Living in My Dream

Disclaimer:

Wanna hear the funniest joke you'll ever hear??

Hear it is:….

I OWN TORTALL! AND MIA! AND HARRY POTTER! w00000t!

Ha. Haha. Hahahahahahahahaha……

-shrugs- I found it funny…-mutters-

So, I own NOTHING (-tear-tear-), except Rach, her parents, her maid Anna, Jeannette, and Lady Aralene of Fenrigh. sighs And, I own my muse, Meathead the Second. Or, as he likes to be called, MH.

MH: -waves- Say hello to me in your Pretty Review! -waves harder-

MH: By the way….Kira has forgotten to tell you that this story takes place in Kel's squire years. Actually, this takes place in her first squire year.

On with my story!

Chapter 1:

The sentry gasped. A crumpled figure lay in the shadows of the old willow trees. She; for it could only be a girl, appeared to be battered thoroughly. Her arms and shins had numerous scrapes and cuts, her head appeared to be slightly swollen around her temples, and one of her ankles was definitely twisted. Her dress looked as if she had been rolling in fresh mud, and couldn't be bothered to wash up afterwards. Her hair looked to be mangled with sweat, and blood. In fact, to a person from our world, we would suspect foul play, a car accident at the least. But this isn't our world. This poor, raven-haired girl was about to receive help. Maybe it would be better for both her mental state and her physical health if people, more sane than the gallant rescuers coming her way, had found her first. He clambered back onto his horse, and galloped as quick as his mount would allow him to, heading back in the direction he had come from.

"….and, there was that time when Milord over here, tripped over some poor old dear's dress hem. He went sliding across the floor!" a young man guffawed. He looked to be of Bazir descent, most likely in his late teens.

A dark-haired, blue-eyed man, wearing an armband with a Sergeant's insignia stitched into it, answered the first.

"Oh yes," he grinned "he went sliding across the room, and ended up with a pretty view underneath the skirts of that new lady, who had just been introduced to court that day. What was her name again?"

"Ahh….I believe it was Lady Aralene of Fenrigh. You know, the prissy, self-centered one? She was around 15 at the time, and had an attitude worse than her sister, Donna?" The first man grinned as the entire company, save three people nearer to the front, roared in laughter, recalling the beating the man had received afterwards. Had it not been for the King and his Champion, Lord Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak would have ended up as mince-meat.

The three at the front, who had not laughed at the story Qasim and Dom had related to the troop, were miraculous people, who had accomplished a lot, each in their own way.

Lord Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak, Commander of the King's Own, along with his Second-in Command, Lord Flyndon of Whitesford had taken it upon themselves to take on a certain page, as a squire. Keladry of Mindelan was a very determined person, not afraid to work, and eager to please. At that moment, Flyn and Kel were trying to conceal their smiles behind hands as Raoul muttered to himself. Snatches of words from a conversation Raoul appeared to be having with himself could be heard by those closest to him. Mainly, Flyn and Kel.

(A/N: winces I know I got Flyn's name wrong, I just don't have Squire with me. Review and tell me the correction, so I can change it!)

"..deserve…. will slave….no balls…..Fenrigh…" This went on for the better part of the hour, until the noise of a galloping horse reached their ears.

"Milord! Milord! I've spotted something of interest a bit to the side of the road, about a mile away!" An excitable sentry had come up upon them, galloping at full speed. Raoul perked up immensely. Deciding that Third Company needed a break from relating all the horrible things he had ever done to his newly-made squire, he led the way west, in the direction his sentry had appeared from.

Fifteen minutes later, Third Company found themselves surrounding what appeared to be a girl wearing a muddy, woolen, pink dress. They thought nothing of the dress, for any commoner in these parts spun wool for clothing, but they were apprehensive of the condition they found the girl in. Many were equally apprehensive of the two items close to the girl's form. Then again, most people would be startled to find damaged and battered girls, lying unconscious next to lethal looking instruments.

"What happened here?" breathed Flyn, as Raoul stooped closer to investigate the girl. Kel stood by, in case he was in need of assistance. Lerant, who felt snubbed by this girl squire who had taken over his role of attending Raoul, stood guard, wearing a scowl.

"Hmmm…seems harmless enough. Ler-ant! Would you mind if she rode saddle with you? We'll need to ride fast, and I don't trust anyone else to keep her in saddle." Raoul explained, dusting his hands as he stood up. He reached for the waterskin Kel held out, having recently been filled in the stream near-by.

Lerant nodded grudgingly. Anyone who had known the lad before Kel arrived new that he was still sore about the fact that Kel got the title of the one who attended Raoul. Few soldiers moved out of the way, allowing Lerant to lift the limp girl into his arms. He carried the figure over to his horse, who pranced impatiently, longing to be One with the wind once more. As soon as he moved out of the way, Raoul ordered all but his Sergeant back to their horses. He had found an adventurous mission at last; one even someone as powerful as the King could not object to. After all, only Third Company of the King's Own was equipped for this kind of emergency.

"Kel, come closer. I want you to have a good look at these devices…instruments…tools. Whatever they are, we need to figure out a way to transport then to the nearest fief. Flyn, you should go check up on the boys, and the girl. Conduct a field check-up; I have a feeling that our friend might have a nasty concussion."

Kel obeyed without another word, taking in all details. The first object looked harmless enough. It appeared to be some sort of sack, except small in size. About the size of her Knight-Master's helmet. It was a soft purple color, which would have matched the pink dress the strange girl was wearing, had it not been covered in dirt. There was a short strap, of the same color and material, attached to two ends of the sack. A metallic band of stitching, with a piece of metal attached to it ran between the strap of material, and seemed to effectively enclose the contents of the sack, so nothing would drop out.

The second object, however, looked very complex and intricate, something a powerful mage might be able to accomplish. Kel speculated it was made of a long piece metal, which had been hollowed out, and bent in a certain angle. A bit of metal protruded from the inside of this angle and attached itself to both ends. A hinge-like device had been cleverly hidden by this protruding bit of metal. Shifting to a new angle, Kel could see that a cylindrical shape seemed to be lodged in the larger part of the hollow, bent metal piece. Kel shuddered; she had a nasty feeling that if someone bent the protruding bit of metal, pressure would force whatever was lodged in there to come out. Of course, Kel didn't test out her theory. She didn't have a death wish upon her!

The weapon (for she knew something as lethal looking as this could only be a weapon) looked like it was made to be shot from a close and a far range. It looked like the type of weapon an assassinator would value; a swift, clean-killing weapon. The person, if done proper, wouldn't realize they were dying until it was too late. Kel shuddered; she had come close to death more than once, and did not wish to repeat the experience until she was actually on a battle field. She didn't think their "friend" was as innocent as she appeared to be.

"Well?" Raoul demanded. The gleam in his eye unnerved Kel for a bit; she could almost believe that her Knight-Master would turn this whole escapade into a full-scale adventure. Not that Kel would mind; it would almost be a relief from the constant border patrol in the West.

"Sir, I believe that the purple item, made of…velvet, I think - might be a lady's satchel. I-"

"A what?"

"A lady's satchel. My sisters each have one, though none could compare to this one. They carried around various cosmetics and face paints in it. Occasionally, a small mirror."

Kel blushed, her Yamani mask undone. She could remember another item that ladies often carried around in their satchels, but she had a feeling that if she voiced her thoughts outloud, they would both be embarrassed. Actually, she had no idea if Raoul knew what a sanitary napkin was, but she didn't intend to find out.

"The last item…I'm not sure. I definitely do not recall ever seeing something of that design, and it is definitely a type of weapon."

Raoul took one last look at the weapon. "Just as I had thought. I'm glad you have a keen sense of danger. I believe a friend of mine calls it 'Women's Intuition.' ," Both Kel and Raoul shared a smile.

"Well then, my squire, I would like you to carefully, carefully, take this weapon, and place it in the lady's satchel. When our friend wakes up, we shall have a discussion. I might even dispatch a messenger from a fief, asking for Numair." Raoul speculated, standing up from his former position.

Kel fumbled with the metal bit on the lady's satchel, until it slid open smoothly, like magic. Kel held in a gasp as she reached for the weapon. Warily taking hold of the part farthest from the metal hinge, she slid it in the satchel, not bothering to take into inventory the items inside the satchel. As she stood up, stretching out the kinks from her spine, she wondered why a commoner would have something as expensive as a lady's satchel. She doubted even the Queen had a satchel as richly made as this one.

Running back to the horse she was currently riding, Hoshi (who was a gift from Raoul, given to her the day he had taken his squire), she placed the satchel gently behind her, where Jump was supposed to sit. Another officer had offered to carry Jump to the nearest fief. Which reminded her of a question she had been meaning to as Raoul ever since he mentioned it?

"Sir? What fief is the closest one that we can reach before nightfall?" Kel hid her feelings behind her mask. She hoped, she wished that it wouldn't be-

"Why…I believe that Mindelan is the closest fief. Isn't that great Kel? You'll get to see your parents again!" beamed Raoul, honestly thinking he was doing a favour to Kel.

Kel groaned. Great. She was going to see her nephews and nieces again. She only hoped they had matured a bit from the little ones she was used to.

"What? What did I say?" Raoul asked Lerant and Flyn. They shrugged.

A/N:

Thank you to all those people who reviewed! You each get a cookie!)

PsychoLioness13: -shamefaced- I know. It's just the way I felt about my work. But I changed the summary! Thanks for the advice.

Erlina Silverstra: -sighs- I know…that's something I must work on. Hopefully, I will never come across a story in which I need to do this, ever again. Thanks for the advice, though!

Shadowgirll: Really? -blushes- I never thought I was that keen on details. Thanks!

Patronus99: -shocked into submission- -flattered- Wow…Favorite Author, Favorite Story and Author Alert?? -shocked- Wow…and this was my first, feeble attempts at Fanfiction…THANKYOU!!!!!

Everyone else: REVIEW!

Kira:sighs Do we really have to go through this again?

Meathead: stubbornly Yes. I've never done this before!

Kira: Fine. Here's the deal, readers! If you give me a review, I'll give you a cookie! And a brownie!

MH/Kira: SO REVIEW!!