And here would be chapter six. I'll save most of my rambling for after the chapter this time.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of this spam; I do not own it, Sam-I-Am. (sorry, inside joke)

Chapter 6

And so now he waited. He hated waiting. And he seemed to have to do a lot of that lately. But he wasn't complaining. No, he knew better than to complain. There was a time and a place for complaining, and this definitely wasn't it.

He needed that door open before he could do anything else. He needed the lady knight.

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She looked out of her small, barred window. The heat spell still remained, a small comfort in her uncomfortable situation that she was grateful for. Neal had put it there. She remembered that. Thinking back to the night before, she was puzzled.

Talking with Neal had been enjoyable, even under the circumstances. It seemed so natural. He had mentioned them being friends, but she sensed something more. Though it seemed apparent that he had a talent for hiding his feelings, he seemed... distraught? Maybe. He was definitely worried though. But then she supposed that she would be too, if a friend that she had been traveling with had been taken hostage by a not-so-subtle group of ruffians.

And now she had no memory of anything preceding that past evening. But she did know general things, like how to walk and talk, what trees and horses were – everyday things that most took for granted. But they were the majority of the things that she knew. She didn't really remember them either. It was more like a general knowledge.

It was nearly midday; she could tell from the sun. But when would she have learned that? Why did she retain that knowledge? Was it just so imprinted into her brain that she couldn't forget? Was she always this confused? So many questions, and yet no one was there to answer them for her. That was another thing.

Where was Neal? Hadn't he promised to come back soon? But, no, that was something that her conscience had made up. She knew that it would be stupid for him to show up while everyone was awake. But maybe he had said he'd be back soon, and it all really depended on her perception of 'soon'.

Something stirred in her memory. Had someone not already been to see her? She was barely awake, but she had seen a short red haired woman outside of her small prison. The woman had motioned for her to stay quiet, and then pointed past over her shoulder. She had glanced over, but the window was small, and she couldn't tell what the other woman was indicating she look at. But the woman had seemed as though she didn't want the men of the camp to wake up. It made sense that her enemy's enemy would be her friend, didn't it? She hoped so.

The red haired woman seemed to be examining her surroundings, and Kel sensed that what she was doing was somehow slightly unprofessional. But she did not question it at the moment, not that she had much of a choice; she was so groggy.

And again, back in the present moment, she had felt as though something were somehow off, but could not place it. Turning her thoughts away from the red haired woman, she instead focused on how one should be well awake in the morning, let alone by midday. But, under her circumstances, it was probably best that she wasn't.

There was not much to look at, but she made due with the small opening. A sparrow flew in and landed on her shoulder. "Hello there, dear, what's your name?"

The sparrow cheeped.

"No, I don't suppose it would get me many answers; you're just a bird."

The sparrow chirped indignantly. Was it possible for a sparrow to sound indignant? Apparently.

"Alright, sorry. But it doesn't change the fact that I can't really understand you. But it is nice to know that someone is listening."

This time the sparrow's answer seemed satisfied, and they went on talking, or rather Kel went on talking with the sparrow chirping at her occasionally, for a very long time. And she was rather glad to have the company.

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"So, what did they say?"

"Calm down, I'm getting there. Wyldon was put in charge of this thing-"

"They put the Stump in charge of this?!"

"Yes, and I think that that says a lot."

"Like what?"

"Like they're taking this seriously and that they are trying to get her back."

Neal muttered something indecipherable, and Alanna continued.

"We're setting out first thing tomorrow morning-"

"You're waiting that long?"

"As I was saying, we're setting out first thing tomorrow morning, to give us time to pack everything, have a set plan of action, and so that we can get a good night's rest before we do this thing."

"Okay, and I will restrain from going in there right now and blasting that lock off of that stupid door."

He could almost see Alanna's stern look as she spoke through their spell, but all she said to that was, "Don't give Tobe a hard time either."

"Yes Sir!"

"Not funny, Neal."

"Oh, but your title does include 'sir'."

"As does yours."

"Oh, but you would never call me that."

"Sure I would, just not 'sir' alone, Sir Healer Knight."

"Hey, I thought that they were paranoid about speaking spells being intercepted.," he said, changing the subject. "That's why you had to go back. They wouldn't let you just send your report."

"Yes, but apparently it was not so much that they were concerned with interception, but more so worried about me trying to organize a rescue without their express approval," she replied in lofty tones.

"Oh, I should have known!"

"Yes, you probably should have. I was your teacher."

"You didn't notice either!"

"You hurt me. All those years together and you still don't know me that well."

"Wha-...uh!"

"Yep, I expected as much for an answer." She paused, then said, "Look, we have a bit organizing to do, and I'll have you know that nearly every person here is willing to come with me. But I don't need that many people."

"Who all wants do go?"

"Nearly everyone," she repeated simply. "Wyldon says he would come himself if he could. Owen wants to go too, but can't. Then there's nearly every soldier, even ones that don't know her that well. Everyone knows what she did for us. They want a chance to pay here back. There's also Fanche, but she's at New Hope, and needs to stay there. Dom and Yuki would both like to come out." She paused, hearing a sharp intake of breath. "Something wrong, dear healer knight?"

"No, fine. I get the picture." Why was it an effort to keep Yuki in his thoughts? And why hadn't he been making that effort? "Say, speaking of Yuki, would it be possible to talk to her?"

"Um, it would be if she were around."

"Where is she?"

"She's out with the Dom and the patrol."

"Oh. Tell her I said hi, and that I really wish I could see her," his voice didn't seem to hold much conviction, but as he continued it picked up. "And tell her that we're going to get Kel away from this, and that those dirty Scanrans aren't going to stop us."

"Anythi- Mithros, Mynos, and Shakith, what IS that?" she asked loudly.

"Alanna?" Neal could hear something in her voice that he did not like. "Alanna, what's wrong?"

"No, no! That is impossible! They're gone! Kel got rid of them. It's an illusion; it has to be."

Neal was not comforted by the doubt she could not hide in her voice.

"Oh no. If that was an illusion, then I'm a flying pig!"

"Alanna! Just what is going on?"

"I'm sorry Neal. We're going to be caught up here for a while. That is one giant killing machine!"

"What do you mean? Giant killing machine? You mean bigger than the others?" a pause, and then, "you mean that there are more of those things?!"

"Apparently there are! And you're just going to have to wait on that rescue, Neal; we're going to be stuck here for a while. Just stay with her, make sure she gets food. I do not want to hear of you doing anything stupid, understand?"

"No, I do not understand. Alanna, is the fort under attack?" The truth was sinking in, and he wasn't so sure he liked it. In fact, he was sure that he didn't like it.

"Yes, Meathead! The fort is under attack! Who's commanding them? There are more of them than I thought." The last comment about the soldiers was more to herself than to Neal.

"Are you sure that it isn't an illusion?"

"Yes, I have spells against that- you should know that too."

"I do know that. But you said-"

"I know what I said! Look, they need me out there! Be good, don't try to contact me. I'll get a hold of you as soon as I can."

And with that, she cut off the spell, without so much as a 'goodbye'.

So Fort Steadfast was under attack? Great. Just great. Jolly, even. Now he was thinking too much like Owen. He hoped it didn't stay long.

But they couldn't just leave Kel with the Scanrans! He wouldn't allow it to happen. How did the Scanrans get such an advantage over them? Underestimating the enemy was a really bad thing. They had learned that in their first year of training. So why had they gone and done it?

Because no one is perfect, argued the logical part of his brain, the part that he usually kept suppressed.

But why now? This just had to happen now!

It was all planned out, you can see that. They took Kel hostage, and then they stopped a rescue from being possible.

If only they hadn't sent Alanna down without backup to get this thing done! They want Kel for something, something big. I will not stand for it! She has got to get out of there, the sooner the better. Even if I have to do it myself.

You know you shouldn't jump right in there. You can plan something out. Tobe can help.

Though he was beginning to like this side a little more now, he still had no patience for it.

"I really don't like tha look on yer face."

"Why?"

Tobe raised his eyebrows. "'cause tha' look ne'er comes to somethin' good. Ye've got a good heart, Meathead, but ya've got no patience to do things tha right way. I don't wantcha going to get yer Kel outta there, and ferget that she's our Kel too."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"'Sup to yer interpretation."

"You've got to get some proper speaking lessons, boy."

"Not now I don'. And yer strayin' from the topic. I don't want to hear about royal dissent in the Copper Isles when we're talkin' of the price of shipping opals to Maren."

"Since when did you start talking in riddles?"

"Since they made ye pay me some attention."

"Oh. That makes sense... I think."

"Oh yer impossible!"

"I swear you're going to start sounding like a proper boy if it's the last thing I do!"

"I know perfectly well how to talk like a proper person, but I'm not terribly fond of it."

Neal was shocked. Where in the world had that come from?

He gaped at Tobe, who said, "Now, wha' is it 'zactly that yer plannin' on doin', 'cause whatever it is, I don' think it's such a good idea."

"Make you a deal."

"Yer changing the subject agin."

Neal raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, wha' 'sit?"

"I'll keep you informed on 'whatever it is that I'm doing', if you'll talk like normal person."

"I am talkin' like a normal person."

"Okay, if you'll stop talking like all the common folk."

"But I am common folk."

"Well, no, not so much."

Tobe rolled his eyes. "Fine, but you have to promise a couple of things too."

"Fine."

"You keep me informed."

"Already have that one down."

"And you don't go around burtin' 'bout me talkin' funny like you."

"Watch yourself there squirt."

Tobe glared at Neal and continued. "You have to listen to me."

"Don't I already?"

"No, not so much. And you have to actually take into consideration what I say."

"You're killing me here. Anything else, your royal Tobeness?"

"Yes. No more stupid names, and-"

"There's more?"

That last comment earned Neal a glare. "Yes, you have to be nice to Peachblossom."

"What?!"

"Hey, listen. Yes, you have to at least make an effort to be nice to him."

"What about him? He should have to be nice to me, too."

"I can't make him do anything, and it isn't him I've got a deal with."

"You don't have a deal yet."

"Yes I do. You want me to talk like you. And I'm doing it. Besides, you're the one who mentioned it in the first place."

"I never agreed to your terms though."

"But you will."

"Says who?"

"Oh, not anybody, I s'pose, but ye git real annoyed wit me when I talk like commin folk.'

Neal made a strange noise, which Tobe took to be a good sign, and so he continued. "I think I've made my point."

"Yes, sir, you have indeed."

"Good. Now, what was it that you were planning on doing for Kel?

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Oh, there was absolutely NO point whatsoever in trying to sleep! And to think that these were the men that had taken her hostage. She was beginning to doubt her skills as a knight. Of course there was only what Neal had told her just the other night, but if she could remember such general things, hopefully her knowledge of how to handle a weapon would be there just as readily. Even if it was though, would it do her much good?

Well, just as well to be awake and alert. Maybe she could learn something useful.

And so she sat there, for hours on end it seemed. She had given up trying to remember anything, and really wished that the sparrow she had nicknamed "Chatter" would come back around. But someone had heard her talking, and he hadn't been so sure that it was only to herself. When they had come over to investigate, they had seen the little bird, perched on her knee. He had started yelling, and Chatter had taken off. Kel had tuned out most of what her assailant had said.

He left after a couple minutes of yelling and insulting her mother, whom Kel had a strong suspicion that he didn't actually know (especially since Neal had told her some really nice things about her mother and none of what this barbarian claimed had any correlation to Neal's tale).

And then she had been left alone. And yet she seemed to think that feeling sorry for herself would be a bad thing, frowned upon by people whose opinions she must have really cared about, or maybe even her own.

So she spaced out for a while. Then she went back to trying in vain to remember things about her life and about herself. Eventually that too became rather dull, and she commenced studying the trees that could be seen from her window.

If she hadn't been watching them so closely, she would have missed it. But she didn't miss it, and that's what mattered. There was one lonely figure, one that had not been noticed by her earlier, picking his way carefully through the trees, away from the camp. He was a skinny figure, but that was all she could make out. She definitely didn't recognize the person who she had assumed was a 'him'. She didn't know if there was any significance to it, but it did seem out of ordinary, not that she had a good idea of what 'ordinary' was.

But she remembered it all the same, and hoped that she might find some way to make use of that information at some point. Ah, well, here she would wait until, well, she wasn't actually sure what it was she was waiting for, other than Neal, really.

And then something else caught her eye. There was a different movement in the trees. Then nothing. She waited as still as she could, and then there was a rustling sound somewhere near her, and Neal's head soon appeared by her window.

"Neal! What are you doing?" she whisper-yelled at him.

"I'm getting you out of here."

"Neal, it's broad daylight! I don't think that this is such a great idea!"

"Well, since when have my idea's been that great?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

As they spoke, he reached in through the bars, and she put her hands up, realizing that he wanted to see her chains. As he fumbled with him, she heard him mutter angrily, and then say, "Oh, I didn't come here to do nothing right now!"

Then she watched as he closed his eyes, and his brow furrowed. Beads of sweat began to form on his temples, and Kel wondered what he could possibly be so concentrated on.

Her wrists started getting hot, and she looked down to see the locks on her chains engulfed in emerald green flames. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, there was a loud bang and her chains flew completely off. It was a relief, but there was still a door to get through, and that noise was sure to catch someone's attention.

Neal looked rather exhausted, but he pulled himself up and went around the side of the small hut. She heard him fumbling with the door, but she also heard a louder, less welcome sound.

It was the sound of numerous large pairs of feet racing toward something, toward her, toward Neal. He sounded like he was hurrying, and she encouraged him silently, knowing that saying anything to him now might be distracting.

Oh, why hadn't she stopped him? She knew it was a bad idea. Any sort of rescue should have been at night, or at least at some time when the enemy wasn't within earshot.

Then, all of a sudden there was a small blast, and the door came open. She looked toward it, and for the first time, saw what lay beyond, if only for a moment. A large camp, in a rather large mess, not particularly fit for livestock. (And where had that comparison come from?)

Then there was Neal grabbing her arms, urging her to stand. She tried, but the hours cooped up in her small cell made her rather wobbly. He was exhausted and shaking; she could feel it. She stumbled on her way up, and he went down with her.

But as he faltered, he pushed her up. There was yelling coming from the people belonging to the running feet, and she knew that now would be a particularly nice time to panic. But her head remained clear, and she knew that she and Neal needed to get up and make for the trees. She also knew that it their current conditions, outrunning these barbarians would be near impossible. But in the woods they could hide. There was still a chance of escape. She was now in a position to get out, but Neal was down. There was not a snowball's chance in the Great Southern Desert (Great Southern Desert?) that she was going to leave without trying to get him out of there.

"Wha'd'ya think yer doin'?" was one of the few enraged calls that Kel could actually make out.

What she heard instead was a moan coming from Neal, and "Go, Kel. I'm wiped out. If you stay, it'll all have been for nothing." He sounded so desperate, and it almost made her want to cry. So she did as he requested of her. She ran. Well, she ran as well as anyone can run on legs that are asleep and protesting.

She darted for the woods, and noticed Jump standing near a boy who she assumed was Tobe, both with frightened looks on their faces. When she was only about seven or eight feet away from them, they turned and ran, and she followed, unsure of what else to do. They ran and ran for what seemed eternity, mainly because she was still having trouble getting the feeling back into her legs. But the fear and worry in Neal's voice kept her going.

There were men that followed them, but not very far. They had been so keen to keep her there, and it really made her wonder why they hadn't put up more of a fight. But she thought that she knew the answer, and she didn't like it one bit.

They had him. They weren't the brightest, but they weren't stupid either. They knew that she would go back for him, especially because they thought that she knew exactly who he was.

xx

"Go, Kel. I'm wiped out. If you stay, it'll all have been for nothing." He saw her go and was satisfied.

Almost. He was so not about to let a bunch of Scanrans get him! What would Alanna say?? So he pulled himself onto his feet and was about to get up, when he came face to face with what must have been the ugliest face that he had ever seen.

"Ah, ye must be 'er lady knightness's dear visitor, a lover, perhaps?" He let out the wheezy laugh of an alcoholic, and again, Neal wondered how this group had gotten the better of them. There must have been some slightly sober ones with them.

It was all he had time to think before there was a sickening smack as the man's hand made contact with Neal's face, and everything went black.

...

.......

...

When he woke up, he was in chains, not so different from the ones that Kel had been wearing, but he could feel that the magic in these was double that of the magic Kel had in hers.

Again, he thought of what was so wrong with the situation, other than the fact that he wasn't sure if he had made it better or worse. Yes, he would gladly have trade places with Kel. That was exactly what he had done, but he wondered at what cost. But what about the Scanrans?

Maybe they just put up a good act of looking incapable. It was now apparent that they had a rather strong mage with them, to keep up these spells. And someone had to be a decent carpenter, considering where Neal was. For all he could tell, it was inside the same cell that Kel had been kept in, but the door, which had been badly damaged before, had been nicely repaired. Okay, so the Scanrans weren't so clean, and definitely had a thing for alcohol, but maybe this group wasn't as unorganized as he had thought. They seemed to be doing a pretty good job at, well, whatever it was that they were doing.

But Neal had to wonder about getting out. Would Kel come back? He hoped so. And yet, he hoped not at the same time. He was sure that they would be waiting for her. That is, if they didn't find her first. If they had gotten back to the camp, they would be well hidden, but they couldn't stay there forever. Oh, how had he gotten himself into this position!?

You didn't listen to me. I would have told you to wait.

Wait! Wait? What good would waiting have done?

Well, for one, you could have used the time to come up with a better rescue than that.

Hey!

Not finished. And then you could have waited until dark, and been a bit more discreet about it. If you had gotten Kel out, you and her and Tobe could all have been on your way out of here, to join the fight at Fort Steadfast.

Don't remind me.

Too late. Already did.

He rolled his eyes at himself, and curled up, using a little bit of his magic to keep himself warm, and knowing that there was no way he could sleep.

Of course, there was still some light left outside. So, how long did he have to wait here? That, he really didn't know.

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Kammal froze. He heard someone moving in the woods near him. Someone was close. So, with graceful ease, he pulled himself up into a tree and watched the goings on below. It amused him. The other knight that had been with the Protector was coming back for her. And with the whole of what happened, he almost wondered why Scanra hadn't completely taken Tortall over, if that was the way they trained their men.

He was amused, but at the same time he was displeased. He knew that something like this would happen, and he had had the opportunity to use to his advantage slip away. Was he getting old already? The lady knight had gotten away. But now they had the other one. How foolish of him. Now a rescue would be impossible. Though he hated the Scanrans, who stank of pigs and rum, he knew that they weren't complete idiots. Something the Tortallans apparently had to learn the hard way.

So they had a way of getting back to the lady. But it didn't change the fact that they didn't actually have her. He took solace only in the fact that he didn't have to be the one to tell his master. There would be a messenger for that. Of course, first he had to find the messenger, but at least he no longer had to hang around this sorry bunch. They could get back at the lady, but still, he knew that it was the lady that he was supposed to deliver, not some obscure head-over-heels knight.

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Okay, so first I was going to end it with Neal blacking out, but then my fingers decided that they wanted to keep typing, so out came the next bit. And then the scene changed and they kept going for about two pages, and I decided that I really needed to wrap this chapter up, as I had already gone past my original stopping point.

So, it could have been longer, but on the bright side, the next chapter is already in progress, so maybe it won't take me a month and a half to get it out...

But I can't actually post this chapter at the moment because the internet is down. Hmmm.... Look. It's a night later and the 'net's back up! Yay! (Too bad I only have time to post this and then do homework...)

And there's one issue I'd like to address. I know that the whole situation with Tobe talking properly is probably rather out of character for him, but I'm lazy, and am sick of trying make him sound like he does in the books. No, he won't only talk like that, but for the most part, he will.

Thanks to all those who have reviewed, especially those few who reviewed chapter five and made me write chapter 6. Ah, heck, there's only two of you, may just as well address you.

fugeeeee (my computer doesn't like the way I spelled that.) I have added. So there.

Aly Spy Hey, thanks for reviewing. Gotta love celery. I'm glad you like the story. Now I've updated, you have to too. (I would read your other story, but with school I barely have time for anything else, and am only about 1/3 of the way through Trickster's choice.)

Now I have homework. But first let me put this up.