Before I start I have to say that anyone else who has found that Chapter 4 is not working, please email me, and I will be happy to email it to you. My email is listed on my profile.
Chapter 5
Joren looked around him, feeling dazed. He was in the middle of a picturesque clearing, surrounded by forest. The violet-black night sky was brushed with a few stormy clouds, and dotted with stars. The moon cast an unearthly glow over everything in sight.
He looked down at himself; he was wearing his usual travelling outfit of brown breeches and a plain shirt. He didn't know how he had come to be here, he had just woken up to find himself lying here. He sighed. Probably that stupid idiot playing a prank on him again. Demented albino bear indeed. And Mindelan was probably in on it too.
*Her name is Kel* a little voice proclaimed in his mind.
"Oh, shut up." He growled. He could not think of the lump. Whenever he thought of the lump, other thoughts managed to pop into his head. Very bad thoughts. Very graphic thoughts.
He groaned. *What is it they say about talking to yourself? First sign of madness.* The little voice teased him again.
"I am not going mad!" He yelled. Silence again, except for the sound of the crickets chirping, and the trees swishing in the breeze. He sighed.
*Now I'm just being stupid. The camp must be somewhere around here, I was probably just sleepwalking, or something like that. Yeah. So all I have to do is walk around until I find-*
There, a noise. He swept around, scanning the forest for a sign of movement. There it was again, that sound. A giggle. And movement, there!
He plunged after it, into the undergrowth, ignoring the plants that whipped his face. There, ahead of him. He caught flashes of a girl running through the trees, hair streaming out behind her, the moonlight glinting off her pale silhouette.
He ran, blindly, thrusting branches out of the way. Stumbling but never stopping. On, and on and on he ran until-
He was in another clearing. The moonlight played upon the water of a small spring that ran off an outcrop about 6 feet above him, down a series of rocks and into a large pool which flowed away, forming a sort of waterfall. The grass tickled his feet and ankles, and a few flowers peeked out wherever they could.
He turned around and saw her, she giggled again. He was immediately filled with confusion. *She never giggles*. He thought, frowning. *She's just a lump*
She walked towards him, slowly. She was wearing her normal clothes too. Breeches and a white shirt that was ever so slightly see-through. Enough for him to glimpse the outline of her curves and breastband through it. Her hair was loose, dancing around her back and shoulders in the breeze.
She reached him, and cupped his cheek, fondling it gently with one hand.
"Hi." She whispered. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, inhaling her scent and committing it to memory. Fresh rain on a cloudy day, that was what she smelt of. He opened his eyes and gazed deeply into hers.
"Your hair suits you like that." He said, hesitantly. "I wanted to tell you before, but...I couldn't."
She nodded, as if he were confirming something she already knew. Long hair did suit her, but he thought that it had been better brown. Red made her look like a different person. An alien. A very attractive alien, but an alien all the same.
He sighed again, fatigue suddenly overcoming him. *This is the gibberish your mind comes up with when you're this tired. Stuff about aliens.* He thought ruefully. He just wanted to lay down with her and tell her everything. All the emotions that he had been carrying, all the unhappiness that was buried deep inside him.
"Shhhh." She whispered, as if to calm the fiery thoughts that were filling his mind. She brought her other hand up to caress his hair, twisting it beneath her fingers. He sighed and buried his head in her shoulder.
It began to rain softly, wetting them. The droplets pattered into the stream, and ran down them, making the air grow cold. The rain grew heavier and he raised his head to look around for shelter. He turned back to look at her, but she was gone. He looked around wildly, dripping hair obscuring his vision, searching for her desperately.
"KEEEEELLLLL" he yelled.
"Steady on there mate." Joren opened his eyes to find three familiar faces peering anxiously down at him. He blinked and sat up, eyeing the empty, dripping wooden bucket that Rat was holding, with growing wrath. Rat followed his gaze, and saw what he was looking at. He hastily shoved the bucket into Kel's hands.
"It was her!" He cried, holding his arms up to shield himself. Joren met Kel's eyes.
"You yelled my name." She stated, her face devoid of any emotion.
"I was having a nightmare." Joren retorted, getting up roughly, and pushing his way past her. He grabbed his pack and strode off to the nearby stream to wash and change.
Kieta sighed. "He looked really mad for a second there."
Kel avoided meeting her eyes. She must have been mistaken, but for a second there, when he saw her, she thought she had glimpsed something like, relief. But that was stupid of course.
"Yeah, kinda like a rabid hamster." Rat said thoughtfully. Kieta snorted.
Kel mentally shook her head to rid herself of thoughts of Joren. "Wasn't it 'demented albino bear'?" She inquired, looking up at Rat.
"Nah, that was yesterday. It's old now. Today, he's a rabid hamster, see." Rat began to do an impression of a hamster scratching his nose." Kieta sighed.
"Come on Kel, I can teach you some tumbling in a clearing nearby whilst they go into town. Just, lets get away from him. He won't stop once he gets into one of his moods."
Kel laughed and allowed Kieta to take her hand and pull her away. They walked for a few minutes until they found a small clearing, with fresh, soft grass.
*Perfect for falling on* Kel thought ruefully, remembering the Shang exercises which they had been taught as pages.
"Now" Kieta said, rubbing her hands together briskly. "I know that you've covered most of the basics, but what I was wondering was whether you can do some even more simple things, which you won't have been taught. Like cartwheels for instance?"
Kel raised her eyebrows at the mention of the move which the children of New Hope, and her nephews and nieces had spent hours perfecting.
"I know what you're thinking." Kieta said hastily, seeing this, "But seriously, some of the simplest moves like somersaults, cartwheels, whatever, can sometimes save your life. And they can be incorporated into a fight, to give you a new move with a weapon which your opponent won't be expecting. So, tell me what you can do, no, wait, even better, show me."
Kel didn't hesitate. She ran a few paces before turning two perfect cartwheels, and coming to rest a few yards away from Kieta.
"Not bad." Kieta said, grinning, "But can you include that in a fight."
The next two hours passed in a blur for Kel. She was tested rigorously. She bent her body in way she didn't know were possible. By the end of it, she was panting, and sweating heavily. Kieta gave her some exercises which she would have to do every morning, which were meant to make her body more supple and flexible, as well as strengthen it.
Kel tottered back to the camp, and collapsed on her bedroll. Suddenly Rat burst through the bushes, and walked over to the remains of last nights fire. He eyed her with empathy.
"You had a session with Kieta did you?" He said sympathetically. "Don't worry, you should feel alive again by tomorrow morning."
Kel had raised her head to look at him, at his words she sighed and flopped it back down. "Have you had to go through this then?" She asked, staring at the sky.
Rat sat down heavily "Of course, I still do from time to time." He winked at her. "This fine body didn't just tone itself you know.
Kel groaned and rolled over, as Joren strolled into the clearing, set down a fresh pack of supplies with a sigh, and stretched.
He glanced around the clearing. "Where's Kieta?" He asked, "And what happened to you?" he eyed Kel with mild surprise.
Wordlessly Kel pointed at Kieta, who had entered unheard. She grinned and flicked her towel at Rat, who yelped and glared at her.
"Come on." She said, grinning "We have to be at this town by tomorrow."
Rat and Joren suddenly exchanged looks. Rat cleared his throat nervously. "Well, actually", he began, "We happened to bump into some very useful people when we were at the market."
Kieta narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Go on." She said, her voice a monotone.
Rat glanced around the clearing nervously, and fidgeted with his fingers, avoiding Kieta's eyes.
"And erm, well, they gave us some very interesting information. They, er, they told us that the woman who we're looking for, the one with the weird name, she er, journeyed to, er, Scanra's capital, a month ago.
For a moment there was silence. Then Kieta sat heavily down on the ground. "Do you mean to tell us, "she said, "that we have wasted a over a week travelling up here, and now we have to go all the way to Scanra's capital.
"er, yeah, that's about it." Rat said, eyeing her.
"There is one good thing about this." Joren said abruptly. They all turned to look at him. "The second person on our list also resides in the capital, so we'll be able to do both of them before we move on. He fished around briefly in his pockets, and produced a crumpled sheet of paper, which he opened, spreading it flat.
"This one's a man. Goes by the name Nadir Zenith. He was the one who introduced Blayce to Maggur, but they don't know much more about him, so they want us to get more information if possible. He tucked the piece of paper back into pocket.
"We'd better leave soon." He said, rifling through the supplies pack. "The quickest way to get there would be to travel North for a while, as most of the streams are frozen up there, and then use them to skate partway to the capital. Then we could go the rest of the way on foot.
"We'd have to buy skates." Kel pointed out.
Joren nodded. "I've thought of that, it's not a problem, we have enough money."
Rat cleared his throat timidly. "Well, actually there is a problem. I can't skate."
Joren looked at him, a very sinister grin lighting up his features. "Well you'll just have to learn then, won't you." He said.
Rat gulped and looked away, and Kel couldn't help but grin.
*****
It took them two more days to journey far enough North so that the streams and rivers were frozen solid. Then, they were faced with a new challenge. Teaching Rat to skate.
"Ouch." he yelped, as he fell for the fifth time on the smooth, cold ice. Kel sighed and helped him up. She had learned to skate when she was younger (Mindelan was quite far north, and the Yamani Islands even further North, so cold weather wasn't rare), and she had never forgotten. Joren had obviously picked up the skill at some point, as had Kieta.
Rat teetered on the ice, before managing to remain still without falling. He gingerly brushed small ice crystals off the seat of his pants, which had grown damp from falling down so much.
"People will think I've wet myself!" he complained.
"What people?" Joren asked. Kel had noticed that for some reason he seemed to be less...stiff these days. Even occasionally joking with them.
By that night, fatigue had crept into all of their bones, and they fell asleep instantly. All, except for Joren. He lay there thinking.
He recalled his ordeal, and the words that had been spoken to him by the chamber. He had spent all his time since then trying to stay out of notice, while he sorted his head out. He had met people, and had matured, but he still believed that allowing females to become knights was just plain wrong. The endurance that Keladry had shown so far had surprised him, though he had not shown it.
He had heard of Keladry's reputation, and had heard rumours about the things she had done since being knighted, but he still wasn't convinced. *She'll probably wimp out when it comes to actually killing someone by herself.* he thought. And with that thought in mind he rolled over and fell asleep.
*****
Okay, I really have to say that that chapter really was bad. Except for the beginning, I like that bit. Now, do you really think that Joren being nice is gonna last. Nope, once they get to the capital he'll be all bad ass again. I figured that being stuck in the wilderness with 3 people for a week, with only brief contact with the outside world, would have the same effect on you as a reality TV show. Hence, the nice behaviour from Joren.
Also, I had to invent some streams and rivers up north on Tamora Pierce's map, so I know that I am not correct according to the maps, but I really wanted them to be skating for this scene which should be in the next chapter.
Now, I was wondering whether I should reveal Kieta's little secret in the next chapter, or leave it for a while, so it's up to you, please review and tell me.
Mandas: Thank you for pointing out the hair thing. The truth is, I screwed up there, so please ignore that mistake. It's meant to be a kinda deep red, I luv that hair colour!!! Please vote and tell me whether you think I should put in Kieta's secret.. And I know it's a legitimate disease, I have died of it and been resurrected many times, lol!
Shannon: THANK YOU for pointing that out. I am eternally grateful. I hate it when that happens. I think it's fixed now coz I sent the ff.net people some very annoyed emails!
Shinigami Clara: Patience! Kel and Joren will get together eventually, I promise. And thanks for the advice!
Insane horse lover: u reviewed me!!! Thank u!!!! I know u know what Kieta's gonna ask, and when am I gonna get that picture of your cousin?
Evilstrawberry: Thank you! I liked the Tobe bit too, and I hope that I've corrected the whole new-line-when-someone-else-is-speaking thing.
Thank you to everyone else who reviewed as well, most of you hurried to reassure me that my chapter wasn't boring, and to comment on the whole Demented Albino Bear thing. Yeah, I have a knack with bad insults. Coz when I'm sitting in maths, totally bored, me and my friends try to come up with good insults. Or bad ones depending how you look at it. So I have a whole list of insults which I am ready to use!!! Yeah, sad, I know.
I'm going to end my very extensive authors note now, by saying that I don't have any cute things for the little button in the corner today, but I hope you'll review anyway, and don't forget to tell me what you think about Kieta's secret!
~Rowana~
Chapter 5
Joren looked around him, feeling dazed. He was in the middle of a picturesque clearing, surrounded by forest. The violet-black night sky was brushed with a few stormy clouds, and dotted with stars. The moon cast an unearthly glow over everything in sight.
He looked down at himself; he was wearing his usual travelling outfit of brown breeches and a plain shirt. He didn't know how he had come to be here, he had just woken up to find himself lying here. He sighed. Probably that stupid idiot playing a prank on him again. Demented albino bear indeed. And Mindelan was probably in on it too.
*Her name is Kel* a little voice proclaimed in his mind.
"Oh, shut up." He growled. He could not think of the lump. Whenever he thought of the lump, other thoughts managed to pop into his head. Very bad thoughts. Very graphic thoughts.
He groaned. *What is it they say about talking to yourself? First sign of madness.* The little voice teased him again.
"I am not going mad!" He yelled. Silence again, except for the sound of the crickets chirping, and the trees swishing in the breeze. He sighed.
*Now I'm just being stupid. The camp must be somewhere around here, I was probably just sleepwalking, or something like that. Yeah. So all I have to do is walk around until I find-*
There, a noise. He swept around, scanning the forest for a sign of movement. There it was again, that sound. A giggle. And movement, there!
He plunged after it, into the undergrowth, ignoring the plants that whipped his face. There, ahead of him. He caught flashes of a girl running through the trees, hair streaming out behind her, the moonlight glinting off her pale silhouette.
He ran, blindly, thrusting branches out of the way. Stumbling but never stopping. On, and on and on he ran until-
He was in another clearing. The moonlight played upon the water of a small spring that ran off an outcrop about 6 feet above him, down a series of rocks and into a large pool which flowed away, forming a sort of waterfall. The grass tickled his feet and ankles, and a few flowers peeked out wherever they could.
He turned around and saw her, she giggled again. He was immediately filled with confusion. *She never giggles*. He thought, frowning. *She's just a lump*
She walked towards him, slowly. She was wearing her normal clothes too. Breeches and a white shirt that was ever so slightly see-through. Enough for him to glimpse the outline of her curves and breastband through it. Her hair was loose, dancing around her back and shoulders in the breeze.
She reached him, and cupped his cheek, fondling it gently with one hand.
"Hi." She whispered. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, inhaling her scent and committing it to memory. Fresh rain on a cloudy day, that was what she smelt of. He opened his eyes and gazed deeply into hers.
"Your hair suits you like that." He said, hesitantly. "I wanted to tell you before, but...I couldn't."
She nodded, as if he were confirming something she already knew. Long hair did suit her, but he thought that it had been better brown. Red made her look like a different person. An alien. A very attractive alien, but an alien all the same.
He sighed again, fatigue suddenly overcoming him. *This is the gibberish your mind comes up with when you're this tired. Stuff about aliens.* He thought ruefully. He just wanted to lay down with her and tell her everything. All the emotions that he had been carrying, all the unhappiness that was buried deep inside him.
"Shhhh." She whispered, as if to calm the fiery thoughts that were filling his mind. She brought her other hand up to caress his hair, twisting it beneath her fingers. He sighed and buried his head in her shoulder.
It began to rain softly, wetting them. The droplets pattered into the stream, and ran down them, making the air grow cold. The rain grew heavier and he raised his head to look around for shelter. He turned back to look at her, but she was gone. He looked around wildly, dripping hair obscuring his vision, searching for her desperately.
"KEEEEELLLLL" he yelled.
"Steady on there mate." Joren opened his eyes to find three familiar faces peering anxiously down at him. He blinked and sat up, eyeing the empty, dripping wooden bucket that Rat was holding, with growing wrath. Rat followed his gaze, and saw what he was looking at. He hastily shoved the bucket into Kel's hands.
"It was her!" He cried, holding his arms up to shield himself. Joren met Kel's eyes.
"You yelled my name." She stated, her face devoid of any emotion.
"I was having a nightmare." Joren retorted, getting up roughly, and pushing his way past her. He grabbed his pack and strode off to the nearby stream to wash and change.
Kieta sighed. "He looked really mad for a second there."
Kel avoided meeting her eyes. She must have been mistaken, but for a second there, when he saw her, she thought she had glimpsed something like, relief. But that was stupid of course.
"Yeah, kinda like a rabid hamster." Rat said thoughtfully. Kieta snorted.
Kel mentally shook her head to rid herself of thoughts of Joren. "Wasn't it 'demented albino bear'?" She inquired, looking up at Rat.
"Nah, that was yesterday. It's old now. Today, he's a rabid hamster, see." Rat began to do an impression of a hamster scratching his nose." Kieta sighed.
"Come on Kel, I can teach you some tumbling in a clearing nearby whilst they go into town. Just, lets get away from him. He won't stop once he gets into one of his moods."
Kel laughed and allowed Kieta to take her hand and pull her away. They walked for a few minutes until they found a small clearing, with fresh, soft grass.
*Perfect for falling on* Kel thought ruefully, remembering the Shang exercises which they had been taught as pages.
"Now" Kieta said, rubbing her hands together briskly. "I know that you've covered most of the basics, but what I was wondering was whether you can do some even more simple things, which you won't have been taught. Like cartwheels for instance?"
Kel raised her eyebrows at the mention of the move which the children of New Hope, and her nephews and nieces had spent hours perfecting.
"I know what you're thinking." Kieta said hastily, seeing this, "But seriously, some of the simplest moves like somersaults, cartwheels, whatever, can sometimes save your life. And they can be incorporated into a fight, to give you a new move with a weapon which your opponent won't be expecting. So, tell me what you can do, no, wait, even better, show me."
Kel didn't hesitate. She ran a few paces before turning two perfect cartwheels, and coming to rest a few yards away from Kieta.
"Not bad." Kieta said, grinning, "But can you include that in a fight."
The next two hours passed in a blur for Kel. She was tested rigorously. She bent her body in way she didn't know were possible. By the end of it, she was panting, and sweating heavily. Kieta gave her some exercises which she would have to do every morning, which were meant to make her body more supple and flexible, as well as strengthen it.
Kel tottered back to the camp, and collapsed on her bedroll. Suddenly Rat burst through the bushes, and walked over to the remains of last nights fire. He eyed her with empathy.
"You had a session with Kieta did you?" He said sympathetically. "Don't worry, you should feel alive again by tomorrow morning."
Kel had raised her head to look at him, at his words she sighed and flopped it back down. "Have you had to go through this then?" She asked, staring at the sky.
Rat sat down heavily "Of course, I still do from time to time." He winked at her. "This fine body didn't just tone itself you know.
Kel groaned and rolled over, as Joren strolled into the clearing, set down a fresh pack of supplies with a sigh, and stretched.
He glanced around the clearing. "Where's Kieta?" He asked, "And what happened to you?" he eyed Kel with mild surprise.
Wordlessly Kel pointed at Kieta, who had entered unheard. She grinned and flicked her towel at Rat, who yelped and glared at her.
"Come on." She said, grinning "We have to be at this town by tomorrow."
Rat and Joren suddenly exchanged looks. Rat cleared his throat nervously. "Well, actually", he began, "We happened to bump into some very useful people when we were at the market."
Kieta narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Go on." She said, her voice a monotone.
Rat glanced around the clearing nervously, and fidgeted with his fingers, avoiding Kieta's eyes.
"And erm, well, they gave us some very interesting information. They, er, they told us that the woman who we're looking for, the one with the weird name, she er, journeyed to, er, Scanra's capital, a month ago.
For a moment there was silence. Then Kieta sat heavily down on the ground. "Do you mean to tell us, "she said, "that we have wasted a over a week travelling up here, and now we have to go all the way to Scanra's capital.
"er, yeah, that's about it." Rat said, eyeing her.
"There is one good thing about this." Joren said abruptly. They all turned to look at him. "The second person on our list also resides in the capital, so we'll be able to do both of them before we move on. He fished around briefly in his pockets, and produced a crumpled sheet of paper, which he opened, spreading it flat.
"This one's a man. Goes by the name Nadir Zenith. He was the one who introduced Blayce to Maggur, but they don't know much more about him, so they want us to get more information if possible. He tucked the piece of paper back into pocket.
"We'd better leave soon." He said, rifling through the supplies pack. "The quickest way to get there would be to travel North for a while, as most of the streams are frozen up there, and then use them to skate partway to the capital. Then we could go the rest of the way on foot.
"We'd have to buy skates." Kel pointed out.
Joren nodded. "I've thought of that, it's not a problem, we have enough money."
Rat cleared his throat timidly. "Well, actually there is a problem. I can't skate."
Joren looked at him, a very sinister grin lighting up his features. "Well you'll just have to learn then, won't you." He said.
Rat gulped and looked away, and Kel couldn't help but grin.
*****
It took them two more days to journey far enough North so that the streams and rivers were frozen solid. Then, they were faced with a new challenge. Teaching Rat to skate.
"Ouch." he yelped, as he fell for the fifth time on the smooth, cold ice. Kel sighed and helped him up. She had learned to skate when she was younger (Mindelan was quite far north, and the Yamani Islands even further North, so cold weather wasn't rare), and she had never forgotten. Joren had obviously picked up the skill at some point, as had Kieta.
Rat teetered on the ice, before managing to remain still without falling. He gingerly brushed small ice crystals off the seat of his pants, which had grown damp from falling down so much.
"People will think I've wet myself!" he complained.
"What people?" Joren asked. Kel had noticed that for some reason he seemed to be less...stiff these days. Even occasionally joking with them.
By that night, fatigue had crept into all of their bones, and they fell asleep instantly. All, except for Joren. He lay there thinking.
He recalled his ordeal, and the words that had been spoken to him by the chamber. He had spent all his time since then trying to stay out of notice, while he sorted his head out. He had met people, and had matured, but he still believed that allowing females to become knights was just plain wrong. The endurance that Keladry had shown so far had surprised him, though he had not shown it.
He had heard of Keladry's reputation, and had heard rumours about the things she had done since being knighted, but he still wasn't convinced. *She'll probably wimp out when it comes to actually killing someone by herself.* he thought. And with that thought in mind he rolled over and fell asleep.
*****
Okay, I really have to say that that chapter really was bad. Except for the beginning, I like that bit. Now, do you really think that Joren being nice is gonna last. Nope, once they get to the capital he'll be all bad ass again. I figured that being stuck in the wilderness with 3 people for a week, with only brief contact with the outside world, would have the same effect on you as a reality TV show. Hence, the nice behaviour from Joren.
Also, I had to invent some streams and rivers up north on Tamora Pierce's map, so I know that I am not correct according to the maps, but I really wanted them to be skating for this scene which should be in the next chapter.
Now, I was wondering whether I should reveal Kieta's little secret in the next chapter, or leave it for a while, so it's up to you, please review and tell me.
Mandas: Thank you for pointing out the hair thing. The truth is, I screwed up there, so please ignore that mistake. It's meant to be a kinda deep red, I luv that hair colour!!! Please vote and tell me whether you think I should put in Kieta's secret.. And I know it's a legitimate disease, I have died of it and been resurrected many times, lol!
Shannon: THANK YOU for pointing that out. I am eternally grateful. I hate it when that happens. I think it's fixed now coz I sent the ff.net people some very annoyed emails!
Shinigami Clara: Patience! Kel and Joren will get together eventually, I promise. And thanks for the advice!
Insane horse lover: u reviewed me!!! Thank u!!!! I know u know what Kieta's gonna ask, and when am I gonna get that picture of your cousin?
Evilstrawberry: Thank you! I liked the Tobe bit too, and I hope that I've corrected the whole new-line-when-someone-else-is-speaking thing.
Thank you to everyone else who reviewed as well, most of you hurried to reassure me that my chapter wasn't boring, and to comment on the whole Demented Albino Bear thing. Yeah, I have a knack with bad insults. Coz when I'm sitting in maths, totally bored, me and my friends try to come up with good insults. Or bad ones depending how you look at it. So I have a whole list of insults which I am ready to use!!! Yeah, sad, I know.
I'm going to end my very extensive authors note now, by saying that I don't have any cute things for the little button in the corner today, but I hope you'll review anyway, and don't forget to tell me what you think about Kieta's secret!
~Rowana~