Kel stood in the throne room (A/N I don't know where they would have these
meetings) with a few of the other knights and the king.
"There have been problems at the Scanran border." The King said, "We need to send more men out, and all the knights here in this room need to get out there. We also need people at refugee camps. They are being raided almost daily now. Kel, you are going back to New Hope, and you will command a unit of the King's Own, and three units of soldiers. That's forty men, plus the twenty-five men there and the refugees, which, I'm told, you trained very well. am I correct?"
Kel nodded slowly. "For how long, your majesty?" She asked.
"Until this war is over."
Kel walked back to her rooms to pack, trying to keep herself from crying. "Stupid." She muttered, "I should be glad to be going to war. I've been complaining for such a long time that we're all here."
"Talking to yourself, Kel? Very nice." Dom walked in. Kel attempted a weak smile.
"I'm going back to New Hope."
Dom nodded. "I know. So am I."
Kel almost screamed. Dom was coming? Perfect! She'd be there until the end of the war, and Dom would be there too!
Dom smiled. "It's good to know I'm appreciated." He kissed her. "By the way, you're damn lucky I asked you to the ball."
Kel looked at him, puzzled.
"I think Raoul chose my squad for a specific reason. In fact, I know he did. To quote the great Sir Raoul: You hurt her, and you're coming right back home."
Kel laughed, and shooed him out of the room so she could finish packing.
Just at that moment, she realized something. She had a squire. "Bloody hell." She muttered. "How could I forget about her?"
She ran down the stairs to the pages hallway. She quickly walked through, looking for Fhire's name. It was the last door. She knocked. No answer. She took the piece of chalk beside the door and scribbled a note on the slate:
We're leaving tomorrow, pack for a long trip to the Scanran border. Any questions, see me in my rooms. -Kel
She jogged back to her room to finish packing.
The next morning, Kel woke before dawn, and washed up. "Last real bath for a long time." She said to Jump.
She went downstairs to the pages quarter to wake up Fhire. She knocked on the door, and a moment later, a very sleepy looking girl opened it cautiously.
"Morning! Are you finished packing? We need to get some food into you before we go!"
Fhire cocked her head. "What are you talking about?"
Kel was shocked. "Didn't you get my message? We're leaving today! For the Scanran border! We're going to the refugee camp I built, New Hope."
Fhire's eyes grew wide. She obviously didn't know about their trip.
"You aren't very popular with some of the boys, are you?" Kel asked.
Fhire shook her head.
"Fine." Kel sighed. "You pack your things, I'll bring you up some food and your gear from the stables, alright?"
Again, Fhire nodded.
Kel turned back to Fhire as she was leaving. "And don't forget, I did say you were allowed to speak. You don't just have to nod." She said, grinning. Fhire grinned too, and they both turned away.
Half an hour later, they were both fed and packed, and they brought Fhire's packs down to the horses.
"What's that for?" Kel pointed to a small wicker basket.
Fhire opened it. Inside was a tiny furry thing rolled up on a small blanket.
"Her name's Triaxx. She's a wolf, only two months old."
Kel looked worried. "She's not going to attack the animals at the camp, is she? I've heard that wolves can be pretty hard to deal with."
Fhire grinned. "Daine helped me out after I found her. She talked to her almost everyday for the first few weeks I had her, she says that Triaxx is a very sweet tempered wolf, and she will easily listen to all of my commands."
Kel grinned too, and closed the basket.
"We're not that late, only about fifteen minutes, but we should still hurry. Raoul will get angry." They quickly saddled their horses and set walked them out of the barn.
"Kel! Gods, where were you?" Neal ran up behind them.
Kel rolled her eyes. "You were on time? Well, that just makes me feel horrible, keeping you waiting."
Neal shrugged. "Whatever, just hurry up."
Finally, they set off. Kel rode beside Fhire, at the back, explaining everything about what she did.
"So, I am going to be commander of the refugee camp, New Hope. I built it almost two years ago, and it is being attacked very often by Scanran raiding parties, so we are needed. Your job will be to assist me in my work, do all the normal duties that I and the refugees do, and you will always be prepared for battle. It's hard, but rewarding. At first the people might be unsure of you, as they were with me, but show them you can work and lead, and they will respect you."
Fhire nodded.
"And don't worry, this is a refugee camp. There will be plenty of people your age to talk to."
Fhire seemed to relax. She smiled. "I was afraid it was just going to be adults! But I will still put all my energy into my work!"
Kel laughed. "That's good to hear, but even leaders need recreation. I thought that way last time, and I soon realized that with all the work, you still somehow find time for your friends."
Fhire smiled.
"So, I don't really know much about you, Fhire! Where do you hail from, what is your history?"
Fhire told her everything.
~INTERMISSION~
Okay, this is a fairly important thing I just realized. I have completely forgotten about Tobe. I was planning on putting him in, I really was, but I forgot! Can we just say he stayed at New Hope? Please? For me?
P.S- Fhire, I am making up a huge amount of information on your character right now. If there is anything you are seriously against, just tell me, because I'm talking about family, home, history, everything.
Thanks, sorry to bug you!
Thank you so much!!!!!!!
~BACK TO MY STORY~
"Well, I am from Bathast, a eastern fief. (A/N I'm not sure what border Scanra is, but she lives on the opposite. Let's just say it's the east.) I love it there, we are very well off, so almost all of the children there are educated and acceptable for me to associate with, as my mother puts it."
Kel smiled. The children in Mindelan weren't particularly well off, in fact they weren't very good kids, which had actually helped Kel with her fighting skills and defensiveness.
"I have four siblings, two brothers, two sisters. My older brother is a squire with an man named. . . oh, what was it. . . Anders, I think. My younger brother is a first year page-"
"Who?" Kel interjected. "Anders of Mindelan?"
Fhire nodded. 'I think so."
Kel laughed. "That's my brother! How old is yours?"
"He's only a year older than me. As I was saying, my younger brother is a first year page, my older sister went to her husband's fief with him last year, but my younger sister also wants to be a knight! She's coming to the palace in three years, if she still wants to."
Kel smiled. Four female knights. That would be wonderful.
Fhire continued. "My father was a knight, but he retired ten years ago when he lost his right hand in a battle. I lived in Bathast my whole life, but I have been to the Yamani islands, and my sister's fief."
Kel smiled again. Fhire certainly was loosening up, she was much more talkative than Kel had expected.
"So, Fhire, I know your history. What do you like to do?" Kel laughed.
Fhire grinned. "I love jousting, and I want to be able to fight with a glaive. I tried to learn when I was in the Yamani islands, but I never got past the basic motions, because I was never there long enough."
"Fhire, we seem to have everything in common! We are both associated with Anders, we've both spent time in the Yamani Islands, and we both love jousting and glaives! And," she added, seeing Triaxx's head pop out of the basket, "we have a fixation with small, toothy animals."
Fhire glanced behind her, and seeing Triaxx, patted her on the head. "What small animal's do you have in mind?"
Kel laughed. "Haven't you noticed the white dog running under everyone's feet all morning? That's Jump, I saved him from a butcher's knife in my second year. He must be almost thirteen now, at the very least." Kel said, the thought just occurring to her. In the twelve years she'd had Jump, she'd never thought about him getting old. "Then there's Peachblossom, this one." She said, patting her gelding's neck. "Also, when I was a squire, I accidentally adopted a baby griffin from a raider."
Fhire's eyes grew wide. "A griffin? But what did the parent's do?"
Kel laughed. "Our wonderful friend Daine helped me out with that."
"So, you two seem to be having fun!" Dom circled back to them. "I've been told to inform you that we will be reaching today's destination in half an hour."
Kel glanced at the sun. "Goddess! We've been talking all day! We didn't even have any lunch."
"Only two women could do that." Neal circled back to them. Dom laughed, but cut it short when he saw the glare Kel was giving Neal.
"Fhire, you said that Triaxx was well trained." Kel said, turning Peachblossom close enough to nip at Neal. "Does she attack on command?"
They all laughed as Neal trotted away. Kel could see him near the centre of the group, trying to stop Jump from lunging at him. They laughed even harder. "That dog's got great hearing."
The three of them laughed together for the next half hour.
They rode up to a large town, with enough inn's for all the soldiers. "We will leave at seven o'clock sharp tomorrow morning! Do not be late or you will feel my wrath!" Raoul yelled, making a few of the older soldiers laugh.
* * * * *
After eating dinner with the others and having a relaxing bath, Kel was ready to go to sleep. Just as she pulled back her covers, there was a knock at the door.
"Bloody hell." She sighed.
She opened the door a crack, in case it was a man she didn't want to see her in her nightclothes. It wasn't.
"Good evening, fair lady." Dom said, bowing with a flourish.
Kel smiled weakly. "Come in, if you are going to." She was leaning on the door for support, she was so tired.
Dom stepped in and kissed her softly on the lips. "I love you, Lady Knight. And no matter how annoying it gets, I'm going to tell you that every single day."
Kel smiled and kissed him back. "You're a fool, you know that? And I love you for it."
He smiled. "So, are you happy with your squire?" He asked, sitting down on her bed.
Kel lay down, putting her head in his lap. " She's wonderful. We've agreed that I'll teach her how to use a glaive. Did you know that her brother is Anders' squire?"
Dom shook his head. "Amazing."
"What about you? How was your day?"
Dom shrugged. "Nothing too interesting. I talked with Raoul for a while, and Neal. It seems that he is going to be your head healer, and you are going to be leading the entire party after we pass Steadfast and drop off Raoul's party. Did you know that?"
Kel nodded, trying to stay awake. "I was commander last time, you know. There were a few of the refugee's that weren't happy with that. One, a fairly rich man, was horrible to me at first. But they eventually figure out that I'm smarter and stronger than them."
Dom chuckled. "I'm sure they do."
Kel couldn't help it, she needed rest. "I'm sorry Dom, I really must go to sleep. And you probably should too. I see that yawn."
Dom smiled, and they both sat up. "Let's do that every night."
Kel kissed him. "Every night that I can stay awake for it, at least." She kissed him, and he left.
"Goddess, what am I going to do with myself?" Kel muttered. "I can't go on like this, sooner or later we are going to have to go past the courting. I shouldn't worry about the future, but he isn't allowed to marry, so what will I do?"
But before she could finish the thought, she had fallen asleep, not to remember these troubling thoughts after a dreamless sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wow, my longest chapter yet, and probably my least active!
Thanks for all the reviews, but come on people! You can do better than 39! I should expect fifty before I update again. If you get to 55 before I update, I'll do two chapters at once. Promise!
-unolimbo
"There have been problems at the Scanran border." The King said, "We need to send more men out, and all the knights here in this room need to get out there. We also need people at refugee camps. They are being raided almost daily now. Kel, you are going back to New Hope, and you will command a unit of the King's Own, and three units of soldiers. That's forty men, plus the twenty-five men there and the refugees, which, I'm told, you trained very well. am I correct?"
Kel nodded slowly. "For how long, your majesty?" She asked.
"Until this war is over."
Kel walked back to her rooms to pack, trying to keep herself from crying. "Stupid." She muttered, "I should be glad to be going to war. I've been complaining for such a long time that we're all here."
"Talking to yourself, Kel? Very nice." Dom walked in. Kel attempted a weak smile.
"I'm going back to New Hope."
Dom nodded. "I know. So am I."
Kel almost screamed. Dom was coming? Perfect! She'd be there until the end of the war, and Dom would be there too!
Dom smiled. "It's good to know I'm appreciated." He kissed her. "By the way, you're damn lucky I asked you to the ball."
Kel looked at him, puzzled.
"I think Raoul chose my squad for a specific reason. In fact, I know he did. To quote the great Sir Raoul: You hurt her, and you're coming right back home."
Kel laughed, and shooed him out of the room so she could finish packing.
Just at that moment, she realized something. She had a squire. "Bloody hell." She muttered. "How could I forget about her?"
She ran down the stairs to the pages hallway. She quickly walked through, looking for Fhire's name. It was the last door. She knocked. No answer. She took the piece of chalk beside the door and scribbled a note on the slate:
We're leaving tomorrow, pack for a long trip to the Scanran border. Any questions, see me in my rooms. -Kel
She jogged back to her room to finish packing.
The next morning, Kel woke before dawn, and washed up. "Last real bath for a long time." She said to Jump.
She went downstairs to the pages quarter to wake up Fhire. She knocked on the door, and a moment later, a very sleepy looking girl opened it cautiously.
"Morning! Are you finished packing? We need to get some food into you before we go!"
Fhire cocked her head. "What are you talking about?"
Kel was shocked. "Didn't you get my message? We're leaving today! For the Scanran border! We're going to the refugee camp I built, New Hope."
Fhire's eyes grew wide. She obviously didn't know about their trip.
"You aren't very popular with some of the boys, are you?" Kel asked.
Fhire shook her head.
"Fine." Kel sighed. "You pack your things, I'll bring you up some food and your gear from the stables, alright?"
Again, Fhire nodded.
Kel turned back to Fhire as she was leaving. "And don't forget, I did say you were allowed to speak. You don't just have to nod." She said, grinning. Fhire grinned too, and they both turned away.
Half an hour later, they were both fed and packed, and they brought Fhire's packs down to the horses.
"What's that for?" Kel pointed to a small wicker basket.
Fhire opened it. Inside was a tiny furry thing rolled up on a small blanket.
"Her name's Triaxx. She's a wolf, only two months old."
Kel looked worried. "She's not going to attack the animals at the camp, is she? I've heard that wolves can be pretty hard to deal with."
Fhire grinned. "Daine helped me out after I found her. She talked to her almost everyday for the first few weeks I had her, she says that Triaxx is a very sweet tempered wolf, and she will easily listen to all of my commands."
Kel grinned too, and closed the basket.
"We're not that late, only about fifteen minutes, but we should still hurry. Raoul will get angry." They quickly saddled their horses and set walked them out of the barn.
"Kel! Gods, where were you?" Neal ran up behind them.
Kel rolled her eyes. "You were on time? Well, that just makes me feel horrible, keeping you waiting."
Neal shrugged. "Whatever, just hurry up."
Finally, they set off. Kel rode beside Fhire, at the back, explaining everything about what she did.
"So, I am going to be commander of the refugee camp, New Hope. I built it almost two years ago, and it is being attacked very often by Scanran raiding parties, so we are needed. Your job will be to assist me in my work, do all the normal duties that I and the refugees do, and you will always be prepared for battle. It's hard, but rewarding. At first the people might be unsure of you, as they were with me, but show them you can work and lead, and they will respect you."
Fhire nodded.
"And don't worry, this is a refugee camp. There will be plenty of people your age to talk to."
Fhire seemed to relax. She smiled. "I was afraid it was just going to be adults! But I will still put all my energy into my work!"
Kel laughed. "That's good to hear, but even leaders need recreation. I thought that way last time, and I soon realized that with all the work, you still somehow find time for your friends."
Fhire smiled.
"So, I don't really know much about you, Fhire! Where do you hail from, what is your history?"
Fhire told her everything.
~INTERMISSION~
Okay, this is a fairly important thing I just realized. I have completely forgotten about Tobe. I was planning on putting him in, I really was, but I forgot! Can we just say he stayed at New Hope? Please? For me?
P.S- Fhire, I am making up a huge amount of information on your character right now. If there is anything you are seriously against, just tell me, because I'm talking about family, home, history, everything.
Thanks, sorry to bug you!
Thank you so much!!!!!!!
~BACK TO MY STORY~
"Well, I am from Bathast, a eastern fief. (A/N I'm not sure what border Scanra is, but she lives on the opposite. Let's just say it's the east.) I love it there, we are very well off, so almost all of the children there are educated and acceptable for me to associate with, as my mother puts it."
Kel smiled. The children in Mindelan weren't particularly well off, in fact they weren't very good kids, which had actually helped Kel with her fighting skills and defensiveness.
"I have four siblings, two brothers, two sisters. My older brother is a squire with an man named. . . oh, what was it. . . Anders, I think. My younger brother is a first year page-"
"Who?" Kel interjected. "Anders of Mindelan?"
Fhire nodded. 'I think so."
Kel laughed. "That's my brother! How old is yours?"
"He's only a year older than me. As I was saying, my younger brother is a first year page, my older sister went to her husband's fief with him last year, but my younger sister also wants to be a knight! She's coming to the palace in three years, if she still wants to."
Kel smiled. Four female knights. That would be wonderful.
Fhire continued. "My father was a knight, but he retired ten years ago when he lost his right hand in a battle. I lived in Bathast my whole life, but I have been to the Yamani islands, and my sister's fief."
Kel smiled again. Fhire certainly was loosening up, she was much more talkative than Kel had expected.
"So, Fhire, I know your history. What do you like to do?" Kel laughed.
Fhire grinned. "I love jousting, and I want to be able to fight with a glaive. I tried to learn when I was in the Yamani islands, but I never got past the basic motions, because I was never there long enough."
"Fhire, we seem to have everything in common! We are both associated with Anders, we've both spent time in the Yamani Islands, and we both love jousting and glaives! And," she added, seeing Triaxx's head pop out of the basket, "we have a fixation with small, toothy animals."
Fhire glanced behind her, and seeing Triaxx, patted her on the head. "What small animal's do you have in mind?"
Kel laughed. "Haven't you noticed the white dog running under everyone's feet all morning? That's Jump, I saved him from a butcher's knife in my second year. He must be almost thirteen now, at the very least." Kel said, the thought just occurring to her. In the twelve years she'd had Jump, she'd never thought about him getting old. "Then there's Peachblossom, this one." She said, patting her gelding's neck. "Also, when I was a squire, I accidentally adopted a baby griffin from a raider."
Fhire's eyes grew wide. "A griffin? But what did the parent's do?"
Kel laughed. "Our wonderful friend Daine helped me out with that."
"So, you two seem to be having fun!" Dom circled back to them. "I've been told to inform you that we will be reaching today's destination in half an hour."
Kel glanced at the sun. "Goddess! We've been talking all day! We didn't even have any lunch."
"Only two women could do that." Neal circled back to them. Dom laughed, but cut it short when he saw the glare Kel was giving Neal.
"Fhire, you said that Triaxx was well trained." Kel said, turning Peachblossom close enough to nip at Neal. "Does she attack on command?"
They all laughed as Neal trotted away. Kel could see him near the centre of the group, trying to stop Jump from lunging at him. They laughed even harder. "That dog's got great hearing."
The three of them laughed together for the next half hour.
They rode up to a large town, with enough inn's for all the soldiers. "We will leave at seven o'clock sharp tomorrow morning! Do not be late or you will feel my wrath!" Raoul yelled, making a few of the older soldiers laugh.
* * * * *
After eating dinner with the others and having a relaxing bath, Kel was ready to go to sleep. Just as she pulled back her covers, there was a knock at the door.
"Bloody hell." She sighed.
She opened the door a crack, in case it was a man she didn't want to see her in her nightclothes. It wasn't.
"Good evening, fair lady." Dom said, bowing with a flourish.
Kel smiled weakly. "Come in, if you are going to." She was leaning on the door for support, she was so tired.
Dom stepped in and kissed her softly on the lips. "I love you, Lady Knight. And no matter how annoying it gets, I'm going to tell you that every single day."
Kel smiled and kissed him back. "You're a fool, you know that? And I love you for it."
He smiled. "So, are you happy with your squire?" He asked, sitting down on her bed.
Kel lay down, putting her head in his lap. " She's wonderful. We've agreed that I'll teach her how to use a glaive. Did you know that her brother is Anders' squire?"
Dom shook his head. "Amazing."
"What about you? How was your day?"
Dom shrugged. "Nothing too interesting. I talked with Raoul for a while, and Neal. It seems that he is going to be your head healer, and you are going to be leading the entire party after we pass Steadfast and drop off Raoul's party. Did you know that?"
Kel nodded, trying to stay awake. "I was commander last time, you know. There were a few of the refugee's that weren't happy with that. One, a fairly rich man, was horrible to me at first. But they eventually figure out that I'm smarter and stronger than them."
Dom chuckled. "I'm sure they do."
Kel couldn't help it, she needed rest. "I'm sorry Dom, I really must go to sleep. And you probably should too. I see that yawn."
Dom smiled, and they both sat up. "Let's do that every night."
Kel kissed him. "Every night that I can stay awake for it, at least." She kissed him, and he left.
"Goddess, what am I going to do with myself?" Kel muttered. "I can't go on like this, sooner or later we are going to have to go past the courting. I shouldn't worry about the future, but he isn't allowed to marry, so what will I do?"
But before she could finish the thought, she had fallen asleep, not to remember these troubling thoughts after a dreamless sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wow, my longest chapter yet, and probably my least active!
Thanks for all the reviews, but come on people! You can do better than 39! I should expect fifty before I update again. If you get to 55 before I update, I'll do two chapters at once. Promise!
-unolimbo