3. On the Road

The wind was biting and would not let up as it whipped around the travelers on the muddy road. Horses laid their ears back as they trudged through icy ruts and men tightened hoods over their heads and around their necks. Winter was just around the corner.

Kel shivered and wiggled her toes in damp boots. Even though the warm body of Hoshi beneath her kept her legs relatively warm, the cold was beginning to reach her extremities. Her entire body felt stiff, trying to ward off the effects of relentless wind that brought tears to her eyes. A few paces ahead bowed heads told her that she was not alone. No one was happy about this trip. A quest for peace, yes, but with an enemy that had declared war without any given reason.

At midday the two squads of the King's Own found a sheltered nitch behind an outcropping of rock. Dismounting, Lord Raoul ordered a fire to be quickly lit. Kel did her best to care for her tired mount, knowing that the cold was sapping Hoshi's strength as much as it was dragging on her. Neal was huddled next to the fire when she approached. He handed her a tin cup of some steaming drink that smelled of wintergreen.

"It'll bring your energy back and warm you up." He answered her questioning glance.

It actually tasted palatable. Sipping gingerly, Kel began digging her her provisions for a midday meal. Dom handed her a piece of jerky to go with the travel bread and dried fruit. With a smile of thanks, she sat with her back to the rock where the wind was broken. He silently moved next to her. He had been like that ever since they left Steadfast - hardly speaking, but always hovering nearby. His odd behavior was beginning to make Kel jumpy.

"Dom, are you all right?"

He finally looked her in the eye. "Kel, I know you're worried about this truce, and so am I. You're known as the Protector of the Small. Have you actually thought about what that means?"

"Of course." She gave him a lopsided smile. "I've been ordained as the champion of commoners."

"Because you don't see the lines between nobility, royalty, or the common folk.

But do you believe in it?"

That surprised her and for a moment Kel merely looked at him blankly. Did she believe in being the Protector of the Small? She had never really thought about it, just accepted it as her destiny. Believing in it meant so much more than accepting. Dom's eye didn't waver from her face.

"Keladry, I had a dream before we left. It had something about you having to believe in being the Protector. I don't know if the gods were trying to tell me something or it was only my concerns that conjured it up, but whatever name the Chamber has given you, I don't think it's simply an honorific."

She repressed the urge to groan. The Chamber - she could swear that it wanted to make her lose her mind. Why her? She had no Gift. All she ever wanted was to be a knight, plain and simple. No preordained nonsense or destined tasks.

"Dom, I'll do what I've been trained to do - uphold the kingdom of Tortall. Whatever else the gods want to throw at me, I'll deal with when I have to."

He nodded and settled back to finish his own meal.

888

Lady Alanna's aversion to the cold was well known. She was definitely unhappy with this assignment, her trademark violet eyes flashing with annoyance and distemper as she rode into the Third Company's Fort. Bundled in countless layers that reemphasized her small stature, the Lioness jumped off of her impressive mount and marched into headquarters.

"Does anyone else think that this meeting is a load of dead Hurrok?"

Neal grinned from his corner next to the fireplace. "You just don't like the fact that Jonathan sent you out here before winter."

She began peeling off her quilted jacket and other insulation with a nod to Kel.

"Good to know I'm not in this alone."

Raoul slipped into the still open door and picked up his friend from behind. Alanna nearly twisted his fingers to break away before she realized who it was and returned his hug with a delighted grin. When her feet had been placed back on the floor, she looked up at the Commander.

"There's a surprise that came with me."

The big man's face lit up. "Buri?"

He was out the door an instant later. Neal shook his head.

"We just left them a few days ago. I thought Buri would be staying in Corus."

Kel poked him. "You're just jealous."

"He ought to be." Dom grinned as she turned to smack him in the arm.

Alanna watched the exchanges with a wiry smile. "So, Lady Kel, I see someone has taken an interest in the second lady knight. About time."

She quickly became more serious. "So when is King Maggur arriving?"

Neal coughed. "He's scheduled to arrive in six days on the other side of the Araki river. We'll be meeting them on this side two days later."

"Is it true that Maggur says he'll call a cease fire till spring after this?"

Neal shrugged. "That's what he claimed in the letter sent to Corus."

The Lioness fingered a piece of amber hanging from a gold chain around her neck and frowned.

"I don't like this."

Dom's blue eyes were dark. "None of us do."

888

The tents of the Scanrans were all a dull green or brown, blending in with the dreary background of gray mountains and stubby trees. Only one bright red tent gave any hint of a ruler's presence. When Kel stood on the bank of the brown Araki she could see a fence of silver-tipped spears that encircled the crimson shelter. The soldiers were quite and efficient at erecting their camp and if they hadn't been keeping watch for them, they could easily be overlooked. Kel made mental notes on their camp's construction and defenses.

Dom joined her during an hour of her self-appointed sentry duty before going about his own duties. The fact that they were even there still bothered him, she could tell. That, and whatever he had seen in his dream but he would tell her no more about it only giving her a chaise kiss and a smile when she would ask.

The waiting was frustrating. Kel and Alanna would meet in the mornings and talk about what would and would not be said and Alanna would caution her in the ways of magic. Kel made sure to wear her griffin feather headband, this time made of more comfortable blue silk, at all times. Trained in different martial arts, they exchanged techniques and tips while training against each other. Kel, who had always idolized the Lioness, quickly came to respect her even more as a friend and fellow knight over the last four days before the meeting.

That day came all too soon. Dressed in her freshly polished armor and standing next to Peachblossom, she watched the boats poling through the brown foam of the Araki river. Her heart pounded in her chest. I am a mountain lake. Calm and serene. She carefully maintained her mask as the first of the Scanrans arrived on the Tortallian shore.

A small, rat-faced man jumped from the lead boat. Glancing around the circle of the King's Own and Queen's Riders, he gave a short bow. Following him were two others who unrolled a long red carpet up the rocks of the bank to the very feet of Raoul, Alanna, Neal, and Kel. They gave each other skeptic glances at the arrogance of this king. Kel could sense Neal's sarcasm rising next her and covertly elbowed him. He sniffed, but remained silent.

The second boat grounded and a man who could only be King Maggur leapt ashore. Kel could only stare.

Long blond hair curled slightly past broad shoulders and accentuated hard blue eyes that narrowed in scorn at the Tortallian guard. A blood red shirt pulled taught across a muscled chest but left his arms bare. Even in the harsh cold, he only wore a fur-lined leather robe that had no clasp in the front and whispered along the ground behind him as he stalked up the carpet. King Maggur could not be called unhandsome in any means.

With the slightest of bows, he acknowledged Raoul before turning to Kel on the right. She couldn't help blinking. This man was perfect in every way. High cheekbones and faintly golden skin gave him the look of a human god. But his eyes were cold and detached, looking her over from head to toe and raising an eyebrow. Giving the same bow he had given to her former knight master, only slightly deeper, he moved down the line to scrutinize the Lioness and ignoring the anger that sparked visibly in her eyes. Neal received hardly a second glance.

Finally King Maggur stepped back and again looked over the other forces with a smirk.

"Honorable representatives of Tortall, I thank you for accommodating my request to meet the female knights of your country. As a token of my generosity, please let my people set up a banquet here on the shore and we will begin discussions."

Raoul smoothly countered. "It would be our pleasure to accommodate you at the Third Company Fort."

Maggur's smirk didn't waver as if he had predicted the offer. He gave a short nod to the rat-faced man. The final two boats landed with a squad of men each. The soldiers marched in perfect formation to line the red carpet on either side, eyes directed front and center. Their strangely curved swords were tied with a red cord that secured the hilt to scabbard.

"You may take note that I have given strict orders for my men not to draw arms except on my order - no other. On pain of death." Maggur's eyes flickered back to Kel for an instant before returning to Raoul. "I accept your invitation on the condition that the gates remain open. We Scanrans will never be enclosed in enemy territory."

Raoul bowed and signaled his men who formed two columns of their own to escort the entire party into the fort. The Queen's riders fell in behind the group. Once inside, Maggur stationed two of his own men on either side of the gate before continuing on. With a cynical smile he commented to the Commander,

"I can understand why my people have been having such trouble on this front. You have formidable protection."

Raoul merely nodded. "Thank you, majesty."

Kel dutifully followed the others into the headquarters building where a special banquet had been prepared. She had the distinct feeling that even the best that they could do would never come close to impressing the Scanran king. This promised to be a most interesting evening.