Bah. Wake-Robin, you spoil me rotten. You've inflated my ego to about…ten times its normal size!! Thanks for the compliment…I kinda got the idea from the back cover of a paperback…called Rosamund. X.X

O.o;; Kaz, sweetie, you are scaring me… ::grins:: Sorry, no Joren in this fic!!

FINE THEN!!! I don't want your silly old Joren clone anyway. Come on, sexy!! ::drags Joren and hot Latin muse away::

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The sky was a dusky red-violet. Long fingers of weak gold light stretched out across the ground, reaching for something they would never find.

A breath of wind caressed Keladry's cheek and lifted her hair off her neck. Her face was flat and empty, although her eyes were bleak. She sat atop her small easygoing mare, Hoshi, who stood patiently in place on top of the hill. In her white-knuckled grasp she held the leather reins tightly. She was looking down at an expanse of slummy streets, all leading to a palace looming ominously in the distance.

She shuddered and nudged the patient mare into a trot.

Very few people were moving about. Only the watch patrol, men who eyed her suspiciously, then dismissed her when she demurely smiled at them and lowered her lashes bashfully, were about, and their numbers were few. Occasionally she would come across a crazed commoner who shamelessly reached for her moneybag, full of coins given to her by the king to appear the rich court lady. If anybody asked, she was from a country called Galla - Daine told her to use the town "Snowsdale". Whether it was real or not she did not care, only that they believe her.

As the sun rose higher windows began to bang open, revealing mistrustful men and women who reluctantly greeted the day. Her heart skipped a beat. She had no idea how she was going to do this. She was suddenly scared. All she wanted to do was turn back, now; gallop out of this lion's den and salvage her skin. Only duty, and the sense of honor prevented her from doing so.

King Jonathan told her to go straight to the palace. Tell the guards that her family was killed in a bandit raid and that she sought protection from the great Scanran king. No doubt her request would be conveyed to the king, who would demand her audience. Kel swallowed and practiced her story.

My name is Illuvia. I come from Snowsdale, Galla. My family was killed in a bandit attack. I have heard of your mercy, sire, and I plead for your shelter. I fear the bandits will come after me also, for the leader had a grudge against my father…

Rehearse the story. Say it over and over again so you feel like that was your life. Make up names. Don't ever use your friends' names.

Traveling continuously on, Kel found that the homes and buildings began to get classier, more neat and rich. A couple of small children giggled outside on a lawn, throwing rocks at a chained dog until a scolding woman marched out and hauled them back inside by their ears. She drew in a shuddering breath.

A half-candlemark later she was approaching the gates, Hoshi padding confidently toward the armored men clutching pikes easily in their big hands. They peered at her warily, the young harmless noblewoman who radiated no threat.

"What business have you hear?" a burly guardsman asked gruffly.

"I seek an audience with his royal majesties Kel replied, her voice soft and innocuous.

"Why?" a thinner man asked.

"My family - they were killed in a bandit raid." Kel took a shaky breath and looked away as thought it pained her to speak of it, calling forth tears that gleamed in her eyes when she turned back. Relieved, she found the armed men regarding her with pity and sympathy. "I request shelter, for the bandits held a grudge against my father, and I fear they still search for me."

"I will relay your message to the king and queen," a short, stocky man promised, bowing low. "What is your name, my lady?"

"Lady Illuvia of Snowsdale," she said. "It is much appreciated, kind sir."

The man blushed and bowed clumsily again, then hurried off toward the grand marble palace.

"Would you like me to take your horse to the stables?" a man asked hopefully, vying for her attention. "Or someone else can do it, and I can show you the gardens…"

"Oh, please do settle in my mare," she begged, gazing at him with eyes that - with constant practice - became beseeching as a doe's. "She's awfully tired - "

"Of course, milady," he said hastily, stepping forward to smugly claim the reins.

Not to be outdone, the burly man rushed to her side and offered to help her dismount. She gratefully accepted and with a surprising amount of grace - her deep green velvet gown was heavy and awkward.

"Would you like me to give you a tour of the gardens?"

"I'd like th - "

The man who went to convey the message returned, completely out of air. He gulped in oxygen greedily, before bowing expertly down. "His majesties King Maggur and Queen Gintra approve and await you in their chambers." He offered her his arm, and much to his fellow guards' disgust she took it and smiled warmly at him.

"Thank you," she whispered. "And I shall take you up on that tour of the gardens, my dear man. What is your name?"

"Brennan," the burly man murmured. "Sir Brennan of Rashveladen."

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Edwin - as Kel learned her escort's name was - paused at the door to wistfully remove her arm, and courteously opened the door for her.

"Thank you," she said to him, and disappeared behind the door.

King Maggur and Queen Gintra were not at all what she thought they would be. For one, the king was startlingly handsome - thick red-gold hair and grave slate-colored eyes. He smiled warmly at her when she entered, and gestured graciously to a cushion to relax on. Gintra was golden-haired and -eyed, a breathtakingly odd-looking beauty. She, too, greeted her with a pleasant smile and a small nod.

Kel curtsied low, looking adoring at the monarchs, appearing the awed country noble. It pleased them, as their smiles grew. She arranged her skirts neatly around her as she settled on the plushy cushion.

"I have heard your request," Maggur said. "And I offer you a home in the palace for protection."

The lady knight blinked. She had not expected it to be that easy - she had thought she would receive a convent within the district.

"Oh, thank you, my king, my queen," she cried, ducking her head. "I don't know how I am to repay you…"

"Don't even think about it," Queen Gintra told her sternly. Her voice was like honeyed sunshine. "We would never turn away a cry for help."

And so Kel arrived in Scanra and secured her position in the palace - the first part of the mission was complete.

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Er…not as long as I wanted it to be. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?? Check my bio daily, for I am forever adding pointless things to it.