Disclaimer: All characters and palaces and such belong to Tamora Pierce.
Distances
Kel fingered the edge of the envelope she held. The courier had brought it up from Corus. Had it really been a week ago? The wax seal was beginning to chip from being shuffled around on her desk. Someone, possibly her, had used it as a coaster and there was a half ring of dried, light brown tea in the corner. With a sigh, she set it aside like she had done all week. She'd come into her office to finish her reports, not write letters to old friends. She'd get to it when she had time. But had she ever even answered the last one he'd sent?
Pushing the letter to the back of her mind, she focused on the work piled on her desk in front of her. She finished the supply requisition reports she had started that morning and read over the patrol reports from all her commanders. The spy master had delivered coded reports on the movements of Scanran raiders, and she set them in a separate pile so she'd remember to give them to a clerk for decoding. After all, she really didn't have time for that and the work normally gave her a headache.
She rearranged some more papers, trying to sort out the important things, and pushed the letter off the edge of her desk. It settled softly on the floor, the tea stain frowning at her. Kel leaned over and picked it up. She slid her knife under the green wax seal, popping the envelope open. The tea stain had soaked through to the parchment of the letter. Carefully Kel unfolded the parchment and settled back in her chair to read.
The missive was short, disappointedly so, and it was news she'd already heard. It had come up with the nights and squires at the beginning of summer but even before that, Dom, at least, had told her. He hadn't been at Corus at the time either, but he had other sources at the palace. He'd been very proud to tell Kel that Andalee was now a lady knight. Kel had just smiled. She had been expecting nothing less, and Irnai had told her years ago that Andalee would at least try for her shield. Kel knew the girl well enough to believe she would succeed. But something else, besides its length, was bothering her about the letter. Like all other would-be-knights, Andalee had taken her Ordeal during the Midwinter Festivals. It was now nearing the end of the summer. Apparently she wasn't the only one who didn't have time for letters to old friends.