were that close," he commented quietly.
Kel looked up at his face. There was some concealed emotion there. Was it hurt? "I didn't know either," she replied simply.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
For Kel, who had once again forgotten the note that she still held, the rest of dinner went by pretty uneventfully, until the King asked for a toast.
"Thank you all for coming tonight," he started, his voice easily carrying throughout the room. "I hope all of you have been enjoying yourselves so far, but before we move on to the ball room, I'd like to make a toast. Would those being honored today please rise?"
Kel slowly rose out of her chair, carefully concealing her emotions. She still wasn't sure about how she felt about this man who had put her on probation, stopped her hero from seeing her, and made Raoul so angry.
"Upon your arrival at the Palace for training, I had told you that each of you were a gem. Well, now after eight years of cutting, polishing, and smoothing out flaws and rough places, you are finally ready to be put in your place on the Crown, and not at a better time. As war becomes inevitable, each one of you, all knights in fact, becomes more and more valuable to our kingdom. But, I warn you, all will not survive their service as knights. It is not all glory and heroics, as many have found out the hard way," he paused and turned his gaze straight to her and Neal.
"Nevertheless, even more people have thrived under this life of strife, which I hope will be your fortune. Now, will all or you step forward and take your rightful place as jewels in the Crown of Tortall? If not, please sit."
No one moved. The King smiled, broke his commanding look from Kel and Neal, and raised his glass. "To the next generation of knights in Tortall. May they serve our kingdom well."
"So mote it be," Kel murmured with the others as she rose her goblet and drank. Looking around, she saw the proud faces of Esmond, Merric and Seaver, looking like they could take on one of those metal creations all by themselves. Like before, she had to hand it to her monarch, he could inspire people to do great things.
Right now, though, he seemed content to dance. "Now, if everyone would please follow me to the ballroom," he said, offering an arm to his wife, Queen Thayet.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Another chapter. Thank you for everyone who took the time to review. It makes my day :). And special thanks to Ispreno who told me how to get italics and bold to work.
Don't forget to drop a review!
meghna