Disclaimer: Why would I be posting this on a FANFICTION site if it were mine?
Chapter 3 – Patrols
It was a week later and Kel was frowning at the trees around her. She had become so used to the numerous attacks at Haven that this much respite was difficult for her to become accustomed to.
In many ways, life at Valen was harder than life had been for her before. There was no Neal to help her out and heal the wounded. There was no Owen to cheer her up. No Merric for her to rely on. Well, that wasn't exactly fair. Sean was-
"Kel?" a voice nearby whispered quietly, breaking her thoughts. Sean was watching her intently.
"Yes?" she whispered back.
"I was just wondering what you were doing for Midwinter?" Sean shifted uncomfortably in his saddle.
"Doing?" asked Kel, bewildered.
"Yes, see…uh…well, here we usually have a sort of…gathering. And…uh…we all go..and…dance…and…and.." he paused as though looking for words.
"Gather?" Kel added helpfully.
Sean blushed. "Uh…yeah. Well…I was just wondering if you were interesting in going-"
"Well, I suppose it's expected of me, right?"
He looked at her with a confused look on his face. "Expected? Why would it be expected for us to go toge-"
"But we can talk about this later, can't we? I think I see movement in the trees, just over there," Kel interrupted, hushing her voice and pointing.
"Err…right. I'll check it out," Sean replied quickly, a slight frown marring his brow. He spoke to a couple choice men next to him and they slid silently into the brush in the direction that Kel had pointed to.
Kel stared after him for a moment, wondering at his strange behavior. What was he on about? And why was he so nervous? Why should he be nervous about telling me about a Midwinter celebration? She frowned as a new thought hit her. Maybe he was trying to tell me he had already asked someone else, and he wanted me to go with Deirdre. Not that I care, of course. With that thought, she went back to staring through the leaves of the forest.
After what seemed like an eternity, during which Kel's thoughts continued to stray back to the conversation she had just had with Sean, the three patrollers returned, whispering "Just some stray dogs," and taking their positions again. Kel tried not to be affected when Sean did not come to speak with her again. It's not like I care. And besides, I did tell him that now wasn't the time for conversation.
For the next two hours, Kel thought of nothing but bandits. The men around her spoke and chuckled a bit among themselves, but they all stayed resolutely to their tasks. They were all relieved when, after what seemed like a wasteful time (as they had no seen any bandits), their relief arrived. They then trooped home, exhausted and sweat-soaked, laughing and complaining about the hours they had just spent sitting in the sun-filled clearing, searching for non-existent bandits.
Their exuberance was somewhat smashed, however, when Kel informed them that they would be taking the nighttime patrol the next day. Kel was impressed when, apart from a few grumbles, not one of them complained. She took it as a sign that they respected her, instead of viewing her as a noble overseeing her slaves.
She also found that many of them liked to chat with her, as though she was one of their own. It almost brought tears to her eyes. She had never been in a position like this one. She was their commander, but still they saw her as someone to go drinking with, to share gossip with.
It was not to say that she had never felt wanted or liked anywhere else, but this was the first time she had ever been in a position where people outright trusted her, and would die for her without ever questioning why they had to listen to a girl. And she had barely even arrived.
A day and a half later found Kel and her patrol group sitting in their clearing, this time under the stars. Even so, it was almost pitch black, seeing as how the moon was only a minute sliver in the sky.
"Did you hear that?" Kel asked suddenly. She had been staring to the east, into the trees, when she heard a large rustle. She silently cursed herself for leaving the birds behind to rest with Deirdre and Tobe.
"Hear what?" asked Sean, who was closest to her.
Kel didn't answer, but strained her ears for another moment. When she didn't ear any following rustles, she replied, "It was probably nothing. Just some animal."
"Better to be on the safe side," Sean told her, standing up and lending a hand to help her do the same. "Besides, I could use any chance I get to stretch my legs."
After speaking quickly and quietly with her third-in command (AN: Sean is her second), Desmond, she and Sean set off into the woods.
Sean had his sword out, and Kel was nervously fingering the handle of hers. If there really were bandits out there, and if they already knew that she and Sean were approaching them, the forest would be a prime place for an ambush. It would be a while before anyone got worried enough to go after them, and even then it would be a small party. The bandits could just continue ambushing them until no one was left.
Crack! Kel and Sean spinning around, Kel wrenching her sword out of its scabbard in one slick, fluid motion. Sean was already approaching the sound, his sword poised and ready to strike. Kel slowly moved the bush to the side, just enough for her to see what was on the other side.
They both let out the air they hadn't realized they had been holding. Sean chuckled a little, causing the deer to look up and scamper off.
"I never knew deer could be so intimidating."
Kel smiled at his weak joke. "Well, this was a waste of time," she replied, frustrated with her own paranoia.
Sean shrugged. "Knowing it's nothing is better than not knowing, in my opinion." He shot her a smile that caused Kel to believe it was possible for one's knees to melt. "Come on, let's head back. Wouldn't want the others to worry."
Kel fell into step next to him, letting herself enjoy the cool night breeze, now that there was no impending danger to worry about.
"Why were you acting so oddly the other day?" she burst out suddenly. If it wasn't for her Yamani training, she would've blushed and covered her mouth. She'd had no intention of bringing up the subject.
"What do you mean?" Sean asked.
Kel thought about trying to get Sean to forget she had ever brought it up, but then decided against it. She did want to know, after all. "When you were telling me about the Midwinter gathering. You seemed so nervous."
He gave a light chuckle. "Well, I was about to ask if you wanted to go with me. You know…as a date."
"Oh!" Kel's Yamani training automatically went to work, clearing her face of all emotions as Sean studied it out of the corner of his eye.
"I think you're blushing," he told her, the amusement evident in his voice.
"I don't blush."
"Of course not. But if you did, you'd be blushing. It's in your eyes." He grinned at her.
"There's nothing in my eyes. Blush or otherwise."
He outright laughed then. It was a quiet laugh, one that couldn't be heard easily, but it still managed to convey how amused he was. "Sure there is. You just don't notice it. I do." This was said simply, but his words seemed to hit Kel hard enough to bowl her over.
He stopped and looked at her. "I think you're blushing. And I think you want to go with me. You may be able to hide from the rest of the world, Lady Knight, but you can't hide from me."
And with that he kissed her.
Kel lay in bed, hours after she had first gotten in, her mind still swirling, playing the kiss over and over in her head.
Sean had stepped back from her only moments into the kiss, and yet the two of them had both been breathing fast. He had grinned at her and walked past a bush. Kel, upon following him, found they had been right outside the patrol group. Luckily enough, though, no one seemed to have noticed what had gone on a few steps from where they were. Kel glanced at Sean at that thought, but he was already back in his position, staring out into the foliage. She thought she saw a smile still on his face. Struggling not to show any kind of emotion, she informed Desmond what they had found, and had gone back to her patrolling assignment. They hadn't spoken at all, but Kel kept thinking she saw him looking over at her and grinning.
She had never been kissed like that. Even Cleon, during their many kisses, had never kissed like that. Cleon's kisses had passion, of course, but Sean's had – there was no other word for it, and Kel finally let herself admit it – love. Sean loved her.
Kel felt like screaming at herself, though of course she didn't. She had just realized that someone loved her. Sean wasn't a noble – he wasn't likely to leave her for a richer noblewoman. This wasn't court – she didn't have to be constantly thinking of what others would think of her for dating someone below her station. This was the perfect situation! An attractive, kind, and – above all – loving man had just kissed her.
Except that, it wasn't the perfect situation. Because Kel knew that nothing could come of this. Wasn't there some part in that contract she signed that said she needed the King's permission to marry? Kel knew enough to know that she couldn't send someone else in her stead to ask. And she really didn't look forward to traveling all the way to Corus, embarrass herself in front of all her friends, and throw herself at the feet of the King…only to be denied. And Kel was pretty sure that she would be denied. Her once suspicion was now a confirmed fact – King Jonathan did not like her at all.
And, of course, the news that she was running around fraternizing with a man, and not married to him, would get back to Corus. The things that you wanted to hide were always the ones that were revealed first. And when it did get back to the capitol, it would bring dishonor on her parents, and would ruin her sisters' marriage prospects. Any hope that she might have had (not that she thought she had any) of returning to her name and station would be dashed.
So Kel just had to find a way to explain to Sean that it was impossible to have a more-than-friendly relationship. After planning out what she would say, she fell asleep, confident that everything would be resolved in the morning. Everything would go back to normal. At least, the normal that was now normal.
Okay, I'm SO SORRY it took me so long to update!!! ::dodges tomatoes:: Please don't kill me!!! ::dodges sharp knives:: I have reason, really!! I have extreme amounts of hw!! And family issues!! And I have to read books over the summer and write essays! And I went to Warped Tour! (Which ROCKED btw) Also, I need to be in a "writing mood" to write, which wasn't happening. But if it makes you feel better, I am currently suffering from the worst sunburn of my life. So trust me, there's nothing you can do to me that would be worse than this.
My other reason is that I continually skip over the battle scenes during Lady Knight, which I can only borrow from Mel, so I had to wait until I could get my hands on it. 'Twill not happen again, I swear!
I am SO unorganized right now. ::looks around at desk, which is covered with fanfic ideas, plot outlines, etc:: Anyway, here we are, with another chapter, and hopefully another chapter soon to come. REVIEW PLEASE!!!! YAAAAAY!!
Frosted-Darkfox: I do not like Cleon either. When I first read Squire, I thought he was super neat, but now I know better. ::joins in the contemptuous glaring at Cleon::
Frisha: Mwahahaha. Alanna angry at Jon = endless amusement. ::grins::
Pinky: Well, you really can't blame Neal and Owen. I mean, they really didn't have a chance. If they stood up for Kel, they'd either get in as much trouble as she did or they wouldn't make any difference. I'm trying to convey here that Kel doesn't blame them for going off, but she's still a bit…annoyed, shall we say? Black hair green eyes = hottest men alive. Why Tamora Pierce would create a character with those traits and NOT have the main character marry him is beyond me.
Rubber Duck: Now now, I can't go giving away the entire plot line so soon!! You will just have to keep reading! And reviews make me happy!! ::hint hint:: I will tell you this: they eventually DO meet up again. MWAHAHA.