The Threads of Life: Chapter Two
A/N: Well, hopefully no one dies this chapter...And thanks to my one reviewer! And this ones longer!
The next few days passed by Kel in a blur. She wasn't really paying attention to what was happening to her, she was just letting herself be herded around to wherever she needed to go. Whenever she tried to concentrate, her mind showed her graphic images of what she supposed was the way that her family died. She didn't feel any happiness, no matter what her friends did to cheer her up. Down in the deep recesses of her mind, she knew that she should be training for her return to Scanra in a few short weeks.
She wandered aimlessly down from her room, and somehow found herself in the Palace stables where Peachblossom and Hoshi were currently staying. Somehow, she knew that they would help her think. She went to brush Hoshi, and found Tobe already doing it for her.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry, I'll leave now," he said, racing to put away his brushes and sponges, having just given her a bath.
"No, no Tobe you keep doing what you're doing," she said, waving a careless hand. He noticed that her hair was unbrushed and her whole appearance was slightly disheveled. He wondered what she had been doing – obviously nothing that would help her heal from her families' death. She walked off until she found a horse that looked like it belonged to the Palace, so therefore, no one would mind if she groomed it. She didn't feel like avoiding Peachblossom's nips today. It really was a beautiful horse – sleek and black to perfection. She was lost in her own little dream world. Here, she could forget about her life and fret about the beauty of another's.
"Uh...Keladry...?" A mans voice questions. She started and looked around. It was the king. No surprise registered on her face, perhaps because she was trained not to show, but more likely because she really wasn't surprised; she just didn't care. "Were you aware that that is my horse that you are so kindly grooming?"
Kel looked back around at the horse. It was his horse! If she had been her normal self, she knew, she would have noticed. As it was, she was not her normal self, so she hadn't noticed. She also finally registered who it was she was talking to, and how much she disliked the man, no matter how important and kind he was said to be. She didn't care! She brushed past him forcefully, tears in her eyes, out of the stable. Jonathan stared after her. He realized that she was not okay, and someone needed to talk to her. She needed to know that life goes on. No, she would never forget, but she would have to deal.
Kel walked away, slightly ashamed of herself for not bowing to the King or something of that regard, but most of her just didn't care. She ran out of the stables and nearly bowled someone over. To her chagrin, it was Dom. Flustered, she picked herself up.
"I'm so sorry!" she said, blushing. Oh, why did she have to blush? She didn't even like him! Dom looked at her and chuckled. When he saw her face, he stopped and became serious and business-like.
"Look Kel, we need to talk. You can't just ruin your whole life over this fact. There are people out there who care about you, and you are just making them feel unimportant and unloved. In fact, your best friend tried to come and talk to you yesterday and you threw one of your Yamani cats at him."
"I did? He did? Oh no," she groaned, "I have to go find him!" She ran off, and Dom felt good, having made her forget, if only for a minute.
Kel ran off away from Dom, intending to go to Neal's rooms to apologize, but he wasn't currently occupying his rooms. The fact that he wasn't there caused Kel's worries to begin again. What if he hated her now? What if he had changed rooms specifically to avoid Kel? Somehow, she knew this wasn't true, but the worries kept resurfacing as she sat down near his room.
"Excuse me, can I help you?" Kel looked up, surprised that she hadn't heard this person approaching. It was Duke Gareth the Younger of Naxen. She looked up confused, and then stood up.
"Oh!" she said to herself, and ran off. She had gone to the wrong room! She had somehow come to the wrong wing of the palace or something. She walked off, trying to orient herself so that she could figure out where she was. She ended up walking back outside, straight into a sweaty Neal! She backed up, confused. Training was the last thing Neal would want to do on a day like this. Neal grinned at her, happy to see his friend finally out and about.
"The flower has finally risen!" he exclaimed sarcastically. Kel looked at him.
"Oh Neal, shut up," she said surprising herself. He pretended to be taken aback.
"Me, shut up? Why, who would not want to hear the somber tones of my voice in harmony with the wind?" he became serious then. "Kel, we're all worried about you. I know we can't heal your wounds in a day, but if you'd listen to us, I think that your life would become much easier." Kel stared up at him.
"Don't care," she mumbled to herself, then stood up and started to walk away. Neal ran after her and pulled her back. She pulled away, but stopped.
"Kel, listen you need to go on, if only because you are going back to Scanra in a few weeks and can't be distracted otherwise you'll be killed, and so will everyone else you are commanding. Think of it this way, you'll not only be responsible for your own death, but the deaths of countless others. You wont be remembered for all the good things you did, just that." Something clicked within Kel in Neal's tirade. She realized that, even if she died, she couldn't bear to be responsible for other people's deaths at the same time. She looked up at Neal, and pulled a tentative smile, her jaw wobbling from this strange new use. He smiled back, slung his arms around her shoulder, and they walked up to the palace together to get some dinner.
