Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, places etc. They all belong to Tamora Pierce. I own the plot though! Anything you might find familiar is probably a quote from TP's books. Hang on, I own: Ked, Salin, Jamil and Ked's Warrior Lord, Lord Parrton.
A/N: Right. This is a corrected version of the chapter. I've been going through correcting the chapters, so if you find any mistakes, let me know! I've tried to sort out everything, but I'm no where near perfect so I'm sure you'll be able to find some mistakes. I've completely changed Kel's reactions because everyone was saying that she was completely OCC, and quite frankly, I agreed. On with the story…
Chapter six: Old friendsNeal watched as Kel walked into the mess hall in the morning for breakfast. She looked around wildly, spotted him and walked over slowly.
"Hi Neal, where's Dom?" she asked, staring at the floor and refusing to meet his eyes.
"He got called away last night," Neal replied. "Why don't you get your breakfast and come and sit with us?"
Kel hesitated, but said, "okay."
A few minutes later she returned, and slid into the seat that used to be hers when she was a page.
"Hi Kel," Neal said nervously. "How are you?"
"Fine," she replied tonelessly and began to eat, still not meeting Neal's eyes. Suddenly she remembered something. "When do you take your Ordeal?"
"This mid-winter." He took his Ordeal before Kel took her Tribulation because Kel was a year behind him. Neal was a fourth year squire now, and Kel was only a third year calawabi. "When do you take your thingy?" Neal asked, struggling to remember the name for the Yamani version of the Ordeal.
"This time next year. And it's called a Tribulation Neal, not a thingy."
Neal grinned. "I could never remember Yamani words."
Kel laughed. "You're the same as ever then."
Neal took a deep breath. "Friends?"
Kel stared at him. "I-I-I don't know," she admitted, and went back to playing with her food.
Neal looked disappointed. "Look, Kel..."
"Don't call me that!" Kel ordered. "I don't want anyone else to know who I am. Okay?"
"Okay," Neal said shocked.
"Good," Kel said sweetly. "You were saying?"
"Look, we all regret not trying harder to find you. And as I said last night, you don't know how much we missed you. I ended up with so much punishment work because I was constantly think about you and doing stupid things during training."
Kel laughed at this.
"And…well…I wouldn't blame you for running away. I mean, who wants to be escorted away from the palace by a servant. Look where it got you. I don't know about you, but I think you've done very well. Friends?"
Kel sighed. "I don't know. It's probably tempting fate, you'll probably all end up dead. I think I'm cursed you know," she said seriously.
"Nah," Neal replied light-heartedly. "You're not cursed, just unlucky. Anyway, I've got no intention of dying just yet. I've got to pass my Ordeal."
Kel laughed. "Okay, friends."
"What about the others?" Neal asked.
"I-I...No," Kel said. "Not now."
Neal looked at her carefully. "Okay," he said, understanding in his voice.
"Thanks. So, what are you doing today?"
"Well Lady Alanna wants me to work on combat skills with her," Neal said, gloom deep in his voice.
Kel laughed. "I pity you Neal. She's got a temper, and is a mean hand with a sword."
"I know." Neal sounded so glum about training with Alanna. Then he brightened. "But I pity you more, Lord Jamil is such a slave driver."
"Maybe." Kel replied with a slight smile. "Maybe it looks like that to you, but that's the sort of discipline and work that Yamani Warrior are trained to do. We obey without question."
"So do squires and pages," Neal pointed out.
"Yes, but our obeying is different to yours," Kel said quietly. "Once the Emperor had a calawabi and he asked him to get him food. The calawabi fell over on the way to the kitchens and the Emperor had him executed because in his eyes, he didn't obey immediately."
Neal whistled. "Seriously?" Kel nodded. "The Emperor doesn't sound like a nice man."
"He isn't," Kel responded. "He'll execute as many people as possible. Once, he ordered the execution of a group of bandits and that wasn't too bad, but when we turned up at the execution, we found out he was also executing the bandits wives and children."
"That's horrible!" Neal protested. Then he shook his head trying to clear a thought from his head. "I though you just said 'when we turned up at the execution', I must have heard wrong."
Kel shook her head. "Nope, you didn't. I did say we, and I meant it. Do you want me to be more specific? When my mother and father, my sisters and I, turned up at the execution."
"You went to an execution?" Neal said in amazement.
Kel made a face. "Yes. It was...it was horrible, but we had no choice. The Emperor favoured our family, and ordered us to come."
"He shows his favour by ordering you to go and see people die?" Neal asked horrified.
"Yes. Most Yamani's would die to get a place at an execution."
Neal expressed his distaste in no uncertain words.
Lady Alanna walked up. "Come on squire, finish that meal. You've got work to be doing."
Neal groaned, but stuffed a few last mouthfuls of soup into his mouth and stood.
Alanna turned towards Kel. "Jhedy? That is your name isn't it?" She continued when Kel nodded. "I've asked your Warrior Lord of you could train with us and he says you may. You don't mind do you?"
Inside Kel was vowing to tear her Warrior Lord to shreds, something she knew she'd never do, but outwardly she looked perfectly calm. "No my Lady, I don't mind."
"Good," Alanna said. "Get your weapons, and meet me at the training yards." She turned to Neal, "That includes you."
Neal expression betrayed exactly what he though of the Lioness at that moment. Kel had to put her hand over her mouth so they couldn't see her grinning. Alanna walked off, leaving Kel and Neal behind.
Kel immediately started laughing.
"What?" Neal demanded crossly.
"You should have seen your face!" Kel said struggling to stop laughing.
- - -
A few minutes later, Kel wasn't laughing. She was standing face to face with her old heroine, holding her mace, dagger, sword, glaive (retrieved from Dom's room), bow and arrows, and her lance.
"This enough weapons my Lady?" she asked.
Alanna stared down in awe at all the weapons. "You own all of these?"
"Yes," Kel replied shortly. "My Warrior Lord insisted that I was kitted out as a soldier was, so he gave some of these to me, the others I bought."
Alanna looked at the girl. "Why do you need to be kitted out like a soldier?"
Kel stared at the older woman. "I've spent the last three years in an army. If I didn't have these, I'd be dead now. I wouldn't have survived a week."
"I thought you were a calawabi, not a soldier," Alanna said almost suspiciously.
"I am," Kel replied. "But my Warrior Lord is the leader of the Yamani army, so I travel with them. I'll join them once I take my Tribulation next year."
Alanna nodded her understanding. "My squire takes his Ordeal this mid-winter."
"I know my Lady," Kel informed her. "He told me."
"I didn't think you two got along."
"We kind of sorted that out this morning," Kel said slowly.
Neal grinned. "Notice the 'kind of' my Lady."
Kel elbowed him in the ribs. "Shut up Neal, or I'll knock your head off."
"Oooh," he said sarcastically. "I'm scared."
"You should be," Kel said, spinning around, and unsheathing her sword and placing the tip against his neck.
Neal laughed, and held up his hands. "I yield."
A messenger interrupted. "Calawabi Jhedy, Warrior Lord Jamil says that once you have finished your training here, you are to go and see him about the upcoming ball."
Kel cursed fluently in Yamani, using language that she had learnt from the palace guardsmen. Then she composed herself. "Very well. Tell him I will be there once I have finished here."
The messenger nodded, and walked away.
Alanna looked at the girl with new admiration. "Where did you learn language like that? Why do you hate balls so much?"
"I learnt that language from various people, when you live around Yamani warriors for so long, you do tend to pick up things like that. And as for the balls, they're a waste of time," Kel said honestly.
"At last, somebody that agrees with me and Raoul!" Alanna said. She passed Neal his sword, "Come on, let's see what you can do."
Kel stepped back, to allow Alanna to fight him.
"Oh no," Alanna said with mirth heavy in her voice. "You're fighting him."
"Please my Lady," Kel said. "Do we need to do this?"
"Yes," Alanna replied shortly. "Just swords."
With a sigh, Kel stepped forwards, and saluted Neal.
"Guard," she whispered, and brought her sword down by her legs.
Neal stared in surprise. Kel won't be able to defend like that, he thought.
In a sudden movement, Kel's sword snaked up and knocked his sword out of his hand and then she slowly placed her sword against his neck.
"I think I won Neal," she said to his shocked face.
Alanna couldn't help but laugh. "Honestly Neal!"
Neal growled at her.
Kel didn't allow her smile to reach her face or her eyes. She stayed Yamani calm.
"If you don't mind my Lady, Squire Neal, I shall go and see my Warrior Lord."