Blade Griffin- thx and no, it doesn't.
Devilschild- NO I AM NOT GAY!!!!! Look, just because my so-called mates named me after a male hobbit, and that I'm female and supposedly married to a fictional (male) character does not make me gay! Do I make myself clear? Good. Thx otherwise.
Fallen_Angel- haha! Don't you dare think of stealing Dom! Yeah, I am British.
Jossie- thx. I hate exams. They're (as Kerm would say) Pants. With a capital 'P'. Um… I think this chapter's generally longer than most of mine but I don't think it's as good. It's kinda a filler chapter. And boring…
Keita- girl, Owen's all yours!
Snow*flake- How many times do I have to tell you? Dom's MINE!!!!!!!!! But anyways. I did Art and its crappy… you have to continually do coursework and the exam is ten hours long! TEN HOURS!!! I am calm… calm as a lake on a summers day…
Eccie87- No. Dom is mine and solely mine. And its gonna stay that way. Forever. I think. I liked HP. I thought it was better than the first one but my mum fell asleep- when the basilisk came out!!!
Pip- Glad you feel guilty. Thx. Thx. And thx again. Bye. (wow, that was long.)
Coley-thx.
Sir Lady Reeves of Queenscove- thx!
Cami- soz bout the whole loosing sleep thingy. I know wot you mean bout the warm muscular chest…. Dom's not smelly (well not really he just was in that scene- I was trying to be realistic!!!) And no I'm not going to share him with Snow.
Clarylissa- thx
Tbiris and Nicole Lequia- thx for yr opinions
Goddess of the Moon- thx. Did you know that I'm the Goddess of the Night? And the Patron saint of the King's Own? Well I am.
Kenta Divina- hey, I swear I wrote this chapter before I read yr review!
Ok, I'm afraid I've run out of time so I can't personalise any more thank yous! I'm sorry! But I have to get my beauty sleep (plus I want to read a bit more of my new book and write a couple of lines to my new fic!). So thankyou to everyone else that I haven't mentioned! It's really encouraging to get as many reviews as I do, especially such good, complimenting reviews!!! I always want to write after reading my reviews!
Ok, so chapter. Oh, yeah, I just watched Mulan with my sis (look, just because I'm 16 doesn't mean I can't watch Disney any more. Ok?) and I swear TP like watched it before she wrote Kel's books cos there were so many little small things that I kept picking out that were so similar! (Apart from the whole cross-dressing Alanna-like thing). Anyway, chapter. Yeah, this is kind of a filler so it's boring and annoying and you get the picture. By the way, question from my great beta: can fish drown?
Bye!
Chapter 17- The Title-less Chapter (But then it's not actually title-less cos it's called the title-less chapter. Hehehe!)Kel ran to a more isolated part of the port. She saw the boat George must have meant and wound her way through the people and other stuff littering the cobbles.
Reaching the boat, Kel paused, watching the sailors' behaviour and comparing it to sailors of other boats. She could find no difference. She guessed who was in charge and approached him. When he saw her making a beeline for him, he scrutinised every inch of her before meeting her eyes and grunting.
'What do ye want?'
Yep, it was there- a slight twinge of a Tortallan accent.
'I hear you sail for Tortall.'
'Who told ye that?'
Kel brought out a badge symbolising her work for Myles and said, 'Sir Myles of Olau.'
His eyebrows raised but he replied, in the same gruff tone, 'We're full.' That was quite obviously not true.
Kel calmly uncovered the hidden hilt of her sword, fingering the metal work. She waited until his eyes had darted back from the sword to meet hers. 'And Baron George of Pirate's Swoop.'
He pondered a moment before commenting, 'You're in luck- we just got a free space.'
Kel nodded and was shown to her satisfactory room. There she waited. Suddenly, she had an idea- well, more of a thought. How long was it until the next new moon? Sitting down, she pulled a book/ diary type thing from her saddlebags and set about working it out. Kel blanched and sank back in her seat, murmuring no to herself and shaking her head. The next new moon was in six days.
Once she was sure they had been sailing for a while and were most likely away from other ships, Kel went out on deck. She needed to speed things up a bit or she would never get to Dom in time.
It didn't take her long to find the Captain, draining a large mug of ale. 'Captain,' she said matter-of-factly, placing her palms on the desk between them. 'Is this the fastest your vessel can go? I've seen fin-less fish swim faster.' (A/N: hehehe! Fin-less fish!)
He growled low in his throat. 'And what are ye going to do about it?'
'Well…' Kel straightened up. 'I could threaten you. Or I could threaten your sailors. Or I could kill you and take your place.' She waited for this to sink in through the haze of drunkenness. 'But that would be unchivalrous (A/N: Is that a real word? My computer doesn't like it). Instead, I'm going to ask you nicely because I have reliable information that you have powerful mages on this boat. So, I ask you, can you please make this boat go faster?'
He drew his finger and thumb down his chin, took in a deep noisy breath through his nose, then cocked a finger at a young man standing in the shadows. The man stepped forward.
'Fetch the mages.'
Kel smiled as the cabin boy scurried off, then headed back down to her cabin to try for some rest.
~*~
Kel paid the Captain handsomely, took one last look at the grey, exhausted mages and scrambled off into the harbour. She was soon lost within the mingling people. Just before leaving the boat, she had put on her tunic of her own personal colours with a small version of her shield over her left breast. This helped her push her way through the crowds and find a suitable stables.
There, she was able to hire a horse, one with plenty of endurance. (A/N: Don't ask me what happened to Peachblossom while Kel was away- I don't know!). Kel mounted the dappled stallion in a vain attempt to get through the crowds easier. She had forgotten when she had asked the Captain to take her this far, just how busy Port Caynn could be. It was hard work through the city- she had to keep an eye on her saddle bags in case of thieves; she had to watch the ground under the stallion's hooves for young children, or fallen adults or small animals and she had to try and make her way through everyone in the right direction.
Kel let out a sigh of relief when she had passed through the city and was emerging from the suburbs. Hopefully now, the going would be much easier and she would reach Corus before nightfall. She urged her mount faster, trying in futile to relax as the slight breeze whipped her hair out behind her.
~*~
Kel arrived at Corus as evening was beginning to set in. The sun stretched red and pink fingers across the sky as it sank below the horizon, which could have likely promised true weather tomorrow. Red sky at night, shepherd's delight, Kel recited to herself. She couldn't afford to spend long in Corus and bad weather would hinder her.
Riding in through the gates, she dismounted while her horse was still moving. A young stable boy rushed up to take her sweat-stained horse, shooting curious glances at the equally sweaty, dirty and tatty lady.
Kel had no time to waste with staring stable hands; she had no time to waste at all. She jogged into the palace and headed towards Myles' apartment, ignoring the looks she was given.
Kel knocked. No reply. She knocked again. No reply, again. She knocked a third time, harder and louder. Still no reply. She tried the door, wondering if Myles was drunk or asleep or purposefully ignoring her but before she could open it, Kel stopped herself. What right had she to barge in?
Cursing, Kel turned around, walking off down the corridor. Just as she was about to round the corner, she heard a door open and a man angrily demand 'What?'.
Kel stopped and looked back. Yep. It was Myles.
'Sir Myles? I'm sorry, am I interrupting anything?'
Myles looked at her in surprise. 'Kel? You're back already? That was quick.'
Kel made a face. 'It's not quick enough.'
Myles sighed and ushered her inside. 'Well its much sooner than I was expecting you.'
'Are you sure I'm not interrupting?'
'No, no. I was just talking with the King, Alanna and Raoul.'
Kel rolled her eyes. 'And that isn't interrupting?' she muttered to herself. Myles chuckled as they entered his study. Jon and Alanna sat in comfy looking chairs while Raoul stared out the window. Alanna stood as Myles came in.
'I'm sorry Myles- I have to go now. I promised George I'd let him take me out to dinner tonight.' Myles grinned.
'Of course dear. Have a nice time.' Alanna hugged her father, said "hello" and "goodbye" to Keladry and then left.
Kel bowed to the King and said 'Your Highness' in as a respectable voice as she could manage. Kel turned to Lord Raoul's back. 'My Lord?' she inquired.
He turned, smiling. 'Kel! I hear you've been trying your skilful hand at spying. Any success?'
Kel nodded. 'Yes Sir.' Raoul rolled his eyes- Kel had long ago refused to call him by his first name.
'You have news of Sergeant Domitan of Masbolle?' queried the King, his interest instantly aroused.
'Yes, Majesty.'
'Well? Come then,' commented Myles, indicating the large, covered table. 'Tell us.'
Then, drawing sketches for assistance and using the maps strewn across Sir Myles' table, Kel showed them what she had seen of the Copper Islands and the guards and the fort. When she had finished, there was silence.
Finally, Jon ran his fingers over his beard and asked, 'How long have we got?'
Kel took a deep breath, drawing courage in with the air. 'Till the next new moon.'
They all looked sharply at her.
'What?' demanded the King.
'They kill him at the next new moon. If he doesn't die first.'
'Are the conditions that bad?' asked Myles softly.
Kel looked him in the eye. 'They torture him every day. His back is bloody with whip wounds.' Kel heard Raoul behind her draw in a sharp breath. She turned to him, her features and voice softening.
'He wanted you to know that he hasn't given any information away. He wanted you to know he'd served you well unto the end.' Raoul bit his lip.
Kel turned to Myles. 'But I don't understand why they took Dom. I mean, why him over every other Tortallan?'
'I don't think it was because of him being Dom, I think it was more because he was Tortallan. I think they just wanted a hostage. Some warrior who is likely to know about all our different armies and armed forces. Who better than a commander alone with a small group of men? It's a way of getting at us and gaining information.'
'Sire,' began Raoul. 'I request to go after Sergeant Domitan.'
Jon sighed and massaged his temples. 'Raoul, I can't let you go charging off into enemy territory.'
'You let Kel go your Majesty,' commented Raoul, adding the title of respect as a safeguard.
Jonathan closed his eyes, letting out a troubled breath. 'One spy is a lot easier to disguise than a giantkiller and his troops.'
'I needn't take any troops if that's what you're worried about. But I won't leave a man such as Dom to die there. Especially not since he has held out as strongly.'
'What, and you expect to get Masbolle out of there by yourself?!'
Raoul opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by the quiet female with them.
'He wouldn't be by himself, sire.'
Jon glared at Kel. 'Oh? Why, you expect to go back?'
'I will go back, your majesty. With my Lord or without him. I'm not leaving a friend to die in the enemy's hands, sire.' Kel stood still, hands clamped behind her back, eyes forward, Yamani mask on. Raoul caught her eye and smiled. She let the corner of her mouth twitch back.
Jonathan sighed again. 'I can't let two of the realm's leading knights charge into the centre of our enemy. Even if they've already abducted one of our top commanders, sending you in could cause a war. We don't need that- we're still recovering from King Maggur/ the war with Scanra. ' He looked at them both sharply. 'You should both know that.'
After a pregnant pause Raoul said, 'Your majesty? Please let me go- I won't make any unnecessary damage. I'll just get in, get Dom, get out.'
'No Raoul. And don't even think of it,' he added when the Knight Commander re-opened his mouth to argue. Raoul closed his mouth, paused and then opened it again. 'No Raoul,' said Jon forcefully. 'Look, if you choose to disobey my orders or find a way past my them as you have done so many times in the past, I can remove you from the King's Own. We all know that's the last thing you want but I can't have you defying me at every whim of yours.'
'But Jon, your majesty, you can't leave him there,' protested Raoul.
'No, I know.' The King sighed. 'Myles, have you got some men free?'
Myles thought for a minute and then said, 'Yes but it would take them a while to get there.'
Before the King could reply, Kel butted in, rapidly getting annoyed at the conversation. 'How long's a while? Sir,' she added as an afterthought.
'It depends. It could take them a week to get to the Copper Islands or a couple of days.'
Kel made a face. 'We don't have time like that to waste.'
'I'm sending no-one else, Lady Knight- my mind is quite made up,' Jon commented quietly but firmly. 'Myles, have the quickest messengers sent to your men immediately. They should come back here first where we can talk to them- show them all Kel's learned.'
Raoul had been watching Kel. He had noticed how she had been different to her usual self- more agitated and annoyed, less calm. He had heard tell a while ago that Domitan had feelings for the Lady Knight. Could it be she felt the same for the Sergeant? Now, with Jon's latest words, Raoul saw something in Kel's eyes snap. Thinking back, he couldn't recollect ever having seen his former squire lose her temper, but the look in her eyes reminded him uncannily of Alanna.
'By which time Domitan could be dead and rotting,' snapped Kel. Everyone looked at her in surprise. 'Or maybe you've forgotten- the next new moon is in five days!' No-one said anything; Kel made and exasperated noise and continued. 'We need to get to him before then,' she said as if she were talking to a very small child.
'I realise, Mindelan,' commented Jon crossly. 'I'm sure Sir Myles' men will be quick. If not-' he shrugged- 'well, we'll know we tried and in the end, sacrifices have to be made-'
'Sacrifices?' said Kel. She did not yell it as Lady Alanna would have but repeated the word calmly, too calmly. 'If that was your son in there, there would be no talk of sacrifices! Your child would be out of there before he even realised where he was even if it did risk starting a war! Why is it any different for Lord Masbolle and his son? Oh yeah, simply because your son is far more important because he's the prince. How could I forget? Well, I'll tell you what, I'm getting Dom out of there, help or not. I don't need any men to help me anyway.' And with that Kel stormed out of the room as hot tears began to run tracks down her cheeks. How could the King be so selfish? So unfeeling?
Kel wanted to leave for the Copper Isles that moment but knew it would be a bad idea- she was exhausted. She would spend the night here, and be on her way before dawn. Hopefully.
As she made her way to her room, Kel did cringe at the remembrance of how she had lost her control so badly. She frowned at herself and made a promise never to let it happen again. This time was acceptable, just barely. After all, it had only been because she was so worried about Dom.
~*~
A/N: Speak to you soon!
~M. da M.M.M. of M.