This chapter is dedicated to my hundredth reviewer! The problem is, I'm not sure whether it's Shinigami Clara, CrystalLili, or Crowdove, so it's dedicated to all three of you!!!
Chapter 8
Kel had to stop herself from blushing when she thought back to the way she had shouted at Joren two days ago.
*What was wrong with you Kel? * She berated herself, *you're meant to be the mature one, the one who knows how to control your feelings. *
The truth was, that on that one occasion, she had just lost it. And the feeling of disappointment when Joren said that it was just his head slipping. She knew that what she felt, a strange sort of liking for Joren, was wrong, (you just didn't like someone who had almost murdered your maid and friend), but that didn't stop her from feeling it. She seemed to miss his sarcastic humour and snide comments when he wasn't around.
Kel sighed, and adjusted her uncomfortable skirts, wishing for the hundredth time that Lalasa was here, anything made by her looked nice and felt comfortable. This dress was particularly thin, making it hard for her to ignore the warm arm that supported her own. To ignore the impassive, handsome man that stood right next to her, the man with whom she had not exchanged more than two sentences in the last two days.
She and Joren were standing, arm in arm, waiting to be announced. They had decided on false names the day before, Kel was to be 'Kaitlin of Lansborough', so that if she had to write a report to be sent to home, which she had a fear of being intercepted, she could invent a middle name beginning with 'E', and use her initials to show that it was from her.
Joren decided to keep his own name, he was not so well known, and Joren was a common name, unlike Keladry.
They stood nervously, moving forward when they were beckoned. Kel felt a push on the small of her back, and she and Joren moved forward to find themselves blinking in the near blinding lights which illuminated the dazzling ballroom.
Kel kept a bright smile fixed on her face as they slowly descended the steps, listening to their names being announced. She noted with a feeling of dismay which she quickly squashed, that almost every woman in the room was eyeing Joren. She looked at her feet, and concentrated on acting like that shy, foolish girl that 'Kaitlin' was supposed to be.
*****
Joren glared at yet another man who was trying to subtly glance at Kel's neckline. He met the man's eyes, and the man hurriedly looked away, pretending to be engrossed in conversation with his buck-toothed dinner partner.
Joren smiled with satisfaction, pleased that he was playing the roll of the overprotective husband so well. He glanced down at Kel, who was looking forlorn for some reason, gazing down into her drink. He was about to make a sarcastic comment to her about the way in which she had always spoken of 'those court ladies', and the way in which she was behaving right now, just like one of them, when a group of people nearby caught his attention.
Several men whom Joren knew to be some of the King's main advisors were standing in a group, in a corner of the ballroom., stealing glances over their shoulder occasionally, and trying to seem inconspicuous. Joren nudged Kel slowly, and waited till she looked up at him, before nodding subtly towards the group of men. She got the hint, and they began to make their way together, slowly around the edge of the ballroom. Stopping for drinks, and to chat occasionally with different people who wanted to know where they were from. Kel's red hair attracted a lot of attention.
They approached the men. Kel hung back, but Joren tugged her closer, into a slightly shadowy niche in the wall.
"Look as if I'm flirting with you" he whispered urgently. Kel dipped her gaze downwards, looking up at him through her long lashes with a small smile on her face. She saw a few people glancing in their direction, dismissing them as another foolish pair of newlyweds. Joren snaked an arm around her waist.
"I think the one in the purple is the woman we're looking for." He murmured into her ear. Kel glanced over his shoulder, and saw the woman he had been talking about. She had vivid black hair, which glinted blue in the candlelight. She was quite beautiful, her lips were a small circle of pouting red, her cheekbones were well defined, with just a small hint of colour in them. The neckline of her dress wasn't anywhere near as low as others in the room, but it was somehow much more eye catching. It dipped down to reveal a small pocket of shadow.
Kel's eyes widened as she saw one man place his hand quite obviously on her thigh, and stroke her leg. The woman's eyes hardened, a second later the man had wrenched back his hand, whimpering in agony, as blood spurted from the places where three of his fingers had been. No one took any notice, and the woman threw her head back and let out a slightly clichéd throaty laugh, as the man ran from the room, alcohol infused tears streaming down his face.
Kel glanced at Joren, and was pleased to see that he too was startled, before his expression cleared, and his face became impassive again.
Slowly he moved to her side, and, with his arm still around her waist, started walking towards the group. Kel didn't resist, she was curious to see just what this woman was like.
They reached the group, and Joren nodded politely, making as if to walk by with Kel.
Kel noticed a flash of greed in the woman's eyes. She turned and grabbed Joren's arm, throwing a dismissive glance at Kel.
She jerked Joren towards her, meaning that Kel was also pulled forward, as Joren still had his arm around her waist.
"Hello" the woman cooed, stepping even closer to Joren, so that the ringlets of hair which tumbled down her back swayed and glinted in the candlelight. Joren gave her an obvious once over, causing the woman to smile in a rather vulpine way, and Kel to glare at Joren.
"I haven't seen you here before, and I know most people at court." She continued, taking another step forwards to close the gap between them. The men standing nearby eyed Joren with a mixture of wariness and sympathy. Joren's arm left Kel's waist to snatch up the woman's hand, and bring it up to his lips, with a flirtatious glance.
"My name is Joren of Lansborough fair lady." He said, in a husky voice. He stepped closer to her, and muttered so that only she could hear
"And you must be an angel who just fell down from the heavens." Kel felt like groaning at this line, but still playing the part of the new wife, coughed pointedly, and glared at Joren, ignoring the slight pang she felt of jealousy at the woman's good looks.
The woman seemed to be in her element, she took a step backwards now, and looked at Kel when she coughed.
"And you are?" She asked, smiling elegantly.
"My name is Kaitlin of Lansborough. " She gave the woman a forced bright smile, and tugged Joren closer to her, draping his arm around her waist.
"His wife" Kel said pointedly.
Kel felt like smirking as the woman's expression darkened slightly, but cleared again within a few seconds.
"How nice." The woman said, taking a step back and smiling serenely. "My name is Narcissa, allow me to introduce you to my companions.
The other men who had been standing around, shifting from leg to leg, suddenly looked more alert and stood up a bit straighter.
"This is Ronald of Roghar" Narcissa said, pointing to a tubby man, in his fifties, with greying ginger hair. "Nadir Zenith" She pointed to the next man, with a drooping black moustache, and sallow skin that made him look gaunt and tired. Both Kel's and Joren's eyes flickered towards him at the mention of the name, before they remembered not to seem too interested. He's quite young, Kel thought, surprised. She had expected him to be older if he was the one who had introduced Blayce and Maggur.
"Christofar of Canton" Narcissa gestured to a man in his late twenties, with greying brown hair, and a world-weary look. "Harold Gateshead" a man wearing an old fashioned long purple robe, with ugly embroidery, who had a shiny bald plate on his head, "and Stevan of Cranmoor" Narcissa gave a slightly more flirtatious glance to the last man in the group. He was young, good looking with black hair and dull green eyes.
Kel let her eyes rest on him for a moment, there was something familiar about him...
Narcissa cleared her throat, and all eyes turned back to her.
"Well", she said, "Now that we're introduced, why don't you tell us some more about yourselves."
"We're from a small town near the border My Lady", Joren replied, not letting his uncertainty taint his voice.
"I see." Narcissa said, "Up here for a holiday, perhaps?"
"Yes, my lady, " Joren smirked beautifully, "And of course, so that we'll be here when victory over Tortall is declared." His comment didn't have the effect he was hoping for. Narcissa's eyes darkened, and she let her gaze sweep past him across the room.
"Oh look!" she said, smiling brightly again, "my lord Maggur seems to be waiting for me, I'd better go and talk to him. " She turned to Joren pointedly, and said "I hope to see you later."
He smiled beautifully, and bent to kiss her hand once more, before she swept away.
*****
Kel's POV
I stared after her as she left, swinging her hips for all she was worth. Well, at least we've met suspect numbers one and two. I decided that now wasn't the time to strike up conversation with the other man - Nadir Zenith.
I turned to Joren and gave him a slight nudge, watching in amusement as he shook his head, as if coming out of a daze.
He looked at me, and I jerked my head to the side of the room, indicating that we should leave by a side door. The other men had turned back to their conversation, except for one. The last one she had introduced, Stevan of Cranmoor, he was staring at me with this unnerving look, his eyes boring into me, as if he knew what I was thinking. And he was somehow familiar. I felt as if I knew that face, but couldn't place it.
I shivered slightly and turned away, settling my arm on Jorens as we walked back to our rooms.
*****
Kel opened the door leading to their suite of rooms, and walked to the dressing room. She stood out of sight, and began to fumble with the lacings at the back of her dress.
She heard the sound of the bed creaking as Joren settled on it.
"So." Joren's voice came through the doorway, "What do you think we should do?"
Kel continued to fumble with the lacings as she answered. "I think we should play it safe. Get as much information as we can from her, then kill her and leave."
Joren shifted on the bed. "What about the man?"
"Zenith? The same. But we'll have to study his routine a bit first, he didn't seem as open as the lady."
"I wasn't talking about Zenith." Kel turned her head, to see Joren framed in the doorway. He walked towards her. "Here, allow me"
Kel whirled around to face him, trying to keep from blushing furiously.
"I don't need your help Stone Mountain." She said in a monotone. Both knew that she was talking about more than just her dress. "So I'll thank you to leave me alone."
Her voice was cold, and Joren met her gaze steadily.
"Let me help." He repeated. She waited, still staring at him until he turned with a sigh, and left the room.
Kel finished undressing alone, and when she got into bed, Joren had his back turned to her, and the room was eerily silent and cold.
Kel pulled herself under the covers, and tried to sleep.
*****
Wow, I updated!! I just want to apologise first for my lack of updates so far. It's just that this chapter was hard for me because it's so boring, the bit with Joren and Kel at the end was just improvised. But it's important to the story.
I put in that little bit from Kel's point of view because I'm hoping that that will come into the story later, unless I decide to do a major plot change.
I've also been trying to write a few other stories on fictionpress.com the problem is, I keep coming up with new beginnings, but I can't develop the plot properly. Luckily, with this story I now have a vague plot laid out, so it should work. I'm also trying to juggle evil GCSE coursework at the same time, and my Mum won't let me go the demonstration in London on Thursday, to coincide with Bush's visit, to protest about the evils of America being in Iraq. But we won't go into that now.
Now, I just want to make something clear.
This story is being written as if Joren never died in the chamber. The vision I put in an earlier chapter was supposed to give you some insight into why he didn't die, so try to see what inner meanings you can glean from that.
The last thing I need to add, is that in an earlier chapter, someone *glares at siblings who cower* decided it would be funny to switch around the two main letters of Narcissa's name, meaning that it said Carcissa Nupida, instead of Narcissa Cupida. I would like to apologise for the inconvenience, since I only realised that there was an error when I was reading that part to check the spelling of her name for this chapter. I would also like to stress that the wrongdoer will be severely punished, *glares at siblings again who cower and whimper*
An anonymous geek: Yes! Fluffiness!! And hopefully more to come! ;-)
SexiglassesSNOG: yup, Joren is cool definitely, and Spike rules!!! My friend has a James Masters obsession, so I know how you feel!
Imperfectionist ;D : Late is fine, it cheers me up when I'm faced with starting a whole new chapter, and I have no idea how to proceed. And thank you for your compliments!
Insane horse lover- Gen : What would I do without your reviews!!! *grin* lol, okay, you can rub it in. But not anyone else *glares around suspiciously at the other reviewers who know the secret.*
Regen: I'm sorry!! I was worried about that, but in the end I just decided to describe it however I could remember it from the limited movies I have watched when people have been waltzing. Thank you for the correction!
WildGoddess: Thank you! Erm... I really don't have a clue when you're going to find out Kieta's secret, somewhere near the end. I've been dropping in clues and hints though, and will continue to do so. If you have a theory/guess, please feel free to email it to me and I will tell you if you're correct.
Stee Parker: Welll, since you asked so nicely, I might let you rub it in. Just what do you think the secret is though? Ah well, I suppose it was a bit obvious. Again, if you want to check your theory about the secret, don't hesitate to email me to check.
Sw33t t3mptations : Thank you! I'm glad someone finds me funny *glares at friends who snort in disgust and walk off*
Crowdove: You've just paid me two wonderful compliments. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story, and I hope you will continue to do so.
Shinigami Clara : lol, no, I don't think it's going to last for long either. Thank you for reviewing.
Crystal Lili: Thank you for the lovely review!
Sir Arianna Xantara of Sesroh: Hey!! I'm not allowed to reply to you twice in one chapter!! Oh well, glad you like us!! I think you're funny too!! :D
Angel Street: Again, sorry, but you're going to have to wait. I will be dropping clues and hints into the story, and if you have a theory, you can email me to check it. Thank you for reviewing!
Lady Lorene: Thank you for reviewing!
VampiricEternity: Another one who finds me funny! Two whole people!! It's gotta be a record!
gray rain: again, thank you for the review!
Raven: Queen of the Rogue : lol, I won't go there, don't worry. Poor you! Two guys in the same house. And you know, I never really thought about Keita and Joren being related! But...I may just try to add it into the story now...maybe!
Siren Porter: Look!! I did update! I was too scared of your big sword not to!
PsychoLioness13: lol, your review made me laugh. Yup, it is cute that they're fighting, maybe I can put some more of that into the story.
ac-bworm: Look!! Somebody loves me!!! Thank you so much for your glowing review, it made my day. And the need to do something evil is now gone! I have updated. And thank you for adding me to your favourites list, I'll try to live up to the honour.
Lady-Snape7: No, I didn't really like the whole Joren dying in the chamber thing either. I think that T.P left a few too many loose ends in her POTS series, especially in Lady Knight. Anyway, thank you for your review!
Terrorofthehighway: Thank's for the review! The point of this story is that it has 'what if Joren didn't die' as it's main theme. The vision I put into an earlier chapter should help you to see why he survived his ordeal, although I won't come around to explaining it completely for a few chapters.
Chapter 8
Kel had to stop herself from blushing when she thought back to the way she had shouted at Joren two days ago.
*What was wrong with you Kel? * She berated herself, *you're meant to be the mature one, the one who knows how to control your feelings. *
The truth was, that on that one occasion, she had just lost it. And the feeling of disappointment when Joren said that it was just his head slipping. She knew that what she felt, a strange sort of liking for Joren, was wrong, (you just didn't like someone who had almost murdered your maid and friend), but that didn't stop her from feeling it. She seemed to miss his sarcastic humour and snide comments when he wasn't around.
Kel sighed, and adjusted her uncomfortable skirts, wishing for the hundredth time that Lalasa was here, anything made by her looked nice and felt comfortable. This dress was particularly thin, making it hard for her to ignore the warm arm that supported her own. To ignore the impassive, handsome man that stood right next to her, the man with whom she had not exchanged more than two sentences in the last two days.
She and Joren were standing, arm in arm, waiting to be announced. They had decided on false names the day before, Kel was to be 'Kaitlin of Lansborough', so that if she had to write a report to be sent to home, which she had a fear of being intercepted, she could invent a middle name beginning with 'E', and use her initials to show that it was from her.
Joren decided to keep his own name, he was not so well known, and Joren was a common name, unlike Keladry.
They stood nervously, moving forward when they were beckoned. Kel felt a push on the small of her back, and she and Joren moved forward to find themselves blinking in the near blinding lights which illuminated the dazzling ballroom.
Kel kept a bright smile fixed on her face as they slowly descended the steps, listening to their names being announced. She noted with a feeling of dismay which she quickly squashed, that almost every woman in the room was eyeing Joren. She looked at her feet, and concentrated on acting like that shy, foolish girl that 'Kaitlin' was supposed to be.
*****
Joren glared at yet another man who was trying to subtly glance at Kel's neckline. He met the man's eyes, and the man hurriedly looked away, pretending to be engrossed in conversation with his buck-toothed dinner partner.
Joren smiled with satisfaction, pleased that he was playing the roll of the overprotective husband so well. He glanced down at Kel, who was looking forlorn for some reason, gazing down into her drink. He was about to make a sarcastic comment to her about the way in which she had always spoken of 'those court ladies', and the way in which she was behaving right now, just like one of them, when a group of people nearby caught his attention.
Several men whom Joren knew to be some of the King's main advisors were standing in a group, in a corner of the ballroom., stealing glances over their shoulder occasionally, and trying to seem inconspicuous. Joren nudged Kel slowly, and waited till she looked up at him, before nodding subtly towards the group of men. She got the hint, and they began to make their way together, slowly around the edge of the ballroom. Stopping for drinks, and to chat occasionally with different people who wanted to know where they were from. Kel's red hair attracted a lot of attention.
They approached the men. Kel hung back, but Joren tugged her closer, into a slightly shadowy niche in the wall.
"Look as if I'm flirting with you" he whispered urgently. Kel dipped her gaze downwards, looking up at him through her long lashes with a small smile on her face. She saw a few people glancing in their direction, dismissing them as another foolish pair of newlyweds. Joren snaked an arm around her waist.
"I think the one in the purple is the woman we're looking for." He murmured into her ear. Kel glanced over his shoulder, and saw the woman he had been talking about. She had vivid black hair, which glinted blue in the candlelight. She was quite beautiful, her lips were a small circle of pouting red, her cheekbones were well defined, with just a small hint of colour in them. The neckline of her dress wasn't anywhere near as low as others in the room, but it was somehow much more eye catching. It dipped down to reveal a small pocket of shadow.
Kel's eyes widened as she saw one man place his hand quite obviously on her thigh, and stroke her leg. The woman's eyes hardened, a second later the man had wrenched back his hand, whimpering in agony, as blood spurted from the places where three of his fingers had been. No one took any notice, and the woman threw her head back and let out a slightly clichéd throaty laugh, as the man ran from the room, alcohol infused tears streaming down his face.
Kel glanced at Joren, and was pleased to see that he too was startled, before his expression cleared, and his face became impassive again.
Slowly he moved to her side, and, with his arm still around her waist, started walking towards the group. Kel didn't resist, she was curious to see just what this woman was like.
They reached the group, and Joren nodded politely, making as if to walk by with Kel.
Kel noticed a flash of greed in the woman's eyes. She turned and grabbed Joren's arm, throwing a dismissive glance at Kel.
She jerked Joren towards her, meaning that Kel was also pulled forward, as Joren still had his arm around her waist.
"Hello" the woman cooed, stepping even closer to Joren, so that the ringlets of hair which tumbled down her back swayed and glinted in the candlelight. Joren gave her an obvious once over, causing the woman to smile in a rather vulpine way, and Kel to glare at Joren.
"I haven't seen you here before, and I know most people at court." She continued, taking another step forwards to close the gap between them. The men standing nearby eyed Joren with a mixture of wariness and sympathy. Joren's arm left Kel's waist to snatch up the woman's hand, and bring it up to his lips, with a flirtatious glance.
"My name is Joren of Lansborough fair lady." He said, in a husky voice. He stepped closer to her, and muttered so that only she could hear
"And you must be an angel who just fell down from the heavens." Kel felt like groaning at this line, but still playing the part of the new wife, coughed pointedly, and glared at Joren, ignoring the slight pang she felt of jealousy at the woman's good looks.
The woman seemed to be in her element, she took a step backwards now, and looked at Kel when she coughed.
"And you are?" She asked, smiling elegantly.
"My name is Kaitlin of Lansborough. " She gave the woman a forced bright smile, and tugged Joren closer to her, draping his arm around her waist.
"His wife" Kel said pointedly.
Kel felt like smirking as the woman's expression darkened slightly, but cleared again within a few seconds.
"How nice." The woman said, taking a step back and smiling serenely. "My name is Narcissa, allow me to introduce you to my companions.
The other men who had been standing around, shifting from leg to leg, suddenly looked more alert and stood up a bit straighter.
"This is Ronald of Roghar" Narcissa said, pointing to a tubby man, in his fifties, with greying ginger hair. "Nadir Zenith" She pointed to the next man, with a drooping black moustache, and sallow skin that made him look gaunt and tired. Both Kel's and Joren's eyes flickered towards him at the mention of the name, before they remembered not to seem too interested. He's quite young, Kel thought, surprised. She had expected him to be older if he was the one who had introduced Blayce and Maggur.
"Christofar of Canton" Narcissa gestured to a man in his late twenties, with greying brown hair, and a world-weary look. "Harold Gateshead" a man wearing an old fashioned long purple robe, with ugly embroidery, who had a shiny bald plate on his head, "and Stevan of Cranmoor" Narcissa gave a slightly more flirtatious glance to the last man in the group. He was young, good looking with black hair and dull green eyes.
Kel let her eyes rest on him for a moment, there was something familiar about him...
Narcissa cleared her throat, and all eyes turned back to her.
"Well", she said, "Now that we're introduced, why don't you tell us some more about yourselves."
"We're from a small town near the border My Lady", Joren replied, not letting his uncertainty taint his voice.
"I see." Narcissa said, "Up here for a holiday, perhaps?"
"Yes, my lady, " Joren smirked beautifully, "And of course, so that we'll be here when victory over Tortall is declared." His comment didn't have the effect he was hoping for. Narcissa's eyes darkened, and she let her gaze sweep past him across the room.
"Oh look!" she said, smiling brightly again, "my lord Maggur seems to be waiting for me, I'd better go and talk to him. " She turned to Joren pointedly, and said "I hope to see you later."
He smiled beautifully, and bent to kiss her hand once more, before she swept away.
*****
Kel's POV
I stared after her as she left, swinging her hips for all she was worth. Well, at least we've met suspect numbers one and two. I decided that now wasn't the time to strike up conversation with the other man - Nadir Zenith.
I turned to Joren and gave him a slight nudge, watching in amusement as he shook his head, as if coming out of a daze.
He looked at me, and I jerked my head to the side of the room, indicating that we should leave by a side door. The other men had turned back to their conversation, except for one. The last one she had introduced, Stevan of Cranmoor, he was staring at me with this unnerving look, his eyes boring into me, as if he knew what I was thinking. And he was somehow familiar. I felt as if I knew that face, but couldn't place it.
I shivered slightly and turned away, settling my arm on Jorens as we walked back to our rooms.
*****
Kel opened the door leading to their suite of rooms, and walked to the dressing room. She stood out of sight, and began to fumble with the lacings at the back of her dress.
She heard the sound of the bed creaking as Joren settled on it.
"So." Joren's voice came through the doorway, "What do you think we should do?"
Kel continued to fumble with the lacings as she answered. "I think we should play it safe. Get as much information as we can from her, then kill her and leave."
Joren shifted on the bed. "What about the man?"
"Zenith? The same. But we'll have to study his routine a bit first, he didn't seem as open as the lady."
"I wasn't talking about Zenith." Kel turned her head, to see Joren framed in the doorway. He walked towards her. "Here, allow me"
Kel whirled around to face him, trying to keep from blushing furiously.
"I don't need your help Stone Mountain." She said in a monotone. Both knew that she was talking about more than just her dress. "So I'll thank you to leave me alone."
Her voice was cold, and Joren met her gaze steadily.
"Let me help." He repeated. She waited, still staring at him until he turned with a sigh, and left the room.
Kel finished undressing alone, and when she got into bed, Joren had his back turned to her, and the room was eerily silent and cold.
Kel pulled herself under the covers, and tried to sleep.
*****
Wow, I updated!! I just want to apologise first for my lack of updates so far. It's just that this chapter was hard for me because it's so boring, the bit with Joren and Kel at the end was just improvised. But it's important to the story.
I put in that little bit from Kel's point of view because I'm hoping that that will come into the story later, unless I decide to do a major plot change.
I've also been trying to write a few other stories on fictionpress.com the problem is, I keep coming up with new beginnings, but I can't develop the plot properly. Luckily, with this story I now have a vague plot laid out, so it should work. I'm also trying to juggle evil GCSE coursework at the same time, and my Mum won't let me go the demonstration in London on Thursday, to coincide with Bush's visit, to protest about the evils of America being in Iraq. But we won't go into that now.
Now, I just want to make something clear.
This story is being written as if Joren never died in the chamber. The vision I put in an earlier chapter was supposed to give you some insight into why he didn't die, so try to see what inner meanings you can glean from that.
The last thing I need to add, is that in an earlier chapter, someone *glares at siblings who cower* decided it would be funny to switch around the two main letters of Narcissa's name, meaning that it said Carcissa Nupida, instead of Narcissa Cupida. I would like to apologise for the inconvenience, since I only realised that there was an error when I was reading that part to check the spelling of her name for this chapter. I would also like to stress that the wrongdoer will be severely punished, *glares at siblings again who cower and whimper*
An anonymous geek: Yes! Fluffiness!! And hopefully more to come! ;-)
SexiglassesSNOG: yup, Joren is cool definitely, and Spike rules!!! My friend has a James Masters obsession, so I know how you feel!
Imperfectionist ;D : Late is fine, it cheers me up when I'm faced with starting a whole new chapter, and I have no idea how to proceed. And thank you for your compliments!
Insane horse lover- Gen : What would I do without your reviews!!! *grin* lol, okay, you can rub it in. But not anyone else *glares around suspiciously at the other reviewers who know the secret.*
Regen: I'm sorry!! I was worried about that, but in the end I just decided to describe it however I could remember it from the limited movies I have watched when people have been waltzing. Thank you for the correction!
WildGoddess: Thank you! Erm... I really don't have a clue when you're going to find out Kieta's secret, somewhere near the end. I've been dropping in clues and hints though, and will continue to do so. If you have a theory/guess, please feel free to email it to me and I will tell you if you're correct.
Stee Parker: Welll, since you asked so nicely, I might let you rub it in. Just what do you think the secret is though? Ah well, I suppose it was a bit obvious. Again, if you want to check your theory about the secret, don't hesitate to email me to check.
Sw33t t3mptations : Thank you! I'm glad someone finds me funny *glares at friends who snort in disgust and walk off*
Crowdove: You've just paid me two wonderful compliments. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story, and I hope you will continue to do so.
Shinigami Clara : lol, no, I don't think it's going to last for long either. Thank you for reviewing.
Crystal Lili: Thank you for the lovely review!
Sir Arianna Xantara of Sesroh: Hey!! I'm not allowed to reply to you twice in one chapter!! Oh well, glad you like us!! I think you're funny too!! :D
Angel Street: Again, sorry, but you're going to have to wait. I will be dropping clues and hints into the story, and if you have a theory, you can email me to check it. Thank you for reviewing!
Lady Lorene: Thank you for reviewing!
VampiricEternity: Another one who finds me funny! Two whole people!! It's gotta be a record!
gray rain: again, thank you for the review!
Raven: Queen of the Rogue : lol, I won't go there, don't worry. Poor you! Two guys in the same house. And you know, I never really thought about Keita and Joren being related! But...I may just try to add it into the story now...maybe!
Siren Porter: Look!! I did update! I was too scared of your big sword not to!
PsychoLioness13: lol, your review made me laugh. Yup, it is cute that they're fighting, maybe I can put some more of that into the story.
ac-bworm: Look!! Somebody loves me!!! Thank you so much for your glowing review, it made my day. And the need to do something evil is now gone! I have updated. And thank you for adding me to your favourites list, I'll try to live up to the honour.
Lady-Snape7: No, I didn't really like the whole Joren dying in the chamber thing either. I think that T.P left a few too many loose ends in her POTS series, especially in Lady Knight. Anyway, thank you for your review!
Terrorofthehighway: Thank's for the review! The point of this story is that it has 'what if Joren didn't die' as it's main theme. The vision I put into an earlier chapter should help you to see why he survived his ordeal, although I won't come around to explaining it completely for a few chapters.