Disclaimer: Don't own anything except the plot, all characters and references to the setting belong to the one and only Tamora Pierce

Emotionless

By: Chicken Puffs

And I remember the day when you left for Santa Monica
You left me to remain with all your excuses for everything
And I remember the time when you left for Santa Monica
And I remember the day you told me it's over

Theory of a Deadman, Santa Monica


Not all stories end with a happy ending; this was a fact of life, not just an opinion expressed by the unruly and depressed. At the tender age of four his father had read him a story before setting off on his journey to Corus, and much too young Joren's happiness, for he didn't see his father much, the book was one of his favorites, given to him by his nurse maid.

Joren vividly remembered the fairy tale, a beautiful young peasant girl falling for the soon to be king, the kingdom rejecting this young girl and then suddenly falling in love with her as the prince makes her his bride.

He had clapped his hands together in glee, but his bubble had soon burst at the look of pure loathing on his fathers face.

"This is nonsense! Garbage unfit even for the lowliest of peasants. Now, tell me who gave you this book? Was it your mother?" Burchard had purred out the last sentence. Letting the malice drip from his words, he hoped that he might have a reason to beat that pathetic excuse for a woman.

A small whimper had been unleashed from deep inside his throat, as his father slapped hard him across the face and repeated the question. Really he'd had no choice but to surrender to his fathers whims.

"Hanna gave it to me for my birthday Father. What is wrong with it?"

His fathers face had gone red, as he picked up a glass vase on his table and hurled it against the wall, sending minuscule fragments flying.

Burchard picked up the finely embroidered book before throwing it into the blazing hot fire, and stayed only long enough to watch it burst into flames. Satisfied, he smirked at the hot ash that was all that remained of the petty fairy tale.

"There is no such thing as love or happy endings, because in the end all that's left is the pain. It's easier to love than hate, but never embrace love because over time, the hate is all that remains. Love is for fools."

The words caused a new emotion to fill his small heart, the gift of hate.

Joren had woken up in the morning to discover his nurse hanging in the courtyard for everyone to see. Dead.

It was only one thing in a series of events that shaped Joren's budding character from a growing boy, into a hard young youth.


Kel and Joren had finally arrived at their destination point to find that the seer had left town to guide a recently destroyed village and bring life to the destruction. She would not be back for at least a week, the stable hand had said, wondering for the life of him what the young couple needed a seer for. They looked to be in fine health and there seemed to be a fiery passion in the woman's eyes that he guessed could only be directed at the gentleman standing close to her.

What puzzled him was the man. The woman was not beautiful, but her wide hazel eyes and thick brown hair gave off the impression that she was quite pretty, and she must have been quite in love because every few moments while he was talking she would glance at him with her thick black eyelashes before quickly turning away.

There story would be quite intriguing to know about when he found out, and he was not one to be denied access to anything. He was after all the closest thing these people had to a leader.


Kel was not used to having spare time. Training at the palace or being out with Raoul required no such thing as 'spare time'.

There wasn't much to the inn that they were currently staying in, tables filled with laughing thieves, women in revealing dresses flaunting their cleavage and entertaining the men, and then there was her, alone in the bustling smoke filled in.

Joren had roughly left as soon as they'd stabled their horses, leaving a flustered Kel on her own. Not that she minded, he'd been acting stranger than usual, and her thoughts weren't coming out clear when he was in such close proximity to her. She was even afraid to sleep when he was in the same room, for the dreams continued to plague her, and she'd yet to come to terms with the message they were portraying, that she was in love with him.

"And what is a lovely lady such as you sitting alone for? No one deserves to be alone on such a beautiful night as tonight."

Startled she looked up to see the stable boy slip into the shadows where her table lay. His voice was rich and he seemed to purr as he talked, not the rough thick accent he'd used before when they had inquired about the seer.

He smiled down at her as he revealed a row of straight pearl white teeth, against the broad tan of his face.

"May I have a seat, and enjoy the company of your loveliness?" His deep emerald eyes laughed as she nodded, crimson color rising to her cheeks.

"My name is Anthony, and if I may ask yours?"

A certain suspicion had set in as Anthony flirted with her, but she let it go, knowing that he couldn't have had a clue who she really was.

"Mariah of Three Waters," Kel lied easily, looking at the man more closely. Black hair was pushed away from his eyes, and eyes that reminded her of Neal's spoke a whole volume of his personality. He wore silk breeches and a crisp white shirt, clothes that were certainly unbefitting of his station.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful lady, Mariah," Anthony spoke the words seductively as she looked down, and he observed her movements, knowing that she was not the commoner she was reported to be. Her voice was as educated as his, and intelligence lay in her eyes. The rust red silk dress didn't end his suspicions either, or the jeweled choker she wore either.

"What brings you here? Not many from around inquire about our seer, you'd think that Corus would have it's own great ones.

She stared at him in disbelief, how could he have found out where they were from?

Recovering quickly she spoke in a low voice, "Corus is a dangerous place for us to be right now, and we need some guidance, or our lives could be at stake." Kel's voice quivered just enough to add effect to what she was saying, and silently she congratulated herself as a look of pity crossed Anthony's eyes.

"Someone of your beauty should never have to run. You should be given a palace overlooking the world, and rule from high above. Is it worth running away with the man you believe to love you?"

His words confused her, he'd seen Joren but how could he have figured out their story without her explaining the whole situation? Obviously there was more to this man than met the eye. Could he possibly be another George Cooper?

"Of course, love has no boundaries."

"Well maybe I could change your mind lady, and you could tell me the real truth. I might even let you set some real boundaries. My room is free if you'd like, it's a very secluded place to talk. "

Kel was shocked at what she'd just been asked of, but before she could speak another voice broke into the conversation.

"Or maybe she'd rather not." His voice was quiet, but a deadly coldness had arisen in it, a tone she'd yet to hear from him. "If you'll excuse us, we'll take our leave now."

Anthony winked at Kel as Joren forcefully grabbed her wrist and she found herself capable of nothing if she wished to not cause a scene amongst the overly crowded inn.

His voice reached her ears as she heard him call out to her, "I'm sure you'll know where to find me if you change your mind!"

As soon as they were out of sight Kel pushed Joren away hard as she herself backed up against the wall, and he stumbling back, not quite falling down. His eyes met hers, and she held back a gasp as he glared at her, coming closer as he used all of his weight to throw her down but not before she took him with her by hooking him with her left foot.

The soft hay cushioned her landing, and as horses neighed, she tried unsuccessfully to get an advantage but Joren would not budge from on top of her. They'd stopped rolling, and he'd decided he needed to put her in her place.

"Mindelan you are the biggest fucking idiot I have ever met. Are you trying to blow everything when we're so close? Or would you rather die in the Black God's clutches? You don't have the option to flirt with every man you see, but I always knew you were a whore. If it's not Queenscove you're fucking, then it's some stranger." His eyes had become gray pools of fiery, no longer had their icy blue color, and she shut them closed, not willing to look at him. "Open your eyes!" He shouted at her, his anger slowly receding inside of him as he stared at her pale face, and long eyelashes drawn together. Her hair seemed to curl slightly at the ends as it drew into a perfect arc around her face.

All had gone quiet, and reluctantly Kel opened her eyes as her breath caught. Inches from her face was his, eyes that bore into hers as hazel clashed with silver-blue, as she lost herself inside of him.

She failed to notice his weight on top of her and how it crushed her lungs, but she couldn't bring herself to draw away from the warmth and energy that was circulating off of him and through her body.

Joren's words brought her back to reality as they broke the spell around them. His voice was hoarse as he spoke, "I hate you with a passion, Mindelan, something not many can say, but I want you more than you can ever know."

His lips met hers and her skin was set on fire as she felt her desire combine with his. It was a battle that at first she had been winning, but all thoughts of hate and war were gone as he was now underneath her and his hands roamed wildly, searching this new unexplored territory.

She moaned as his tongue went deeper into her mouth, and at that moment she realized she wasn't dreaming, because it wasn't this possible to feel complete in a dream, there was always something missing. Tonight there was nothing missing.

It had happened so fast that as she felt him draw away from underneath her, she seemed miles away reliving every moment of it, because no dream had ever made her feel like this.

"I don't know what you've done to me Mindelan, but quite possibly I've returned the favor to you because I haven't felt this way since I saw you standing in the rain, and I know you feel it to."

Puzzled by his words, she watched him glance back once as he left the stables, the only thing that ruined his cool demeanor was his eyes, filled with lust and want, for her, Keladry of Mindelan.

The hay was warm from their body heat, and she lay in it for what seemed like minutes but was actually hours, thoughts repeating over and over, as she wondered what he was thinking of right then

He's thinking of you, of course! Her sub conscience told her, making her sigh in half pleasure, half anxiety.

What the two different beings failed to realize that evening was the bands encircling their necks. Had they, they might have noticed that the color had changed, not for the worse but for the better, and slowly their souls were coming out of the dark and were being reunited for the first time since their past life. Ever so slowly the white was conquering the black in a battle until the end.

That wasn't the only thing Kel forgot about as she fell asleep in the bed of hay underneath her, the dreams had stopped for the first time in a long time, and she slept in peace, because her dreams had been put at bay with reality.


A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, you guys rock:D:D If anyone wants email alerts just tell me because I don't know when my next udate'll be.

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