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, Lord Parrton and the little girl with the Gift.

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 Twelve: Funeral

Kel was conscious of eyes following her as she rode through the village on her way to the Mindelan house.

The villagers were naturally curious about the youngest daughter of the Mindelan family, she hadn't been seen at the fief since she was fourteen, now she had returned, and with her she brought bad news

A young girl ran up to Kel, she couldn't have been more than five, and stared up at her, her blue eyes sent shivers down Kel's spine.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice still sounded childish as she said the words that had obviously been practised.

Kel smiled tightly at her, and swung out of the saddle. "Thanks."

The girl grinned showing a missing tooth that gave her a childish charm.  Then from behind her back she produced a bunch of flowers. They were wild, she'd obviously picked them only minutes before Kel had arrived.

Kel grinned and patted the child on the shoulder. "Thanks."

There was the clatter of hooves as Inness rode out of the house grounds followed by Anders and Conal.

Kel bowed stiffly in the Yamani style, and her friends followed her example. Her brother bowed back, in the style of a Tortallan. Then Inness smiled sympathetically at her.

"Come on," he said quietly. "Let's go inside."

Grateful to get away from the inquiring eyes of the villagers, Kel mounted up and followed Inness.

As she approached the house, she saw that her father's flag was flying at half mast as a mark of respect, and her mother's had been lowered slightly. In puzzlement, she looked up at the flag masts, normally there were four flags flying there, her mother's, her father's, the Tortallan flag and the Yamani flag, the latter as a sign of their allegiance to both countries. But there were only three.

Seeing her puzzlement, Inness pointed to a piece of material that had been shredded and pushed onto the sharpest point of the gates to the house. The Yamani flag, her brothers had symbolically destroyed it. She wasn't sure what to make of it, whilst she was born Tortallan, she had been a Yamani at heart for years.

"Think about it later," Neal advised, seeing her staring at the destroyed flag.

Kel nodded, and turned her horse towards the stables.

- - -

Quietly, she surveyed the crowd standing by the funeral pyre. It was a sea of black, and she looked down at her own clothes. Black. Everyone had been affected by her father's death.

Taking a deep breath, Kel grabbed the Tortallan flag, and walked forwards. A hush settled over the watching villagers as they spotted her, and out of the corner of her eye, Kel saw her friends smile supportively at her.

Biting back the tears, she laid the flag over her father's body and stepped back. Standing up on a wooden block by the pyre, she glanced at the crowd.

"He was good man," she said firmly. "And many of you know that. He didn't deserve this. He was the best father I could have wished for, and I'm sure my brothers and sisters agree with me." She stopped as tears started to make their way down her face. Getting her emotions under control, she continued, "the Gods do the strangest things, and I guess being Gods they don't need a reason for it. But some things shouldn't happen, and my father's death was one of those things." Wiping tears from her eyes, she turned to her father's body, and bowed, Yamani style, as low as she could. Then she stepped down.

Anders stood up, and started to talk, then Conal, then Inness, her sister's got up and talked together, then something odd happened. All the village girls stood up, and started to sing, and dance. At first Kel was shocked, they shouldn't be happy! Then she recognised the song, a sad, mournful tune, and the dance fitted it. It must have taken them ages to prepare.

Then Thom stepped forwards, power streaming out of his fingers, but Kel held him back. She turned to the child that had given her the flowers on the way in to Mindelan.

"You have the Gift, don't you?" Kel asked her, and the child nodded in return. "In that case, you light the pyre," Kel told her, and she lifted her head towards the sky and called, "Mithros and the Great Mother, I give thanks for the life he had. Black God, please help him reach your gate safely where his soul can rest in peace, free from battles and pain that this life provides."

Right on cue, red power flew from the child's fingers, and the pyre went up in flames.

Oddly, Kel felt completely at peace at that time, the flames seemed to be mesmerising and she couldn't look away from them. Around her she felt the villagers moving, getting back to their everyday tasks, and she felt her friends leave, then one by one, her brothers and sisters. There was only one person left, Dom.

As she looked at him, he grinned, and slipped his hand in to hers. Glad for his company, Kel sat down on the grass and continued to stare at the flames.

- - -

They set off for Corus the next week, and as the passed the destroyed Yamani flag, Kel dismounted. Taking it off of the fence, she laid it on the floor, and looked at Thom.

Thom cringed at the cold hatred in her eyes, and couldn't help but obey her when she gave him her order.

"Burn it."