Quick A/N: In advance I would like to apologise for any formatting problems. had some thing up about paragraph indentations and double spacing which I didn't really understand, but I tried to do it in this document. So if the formatting is all screwed, sorry. Some stuff that is meant to be in italics isn't, so do me a favour and pretend that they are? Please?
WARNING: Some of the language is…interesting. Though it isn't proper swearing (in the sense of words that rhythm with mitt and duck), I've used the Geordie equivalent as part of the Yamani language. I'm not even going to tell you what it means, 'cos otherwise I'd have to raise the rating and I don't think they've got a rating high enough for what Mhaki means. Sorry to any Geordies (like myself) out there who find the language offensive, but it suited the context.Chapter Twenty-four: The Call to Battle
Kel jogged through the hallways of the palace, making her way to the deserted corridor where Sir Myles had his rooms and offices. She doubted that all her men were ready for battle. Many of them were, because they had respected her, listened to what she had to say and worked hard. The others would probably be better off hoping that they could fight with their swords or that there was a need for archers and they could fill those posts.
As she was deep in thought, someone grabbed her arm and she moved instinctively to throw her attacker to the floor when she recognised the face.
"Dom! You gave me a shock!" she exclaimed as he wrapped her arms around her. "What are you doing here?"
"Meathead just had a meeting with Sir Myles, I figured that you would have one as well," Dom explained. "It feels like I haven't had you to myself in ages!" he complained and the look on his face almost made Kel laugh. "You're either training the pages or missing all afternoon! Where do you go?"
Kel shook her head. "Can't say. But if you're feeling so neglected why don't we meet up tomorrow for dinner? I'll see if I can persuade my Lord Wyldon to give me the last lesson off and I'll meet you in the city for dinner. Does that sound like a good idea?"
Dom nodded distractedly as he fiddled with Kel's hair. Kel grabbed his hand and placed it back by his side. "Well I'll meet you by the Jugged Hare about twenty minutes before noon tomorrow."
Dom smiled and leant in to kiss her, but Kel ducked out of the way. "I'm sorry," she apologised with a smile. "But this meeting is really urgent."
Dom sighed and settled for kissing her quickly on the cheek then lightly shoving her towards Myles' door. "I'll see you there then," he called as he walked reluctantly away.
Kel rapped on Myles' door and it opened immediately. She was ushered inside and they sat down at the old knight's desk.
"I'm sorry to call you away from your men," Myles started. "But as I'm sure you guessed, this is quite urgent."
Kel nodded. "It's no problem. I left them practising and I'm sure most of them will still be practising when I get back."
Myles nodded. "Good. I have information coming out of the Isles that suggests there could be a major attack on the coast in the next few weeks. I have a spy close to Prince Ednar and apparently the Prince has been making preparations to head into battle. My man managed to find out that there are four squads of the Emperor's Chosen Warriors preparing to leave within the next week."
Kel took in this information calmly. A squad of Yamani Warriors was made up of twelve men each, which meant that there was nearly fifty men heading for their coast. Normally that wouldn't be anything to worry about, but it was what Myles went on to say that had Kel in a state of panic.
"Apparently, according to my informant, these are the Artar and Cerow companies. He had no idea what they were, apparently the Prince is very unwilling to tell."
Kel gulped. Artar was the first letter of the Yamani alphabet and Cerow was the second. In the Yamani Army, the Emperor's Chosen Warriors formed their own companies. Before the immortal attacks on the Isles, there had been sixteen companies, one for every letter of the alphabet. There were two squads to every company. Each company was ranked depending on their ability, using the letters of the alphabet. The idea was that the higher up the alphabet you were, the better the company. Now Tortall had the four best squads heading straight for their coastline. The men that made up the squads were formidable enough on their own, but when they worked as a group…they were a sight that made Kel quiver. She had seen a mock battle take place between the sixteen companies. At the end, the only men left standing were Artar and Cerow men and they had only lost three men between them whilst the rest of the companies were 'dead'. Well, that was a lie, Tait had been in that battle and he had been Yail, the fourth group. He had gained immediate promotion.Kel quickly explained he system and exactly what that meant.
"So are you telling me that these men could take out a whole company of the King's Own?" Myles asked in disbelief.
"Worse," Kel replied quietly. "They could easily take out a whole company and half, maybe more in a real battle situation. To be blunt, we're in serious trouble."
"Why didn't we have information on these elite groups?" Myles wondered out loud.
"They're one of the most closely guarded secrets in the Yamani Army. Most ordinary soldiers believe that they are the Emperor's Bodyguards. Only the Emperor's Chosen Warriors know about the ranking system and upon becoming an Emperor's Chosen Warrior, they take an oath never to divulge any of those secrets."
"Well how do you know?" Myles asked warily.
"My first Warrior Lord was a Cerow and my second was only Yail, but he was in charge of strategy for the army, he was training me to be his successor. So we both knew the secrets of the Army inside out," Kel explained. "So exactly what do you want me to do about the companies?"
Myles sighed. "How ready are your men?"
Kel closed her eyes. This was her chance, she could say that her men were no where near ready, that they would all be slaughtered. She opened her mouth to say as much then closed it again. Her country needed her and she couldn't leave it to fend for itself.
But it's a sad state of affairs when you and your men are the only hope to save your country, an almost evil voice in the far corner of her mind said.But I've got to fight it's my duty! Kel told the evil voice.
Duty? Hah! You shouldn't have to fight for them, they wouldn't let you train! If I don't fight, it'll be the same thing as fighting for the Isles!The voice laughed and Kel cursed the doubtful part of her mind. "They'll be ready sir, and those that aren't will suddenly regret not having trained harder when…" Kel trailed off as she realised what she was about to say 'When the enemy's glaive cleanly takes off their head.' She shivered. She was becoming more and more like the Warriors in the Isles. Or maybe I'm just noticing it more, Kel thought, desperately hoping it was that.
Myles looked at her expectantly, wanting her to finish but Kel shook her head.
"They'll be ready sir. If you want, you can come and watch us train tomorrow afternoon."
Myles nodded, "Yes, I'd feel better if I did. I shall observe your training tomorrow, and, all being well, you and the other squads shall ride out tomorrow night."
"Other squads?" Kel questioned.
Myles looked surprised. "Did I not tell you?"
Kel shook her head warily. Was she going to have to command more than one squad? She knew she wouldn't be able to do that!
"Oh, well, we're not sending you out there alone. One other fighting squad will be coming with you, and another squad, a reconnaissance team. The fighting squad is made up of men and women with Yamani fighting experience. They have all spent time in the Isles, they are men and women that were originally spies and were based there at one time or another. I pulled them out of retirement to do me one last favour."
Retirement? Kel thought in horror. She wasn't going to get old men and women, was she?
Myles must have read her expression. "I don't mean retirement in the real world sense. I mean that they retired from the spy trade, they're doing other jobs now. Some are fighters, some work for the Queen, some do practical jobs like carpentry and blacksmithing. They're all very capable, there's about thirty, maybe forty of them. Your friend Sir Nealan of Queenscove is leading them."
"Neal?" Kel asked in amazement. "Why's he leading them?"
Myles laughed. "You know he served Lady Alanna during his squire years?"
Kel nodded. Of course she knew, she could still remember being jealous when she had first heard.
"Have you met her husband?" Myles asked.
"Yes, a few times. I stayed at Pirate's Swoop for a few months a while ago."
"Do you know what he does?"
That question struck Kel as odd until she remembered something that Thom had said after Kel had asked about all the people coming in and out of Swoop. 'Having a Lady Knight for a mother and the King's Second Spymaster as a father does mean we have an…interesting selection of people arriving and leaving at a moments notice. We have a few Scanran spies around here somewhere and I think we still have a spy from Carthak kicking around here. They'll wait until father can get all of their information, or, if it's very important, until Sir Myles can get here.'
"He's the King's Second Spymaster, he's the one that actually has contact with the spies," Kel replied slowly.
Myles nodded. "I figured Thom had probably told you. He's not meant to, but he's usually careful with who he does tell. Anyway, because Sir Neal spent four years with my daughter he came into contact with a good many of the people that are going to be fighting. He is the best one to command them because he knows them and I've been assured by Lord Wyldon that he is good with a halberd, so I'm afraid you're stuck with him."
Kel smiled. "I'll grit my teeth and bear it, sir," she joked. "And what about the other squad? Who leads them?"
"The reconnaissance squad?" Myles asked and when Kel nodded, he continued, "They'll have their own leader and their own agenda to follow. They are all capable of fighting but they'll only fight if they must."
Kel nodded. "So we all leave tomorrow night?"
Myles nodded. "Three hours after dark. You and your men should assemble in the forest where you usually meet, the other squads will be meeting elsewhere and you'll have to sneak out of the city because horses will be too loud. Onua and the Wild Mage have agreed to persuade your horses to make their way out of the city as quietly as possible. You'll meet up with them on the beach."
Kel nodded. "Can I go to tell the men?" she asked as Myles returned to his papers.
Myles nodded distractedly. "Of course. I shall see you at tomorrow afternoon's practise."
Kel nodded and walked towards the door, stepping over piles of papers and skirting boxes filled with evidence and dust.
"Kel," Myles voice was quiet and unsure and she froze with her hand on the doorknob.
"Yes sir?" Kel asked, she turned around to see him and he was a look on his face that she couldn't quite decipher. It seemed like he was undecided about something. "Is there anything more I can help you with?"
"Sit down Kel," Myles said quietly and almost hesitantly, Kel obeyed. "I can tell you why your father was killed."
Kel just stared at him, thousands of thoughts racing around her head so fast that she couldn't grab hold of them. She licked her lips nervously. "A-and?"
Myles sighed and seemed to change his mind. "I'm not sure if it's a good idea to tell you. You need to be able to concentrate on the battle. I don't want you to lose concentration."
It took all of Kel's Yamani calm not to reach over the desk and throttle him there and then. He couldn't taunt her like this! He shouldn't tell her that he knew and then not elaborate! She breathed deeply and slowly. After her tenth breath, she looked up and faced his pale blue eyes. "I want to know."
Myles shook his head. "I'm sorry."
"Look, I promise I won't do anything stupid! I won't loose my head in battle! I promise!"
If it had been anyone else making that promise, Myles would have refused straight off, but he knew the sort of focus taught at the Yamani courts. If she said she could keep control, then she probably could. He nodded. "I don't know where to start."
"The beginning!" Kel snapped and then bit her tongue. She hadn't meant to snap, but after months of not knowing why her father had been killed she didn't want to wait any longer.
Myles seemed to understand. He didn't start to speak immediately however, first he rose and poured Kel and himself a drink and offered her an orange, which she readily accepted. No matter how anxious she was to find out about her father, it had still been a good six hours since she had eaten, six hours in which she had been doing strenuous practise.
As Kel dug her nails into the orange to peel it, Myles cleared his throat and walked into a cupboard. A few minutes later he came out again, covered in dust and carrying a box full of papers. "These are the reports I got that mentioned reactions to your father's death in the Isles," he explained as he set the box down, causing dust to fly and papers to rustle. "I thought you might want to have a look at them. Your parents were obviously very well liked people. Only those close to the Emperor and his son were told why you and your family were declared traitors, the rest were only told that you were traitors. Most people refused to believe that you were traitors. They don't believe that you could do anything traitorous —"
"We didn't!" Kel protested, breaking into his little speech.
Myles held up a hand to placate her. " —And they hold the same belief as I, your friends and nearly all of the council do."
Kel nodded and made a mental note to let Meathead know exactly how much she did appreciate his friendship. She knew he probably already knew, but she wanted to tell him all the same. After all, she couldn't ever remember telling her father exactly how much he meant to her and now she'd never have the chance. She couldn't let the people that she cared for in her life die or leave without knowing exactly how much they meant to her.
It was only when she heard her father's name mentioned that she realised she hadn't been paying attention.
"—which means that…" Myles stopped as Kel held up her hand.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I've head a word you said. Would you mind starting again?"
Myles smiled slightly and moved in his chair slightly so that he was more comfortable. "Alright, pay attention this time." His voice was gentle and there was hint of annoyance in it. "My man in the Isles, the one close to the Prince pieced this together a few months ago, but we wanted to confirm it before we let you know. I got confirmation a few weeks ago and now that I've cleared it with the King, I can tell you. My man, we'll call him Shailin to make things a bit easier. Well, Shailin did some investigating and questioning. It turns out that all your troubles stem from Prince Ednar."
Kel cursed the man she had once believed to be her friend. "That little Mhaki!" she growled, remembering the fun they had as children and the hours upon hours they spent training and testing each other's skills.
"Mhaki?" Myles questioned.
Kel blushed, that was the sort of language that a noble of her station wasn't supposed to know, let alone use. "It's –" she struggled to find a way of expressing it politely. "It's one of the worst insults I could use against him," she said, finally settling for something very vague.
Myles nodded but Kel could tell he hadn't cottoned on to what it meant, because otherwise even he would have looked shocked. "Anyway, so as I was saying, all your troubles stem from Prince Ednar and his Tribulation."
Kel settled back into her seat, eating her orange delicately and determined that she wouldn't interrupt him, no matter what he said.
"As I'm sure you know, the Tribulation is like the Chamber of Ordeal in nearly all aspects, except that you can talk about what happened in it, although many don't."
Kel nodded her agreement, showing Myles that his facts were right.
"However, what happened in Ednar's Tribulation was enough to make him go straight to the Emperor and tell him exactly what he had seen. Then acting on Ednar's information, the Emperor declared you traitors and ordered your deaths. We knew this a few months ago, but it still left the question of what Ednar actually saw. Acting on orders from me, Shailin coaxed the Prince into telling him. Apparently Ednar first heard some voices talking and he thought they sounded almost immortal and knows for a fact at least one of them was a Goddess. They were talking about someone, saying that what was happening wasn't what was meant for her. Then apparently a third voice entered the conversation and said that he or she would do something about it. Then Shailin said the Prince told him the scene changed. He saw you, at the head of a Tortallan army. You were riding with a man he described as the 'green magic man' and you called him Neal. Apparently you were riding along the coast, hunting a Yamani fleet. You and this Neal joked about two people, one of whom the Prince recognised, Yuki. The other he didn't, someone by the name of Dom."
Kel blushed and Myles grinned.
"Apparently the scene then changed and the Prince found himself at the head of the Yamani fleet of ships. He ordered his men to the town, meaning they were probably raiders. Your men and his came into battle and you killed him."
Kel closed her eyes and fought not to cry. Yet another friend that she would kill.
"The Prince interpreted it to mean that you had defected. He told the Emperor who ordered your death and that of anyone on the same ship as you."
Kel, still with her eyes closed, leant forwards and rested her head on the desk. This was just too much to take in at once. Ednar had been responsible for her father's death? The same Ednar that had treated her father like his own because his real father was never around or willing to talk. Piers had often said that Ednar was like Conal had been when he was younger. Kel could remember being jealous of Ednar and talking to her mother about it.
"Mama," she had asked in a childish Yamani that had a heavy common accent.
Ilane turned to her daughter. "Yes dear?" she had asked whilst she pulled the covers up to Kel's chin.
"Why doesn't Ednar play with his own father? Why does he have to steal mine?" Looking back, it was a petty thing to say, but it was very important to the seven-year-old girl.
Ilane had laughed and sat down on Kel's bed. "He's not stealing your father Kel! Wherever did you get that idea?"
"Papa always talks to Ednar about the peace treaty, he never talks to me about it!" Kel sat up in bed, holding her teddy bear by the ear. "And Ednar's meant to be my friend! Whenever he comes around he talks with Papa more of the time than he talks with me!"
Ilane sighed. "Do you know who Ednar's father is?"
Kel shrugged. "Isn't he the Emperor?"
Ilane nodded. "Yes, and the Emperor is a very busy person. He doesn't have as much time as your Papa does to play with Ednar. Your Papa is just being kind."
Kel pouted childishly. "But…"
"Oh, don't spoil Ednar's fun, Kel! Or your father's for that matter. You know how much he has missed your brothers. He likes having another male to talk to."
Kel sighed. "I still don't like it."
"You don't have to like everything, just let Ednar have his fun."
Submissively, Kel had nodded and turned away. When her mother had left the room, she imagined all the things she could do to the Emperor to force him to spend more time with Ednar and give her father back.
Kel smiled slightly. She had never tried any of those childish plans; it embarrassed her that she had even thought about it. She couldn't imagine what Meathead would say if he found, but she wasn't going to give him the chance to find out.
"Kel?" Myles asked. His voice was full of worry for the Lady Knight who seemed to have fallen deep into thought. "Are you okay?"
Kel sighed. "Yes," she replied, her voice was level thanks to years of practise.
Myles raised his eyebrows in disbelief, but knew better than to say that he didn't believe her. "I asked Numair about what the Prince had seen and heard and showed him the transcripts of the Tribulation that the Emperor insisted were made that Shailin had stolen."
"What did he say?" Kel asked, licking her lips nervously and taking a drink.
"Well…he thinks that what Ednar saw is most likely true."
"I'm going to kill him?" Kel asked faintly.
Myles smiled sympathetically. "Sorry, that's what Numair says. But he also says that Ednar interpreted it wrong."
"Well what else was it meant to mean?" Kel asked distractedly.
"Numair reckons that Ednar forgot to pay attention to the voices at the start and end. He says that they hold the key to how the events should be interpreted. You were meant to be fighting for Tortall, you should have been allowed to become a knight. The Tribulation showed this to Ednar in the hope that he would persuade his father to release you from your vows of allegiance, but he misinterpreted it. He thought it meant you were a traitor. You were shown fighting the Yamani fleet because when you weren't allowed to train as a knight, it effectively disrupted the 'fabric of time' to quote my daughter, who talked to the Goddess about this."
Kel was shocked to find that the Lioness had been going out of her way to talk to the Goddess about her!
"If you had to fight for the Yamani Emperor, things that shouldn't happen would and things that should happen, wouldn't. It's all very complicated and I get the idea I'm making a mess of explaining this, so I'll try to simplify it. If the Tribulation hadn't shown the Prince you fighting for Tortall, you would be a Chosen Warrior and everything would go horribly wrong. By showing you at the head of a Tortallan Army, you were released from your vows to the Emperor and could fight for Tortall. The fact that the Tribulation showed Ednar you fighting Yamani fleets was coincidence. Numair thinks that it just picked one of the hundreds of futures and unfortunately now we are heading down that path."
Kel sighed and massaged her head. "So in short, fighting for Tortall is what I was meant to do and the Tribulation relied on Ednar to sort out my future, but unfortunately he really made a mess of things. Great!" Kel jumped up and strode to the door. "Thanks, even though I wish I didn't know now, I'm glad you told me."
Myles nodded. He excused her rude behaviour and returned to his paperwork, only to flinch when the door slammed a little harder than necessary as Kel left the room.
- - -
Kel let her features smooth themselves as she strode towards the clearing in the forest. It was almost completely dark now, but through the dim light of the beacons she could see just over half of the men practising, sparring against each other. The others sat around, laughing and joking. Kel held her anger under her skin and clapped her hands.
"Those of you who wish to keep your heads in the coming battle would do well to practise. On the other hand, those of you who couldn't care less whether you live or die can just continue to laze around. We leave tomorrow night." She turned and strode out of the clearing, leaving the men behind her standing in shocked silence.
- - -
She folded another pair of breeches and laid them at the bottom of her saddlebags with her spare shirt and loincloth. She chucked in some army rations that she had taken from the palace kitchens and on top of that placed all her weapon cleaning gear.
Although her movements were slow and graceful, inside she was fuming. She cursed every single God and Goddess that she knew. That probably wasn't a wise idea if she was riding for battle the next day, but at that time she didn't care. Why did they have to mess up Ednar's Tribulation? Why couldn't they have just told him plainly that she wasn't meant to fight for the Yamani Isles?
At the moment she wanted nothing more than to be able to explain to Ednar what had happened, to explain where he had gone wrong and sort out the tensions between Tortall and the Yamani Isles. Kel grinned bitterly, if her father could hear her, he would say 'A true Diplomat's daughter, you really take after me.' Kel sighed. Although she wanted to explain to Ednar what had gone wrong, she couldn't. The next time they would meet would be in battle and she was going to kill him. She was going to have to kill another friend. It didn't make her feel any better when she reminded herself that she was doing it for her country, for Tortall.
With a low growl she tightened the straps on the saddlebags and threw them to the other side of the room.
The door flew open just in time to see the bags land against the cupboard, making it rock back and forth violently, nearly falling over.
"Neal said the two of you were commanding forces that were leaving tomorrow night," Dom said quickly as he grabbed the wardrobe to stop it falling and then sat down behind Kel, pulling her back so he sat on his lap.
"Neal talks too much," Kel replied, leaning back against his chest and letting Dom run his hand through her hair.
Dom shrugged. "He did say something about it being top-secret and how he wasn't meant to tell anyone, but he then went on to tell me that the two of you are riding out tomorrow night with three squads."
Kel turned and buried her head in Dom's shoulder. "Yeah," she replied, her voice muffled by his tunic.
"Scared?" Dom asked as he stroked the back of her neck. He looked down to see her shake her head. What she said next alarmed him more than he would care to admit.
"It's not like I really mind dying, which has to be a good thing considering what we're up against." Kel didn't give him a chance to protest. "No, it's just…Myles gave me some other news, about my father."
Dom felt his breath hitch. Kel didn't need this now, especially not just before a battle that she didn't think she would come back from. "What did he say?" he asked gently.
Kel sighed and leant back so she could see Dom's face. It was full of worry and his blue eyes were overly bright and studied her intently. She reached up and stroked his cheek.
He chuckled under his breath and leant down to kiss her.
Someone cleared their throat in the doorway.
Dom paused, staring at Kel intently. Slowly, very slowly, he turned his head to the doorway. "What are you doing here?" he asked the intruder.
"I couldn't find you in your rooms, so I figured you'd be here," the intruder said and as he spoke, Kel recognised the speaker as Raoul, Dom's commander.
"Was there anything you wanted? Or are you just trying to annoy me?" Dom asked with a slight trace of humour in his voice, but for the most part he sounded annoyed.
"I'd say I was succeeding in annoying you," Raoul drawled. "And yes, there was something I wanted. I was wondering whether you had actually remembered that we have a debriefing. One which started a good twenty minutes ago?"
Dom breathed deeply and closed his eyes. "Give me five minutes." He looked hopefully at Raoul. "Please?"
Raoul chuckled richly and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Kel smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. She smiled as he grinned and leant forwards, kissing her nose gently and then each of her eyelids.
"Now," he said as he pulled away. "As much as I would like to continue this, you didn't answer my question."
Kel sighed and released her hold on his neck. She allowed herself to flop back onto her bed so she was lying across his lap, her head on her bed. In as little words as possible, she explained what Myles had told her.
Raoul, standing outside the door, decided to leave his sergeant with his lady. It seemed she would need him more than the squad currently needed him. After all, it wasn't really an important briefing. He grinned slightly as he thought of the endless teasing the men were going to give Dom for this as he walked off towards his rooms.
Dom stared a Kel, at a loss for words. "Kel, I —"
Kel shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Shouldn't you be getting off to your meeting?"
Dom shifted slightly so he was lying down next to Kel and he placed an arm around her shoulders, gripping them tightly. "I'm sure he'll understand."
Kel turned so she could see him. "I'm telling you to get to that meeting, now!"
Dom shook his head. "Bloody Mithros Kel! Can't you accept for once that you actually need someone to talk to?"
Kel didn't say anything to that comment, but turned her head to his shoulder and buried her head in it, breathing his own sweet smell. Dom watched until she fell asleep and then gently placed her under the covers and tucked up. He carefully slipped out to find his commander and get down on his knees and beg for forgiveness.
- - -
A/N: Well…that was…interesting. I've just finished another chapter, so that should be up before the end of the week, but I can't make any promises.
Hannah