Title: The Forgotten Shall Rise
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
Rating: PG 13
Pairing: Not telling (But it's not K/N)
Summary: Keladry finds herself trapped between the threat from Scanra
and Galla. When New Hope is
attacked, and devastated, she can't even ride off to rescue her people, because
this time, they were all killed. When she does something both crazy and
extremely stupid, she is ordered away from the battlefield. A squad of the
King's Own is to accompany her on the long ride back to Corus. But something
unexpected is thrown their way. Besides the obvious, that she wasn't going to
go without a fight. Thrown into the lies and deceptions of everyday life,
Keladry has to fight for what she believes in, and a way back to the front
line.
- - - - -
Chapter Title: The World Crumbles
- - - - -
Peace was an illusion. That much Keladry of Mindelan had decided by the time she rode into Fort Mastiff. It wasn't much considering all the things she had had to think of. Despite that, it was true, too true. Just when you believed that you could relax for a minute, and not worry about your whole world crumbling around you, pulling you down as it fell, something brought it tumbling down. Reality tore away the façade of peace and joy; there was no joy anymore, at least not here. And Keladry had had more than her fair share of stolen moments. Everywhere she turned she expected to see lies and deceit; this is what war had done to her. Childish hate from her page and squire years was long gone; there was no hate here, just deep and resounding pain. Pain that war caused, pain the life caused.
There was no real happiness, not for her. She had finally accepted that Haven was gone, and now New Hope had been ripped away. Along with the people she had grown to love in the past years. And nothing could bring them back this time. They were really and truly gone, passed through the veil between life and death, finally gone where even she could not follow.
The Lioness had been rumored to have passed through the thin curtain once before, to return life to her friend and prince. But no normal person could ever hope of such a deed. No normal person could or would return from that journey. There was no return trip. But she didn't have to accept the same thing twice; she didn't have to live with it. It was her decision and hers alone. At least she had control over this, if nothing else. But there was no more time for thinking, only for action. If carefully planned, it could be blamed on some sort of silly accident.
Mastiff was only a day's ride from where she was now; she would reach it before nightfall. With any luck she would reach it at the guard change, it would make everything so much simpler. Even if she stopped to do this somewhere were this simple gesture would mean more, she would be there before dark. In the pitch black of night, Peachblossom would be reluctant to go as swiftly as she needed. And if she estimated the time wrong, everything would change, and none of it for the better. At least, not better for her. In the end, everything came down to time. Time, something that had always hindered the world and its leaders, every part of it, something that wouldn't matter anymore, but for now, it was everything.
Keladry slowed Peachblossom to a brisk walk and turned him off the dirt road, if it could be called that, towards a large rock, shaded by a giant oak tree. She had seen it on their ride back to New Hope. The shade would be a brief relief; she didn't want this day to be any worse than it had to be. She wore simple clothes, but not especially ratty. A light blue tunic over soft brown breeches and a white shirt. The only part of her attire that was even remotely dressy was her leather boots. She only wore her sword, dagger, belt purse, water skin, and another smaller bag.
Halting underneath the tree, its lowest branches were spread far and few between; she swung from Peachblossom's back and landed with a light thud. She patted his sweaty shoulder; it would be no good if he lacked the energy latter on, when she would need it most. He snorted softly and swung his head back to watch her, looking straight into her eyes, as if saying are you sure you want to do this? Keladry nodded silently, and Peachblossom gave a sigh, he turned his head back to where it was and Keladry found herself wondering just how much he understood. But that mattered very little now.
Tying Peachblossom to a low branch of the majestic pine, still alive and full in the dead heat of the summer, where he too would be shaded from the harsh warmth of the sun, Keladry climbed up to the top of her rock. It lay isolated from all other creations of nature, alone, but for the lone pine, and the dusty road. Once she was well onto the rock, at a bit of a flat area on it, she sat there cross-legged. She still had a choice, but could she trust herself to make the right one, when she didn't even know what the right choice was? She took the water skin and the small bag from her belt and laid them in front of her. She simply stared at them for long moments, before deciding. Untying the thin brown cord holding the bag shut, she poured ten small, smooth berries into her open hand.
The time had come, there was no turning back. Nothing, yet everything, depended on this. No mistakes could be made now. She stared at the berries she had collected earlier, they lay harmlessly in her palm, a deep purple which reminded her of the Lionesses famed eyes. As hard and cold as amethysts, yet with a humorous sparkle somewhere far beneath the surface.
This was very symbolic to her, where Alanna the Lioness had triumphed, she, Keladry of Mindelan, had failed. Sure she had become a knight, but that didn't mean all the tests were over. She found herself wondering if women really weren't suited for the battlefield. Was the Lioness just a fluke? A once in a lifetime miracle? She shook her head stubbornly, she couldn't think like that. Of course women were just as capable as men in war and combat, it was her who wasn't.
As quickly as they could call the Lioness a fluke, they could call her a fluke, say that she was just one person of many, and there was bound to be at least one failure. It wasn't a pleasant thought, but it may well be true. She desperately hoped it was, and that someone else would get their chance. There was no time for such thoughts now though, only for action.
She lifted her hand slowly and hesitantly, as if she could stop what was about to happen if only she stalled a little longer. Keladry knew though, that there was no going back now. She popped them in her mouth and bit down defiantly. She took a swift drink of water to cleanse the bitter taste from her mouth. Despite the cool, clean water, the bitterness remained, reflected as from her heart. It was out of her hands now…