I own nothing. It all belongs to TP, except the plot.
Dinner with Lord Wyldon
The hostess showed her to a private parlor where Lord Wyldon was waited. He stood up and bowed as she entered. Kel didn't know whether to curtsy or bow so she nodded her head.
"Good evening, Lady Keladry." Wyldon said as he held out her chair. "I trust I find you well."
"Yes, thank you, Lord Wyldon." She replied. They talked of innocent things for some time, Kel's training, Wyldon's dogs, the new girl pages. The talk eventually turned to jousting.
"You really are a good tilter, Keladry. Perhaps the best I've ever trained."
"Thank you, my lord. I was trained well."
"Yes, Raoul is a very good teacher. You did well in his service."
"Thank you my lord."
"Have you nothing else to say, Keladry?"
"Not really my lord. I never talk that much."
"I've noticed. Have you ever wondered why I asked that you be put on probation?"
"Many times my lord."
"I never liked the Lioness. I felt that she had it too easy. If she could go eight years as a boy without anyone finding out, there had to be something wrong. She is a very good fighter, but she has the hand of the Goddess on her. She was meant to succeed. You were different. You had no Gift. There was no reason for you to succeed. I didn't want you to succeed. I would not have let you come if the king had not said that you would come. So I decided to make it as hard on you as possible. When you did better than any boy had ever done, it made me think. I decided that if you wanted to work hard enough for it, I would let you. You did better than even I thought you would do. You went from freezing when you were three feet in the air, to walking down the outer stair of Balor's Needle to help your maid. You truly are a great knight, Keladry."
Kel listened to all this in silence. She bowed her head.
"Thank you, my lord." They ate in silence for a while longer. The food was very good. They finished eating and Kel sat back, not knowing what to expect. Wyldon ordered a glass of wine and looked at Kel. She shook her head.
"I don't drink, my lord," she murmured.
"Smart girl," commented Wyldon. "Mind if I ask why."
"I've seen Neal drunk too many times to want to. And Lord Raoul never drank, so I never did."
"I imagine that seeing Nealan drunk would be a very funny thing."
"It's not, my lord. He can become quite mean sometimes. He doesn't make up funny songs or stagger around. He starts fights. He sure can scare his friends, sometimes." Wyldon looked thoughtfully into his glass.
"Has he ever hit you?" He finally asked. To his surprise, Kel laughed.
"Of course he's hit me, sir. You told him to. But no, he's never hit me out of anger. Well except that one time he challenged me to a duel and I thrashed him." Wyldon looked relieved.
"Keladry, I was wondering if you would like to be my dinner partner at the royal wedding this summer." Kel thought for a second. She was slightly surprised that he wouldn't sit with his wife when she remembered something Owen had told her. The lady of Cavall was very sick. She would be unable to attend the wedding.
"I would be honored, my lord." A clock outside struck ten. "I must be getting back, my lord." Kel said, standing up. Lord Wyldon stood and bowed.
"Allow me to escort you to the palace." He said. Kel smiled with relief.
"Thank you, my lord. Neal made me promise to walk back with someone. He can be quite insistent sometimes."
"You are good friends with Nealan, are you not?"
"Yes, my lord. Neal was my first friend here, and he's my best friend." Wyldon looked sideways at her and Kel realized what he was asking. "No my lord, there's nothing like that between us."
"I'm sorry, Keladry, I shouldn't be asking you this." Kel interrupted him.
"Don't worry about it, sir. I don't mind. Neal and I are just friends." Kel looked away. Conversations like this brought back memories of Cleon. She thought about the good times they had. She thought about the first time he kissed her, one midwinter. She thought about the flowery names he used to call her. She remembered why she was first attracted to him. He treated her like a girl. To the rest of her friends, she was just one of the guys. Cleon was so nice to her. He got out of his betrothal with an heiress. He knew that he would have to work really hard and earn money, but he did it anyway, to marry her. That alone was a testament of how much he loved her. He had wanted to be there for Kel's Ordeal, but he had been ordered to train boys near Scanra. He never found out that she loved him. She never had the chance to tell him. Kel ordered herself to stop before she started crying. Her mind would not obey her and images of Cleon sprang into her mind. She saw him come out of the Chamber of the Ordeal. She watched as he was knighted. Tears streamed silently down her face. Lord Wyldon took her elbow and led her to a seat. He handed her a handkerchief and waited for her to stop crying. She finally got a hold of herself. Wyldon stood up and they continued on their way. When they reached Kel's door, she offered the handkerchief back to him.
"Keep it." Wyldon said. He smiled at her and kissed her hand. Kel stared as he walked away, sighed and entered her rooms.