~*~ Chapter Five~*~
It took a long time for Kel to recover enough to re-enter the world. There were times when she didn't talk to anybody for days on end. She had become greatly introverted in dealing with Anders' death. The only person she talked to was her mother. They would sit and talk together. Nobody except the two of them knew what they talked about. They could spend hours just talking. It was usually after one of these talking sessions that Kel would go quiet. However they seemed to be doing good for her because slowly she began to return to her normal routine.
It started with training. She started doing glaive practice in her rooms as a release for the anger she felt at Anders' death. But glaive practice wasn't enough; she wanted to smash something, something solid. That's when she had the idea of jousting. As soon as that idea entered her head it wouldn't leave, so eventually she gave in to it.
Very late one night, when she was sure that anyone sane would be in bed she picked up her practice lance and snuck out to the stables. She quietly saddled Peachblossom and walked him to the practice yard with the jousting dummies in it. She led Peachblossom to the starting point and mounted him. As she sat there she felt her breath calm, she felt her muscles relax and she realized that she had missed jousting. She asked Peachblossom to trot, she brought up her lance and as she rode towards the dummy, her focus narrowed, until it her entire focus was one the target, nothing else mattered.
As she struck the target she felt a thrill. She had definitely missed this. She loved jousting. She loved how while she was jousting, nothing else mattered. Nothing; not crying in front of everyone, not what anyone thought of her, not even Anders' death mattered during those few seconds as she charged. She charged again and again, enjoying the feeling of being completely free, even if it was just for a few seconds.
Eventually she had to stop because Peachblossom was almost done in. Reluctantly, she dismounted and led him back to the stables. As she unsaddled and groomed him, she smiled; the first smile she'd had in ages. Then she remembered. The smile was gone in an instant. She had nothing to smile about.
She hadn't actually forgotten of course, but for a few short minutes, she had managed to push it all slightly to the side. She felt guilty. She felt worse than guilty. She felt as if she had been disloyal to Anders' memory by pushing his death to the side. She felt as if she had betrayed him. She swore she would not forget, not ever would she forget Anders.
She had not planned on going to joust again, not if it meant forgetting Anders. But couldn't help herself, she loved to joust. She loved it too much to stop, now that she had remembered how good it felt. So she jousted, each night, after everyone had gone to sleep, she would slip out to the practice courts and charge until Peachblossom could charge no more. However she would not allow herself to forget, not even for a few minutes. So after each charge, she would pause and remember. Then she would charge again, she would throw all the anger and hurt she felt into her lance as she thrust at the dummy. Many a dummy were ruined during Kel's midnight jousts.
From jousting, Kel started to expand her exercise regime again. She began to practice her sword and hand to hand skills. She would always practice in the privacy of her rooms; she would never risk going to the training courts. She didn't want to risk unexpectedly running into anybody, especially not her friends.
~*~ AN. There. I've updated! I'd like to say thanks to everyone who reviewed! Thank you for encouraging me to continue... I'm glad I did! Thanks, also for your advice. although it may not look like I'm taking it yet, I am taking it into account and it may help later. I'm leading up to something. I'm just not sure what yet! Some of the advice was a little confusing. but thanks all the same! Until I next update, bye bye! Love imogenhm.
It took a long time for Kel to recover enough to re-enter the world. There were times when she didn't talk to anybody for days on end. She had become greatly introverted in dealing with Anders' death. The only person she talked to was her mother. They would sit and talk together. Nobody except the two of them knew what they talked about. They could spend hours just talking. It was usually after one of these talking sessions that Kel would go quiet. However they seemed to be doing good for her because slowly she began to return to her normal routine.
It started with training. She started doing glaive practice in her rooms as a release for the anger she felt at Anders' death. But glaive practice wasn't enough; she wanted to smash something, something solid. That's when she had the idea of jousting. As soon as that idea entered her head it wouldn't leave, so eventually she gave in to it.
Very late one night, when she was sure that anyone sane would be in bed she picked up her practice lance and snuck out to the stables. She quietly saddled Peachblossom and walked him to the practice yard with the jousting dummies in it. She led Peachblossom to the starting point and mounted him. As she sat there she felt her breath calm, she felt her muscles relax and she realized that she had missed jousting. She asked Peachblossom to trot, she brought up her lance and as she rode towards the dummy, her focus narrowed, until it her entire focus was one the target, nothing else mattered.
As she struck the target she felt a thrill. She had definitely missed this. She loved jousting. She loved how while she was jousting, nothing else mattered. Nothing; not crying in front of everyone, not what anyone thought of her, not even Anders' death mattered during those few seconds as she charged. She charged again and again, enjoying the feeling of being completely free, even if it was just for a few seconds.
Eventually she had to stop because Peachblossom was almost done in. Reluctantly, she dismounted and led him back to the stables. As she unsaddled and groomed him, she smiled; the first smile she'd had in ages. Then she remembered. The smile was gone in an instant. She had nothing to smile about.
She hadn't actually forgotten of course, but for a few short minutes, she had managed to push it all slightly to the side. She felt guilty. She felt worse than guilty. She felt as if she had been disloyal to Anders' memory by pushing his death to the side. She felt as if she had betrayed him. She swore she would not forget, not ever would she forget Anders.
She had not planned on going to joust again, not if it meant forgetting Anders. But couldn't help herself, she loved to joust. She loved it too much to stop, now that she had remembered how good it felt. So she jousted, each night, after everyone had gone to sleep, she would slip out to the practice courts and charge until Peachblossom could charge no more. However she would not allow herself to forget, not even for a few minutes. So after each charge, she would pause and remember. Then she would charge again, she would throw all the anger and hurt she felt into her lance as she thrust at the dummy. Many a dummy were ruined during Kel's midnight jousts.
From jousting, Kel started to expand her exercise regime again. She began to practice her sword and hand to hand skills. She would always practice in the privacy of her rooms; she would never risk going to the training courts. She didn't want to risk unexpectedly running into anybody, especially not her friends.
~*~ AN. There. I've updated! I'd like to say thanks to everyone who reviewed! Thank you for encouraging me to continue... I'm glad I did! Thanks, also for your advice. although it may not look like I'm taking it yet, I am taking it into account and it may help later. I'm leading up to something. I'm just not sure what yet! Some of the advice was a little confusing. but thanks all the same! Until I next update, bye bye! Love imogenhm.