Starting with apologies, because I have a few to dish out. I know I haven't
updated in a ridiculous amount of time, but please bear with me. School is
murderous and I have been reviewing other stories (really I have, ask wake-
robin and rubberduck). Anyways, I'm either preparing for exams or finished
school (writing apology in advance so I can type the story immediately.)
Many updates during June 18 – 24 time frame then a three-week absence
(please don't hurt me I'll update when I get back I PROMISE).
Now onto thanks/ apologies, because I have more to serve up. To those who reviewed, added me to favourite or alert lists etc., my sincerest thanks. To those who couldn't because of the "only signed review" option I didn't even know existed you have a thanks for trying (feel free to try now as I would like your opinion) and a "sorry" for that setting.
Personal thanks for chaps 1 2 at end of story because I forgot to include them... memory is not my strong suit.
General Disclaimer: Probably all the characters of any importance in this fic are property of Tamora Pierce (a truly excellent author). The plot is mine. I keep very good track of what I've read and where, but in the unlikely event that you feel I've copied your work, please let me know, so I can either remove the offending material or offer explanations.
My first fic, but no going easy. Flame at will!
The white-splashed walls greeted Kel as she opened her eyes. There was only one place with rooms this blinding. Embarrassed, but not overly shocked by her location Kel tried a bit desperately to remember what she was doing in the hospital wing. Her whole body was sending pain signals to her brain.
Dom, she remembered yelling at him. Why? She couldn't answer such a complex question – not when her head felt like someone was sawing it in two with a dulled glaive. A brief memory of the sergeant threatening to carry her if she didn't walk to the infirmary flicked up. She'd seen his resolve and given in, hadn't she? Hadn't she? Nothing else came clear.
Tired and achy, she went back to sleep. It was all she could do for now.
In Kel's quarters, Dom and Tobe were packing. Tobe smiling over the mutterings of a very irate sergeant.
"Is no one but me capable of stopping one Lady Knight from over- working? What was she thinking? Signing herself up for twice the duties of any of the soldiers when she already has double the paper work and responsibility and she was sick too! Crazy woman."
"We do try sir!" Tobe defended because Dom's voice was getting steadily louder. "But she has higher rank."
Dom blinked. Tobe guessed he had been talking to himself.
Realising how close he'd been to shouting, Dom snapped out an apology. "Sorry. I know you tried your best, Tobe. But ... Neal should have been able to do something. Could've knocked her out with magic, or used his authority as camp healer to order off duty."
Tobe visibly winced. "He didn't get much done by it except a very sore stomach. To be honest, Sir. We need someone with more authority or less fear of Kel's retaliation around here. Milady treats everyone fairly except herself. She just plain ignores us if we suggest she take a break or that someone else should do something. The most we can do is complete tasks before she does, offer distractions, and conveniently 'forget' to wake her up."
Tobe laughed bitterly, "It's the first time I've ever seen people volunteer to do latrine duty."
"I'll talk to Wyldon," was the only reply.
Acknowledging this with a nod, Tobe wondered just who the sergeant had in mind.
Keladry of Mindelan woke to the green stare of her best friend. Not that he was looking particularly friendly at the moment with a deep-set scowl scrawled across his face. Kel smiled a bit nervously. This was NOT a happy healer.
"Exactly, what did you think you were doing?" Neal snapped. "I seem to remember taking you off duty and ordering you to take rest."
She thought about her situation for a second. Telling him she didn't remember, while true, was probably not the best of answers. It would only make him angrier. She glanced around the room for a diversion. Nothing. Damn!
"Mindelan."
Oh gods, Kel thought. Warning tones. Not good! At a loss for other answers she threw back, "Arguing with your idiot cousin!"
Neal's next argument faltered. His jaw set in a dangerous expression. "He failed to mention that." (A/N gotta love Pirates!)
A bit unnerved by the waves of anger, Kel shifted slightly and was rewarded with a wash of pain exuding from every muscle in her body. What have I done to myself? Kel thought disgustedly and irrationally decided that it was Dom's fault.
"Here." Neal handed – ok more like shoved – a glass of pink liquid into her hands; tipping back the glass and her head in a very practised maneuver. It tasted awful. She closed her eyes and prayed that it would take effect soon. There ought to be some benefit to medicine that revolting. She couldn't deal with Neal when she was like this.
"I think I'm going to have a chat with my cousin. Bringing you in here and not mentioning the part he played in getting you like this. And then abandoning you! Oh yes, we'll be chatting real soon."
"Dom brought me in?" Kel asked without thinking, sitting up.
His back turned to her; Neal froze. "Yes. Said something stupid, stubborn ladies and hypocrisy, that you'd basically fainted in his arms, and told me that if I didn't heal you he'd never forgive me."
Kel blushed.
"What were you arguing over?" Neal asked lightly, his back still turned.
"I'm not sure. All I remember is yelling at Dom and having him threaten to carry me to the infirmary."
"So what do you conclude?" His voice has clipped, making the words sound like part of a science class.
"That I must have refused, I guess, and..."
"YOU DON'T REMEMBER? ONE MIGHT THINK THAT THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING YOU FELT STRONGLY ABOUT IF YOU WENT SO FAR AS TO HALF-KILL YOURSELF! "
"Neal, calm down. Please," Kel begged, pulling her knees into her body and massaging her temples. His voice was bruising her brain, and he'd yet to stop ranting. She had enough physical pain as it was.
"Please Neal. You've already won; I'm leaving and resting. I'm under the watchful eye of my escort captain already. You've won. Just PLEASE don't yell."
A soft knock at the open door made both turned to it.
"Mindelan, this was stupid even for you. Nine tomorrow." Giving her a disgusted look, he left, glaring at his cousin who stood in the doorway.
Dom shifted to let Neal by; then leaned his tall frame against the doorway folding his arms across his chest.
She could feel his eyes on her, calmly sweeping up and down her body. She flushed. No one had studied her quite so thoroughly since Cleon. Knowing that Dom was judging her health not her physical beauty didn't alleviate any of her embarrassment. This was Dom after all. It was just too weird having him stare at her so minutely; it was making her nervous. Seriously nervous.
Why doesn't he say something? Is he angry? I don't even remember what I said to him... oh Goddess this was not good!
RubberDuck: Thank you for telling me about the anonymous reviewing setting. But I confess to being happy you're worried for Kel because you're supposed to be :D Wake-Robin: Thank you for complimenting the insults. I had a lot of fun making them up, so I'm glad you liked them. Ps. Now I've finally updated, could you please follow my lead? Dying to know the end of "Out of the Blue" please? Snakefeather: The corrections will be made when I figure out how to alter existing chapters. They are very useful as I didn't have the books with me at the time. I also didn't edit the story, because I tend to over-edit my work. If my grammar/ spelling goes crazy flame me would ya? Yamaniprincessubu: lol alanna fit? That's like the perfect term... mind if I use it sometime? Frosted-Darkfox: You payed me an amazing compliment on my grammar/spelling because I forgot to edit it! Lol read snakefeather's comment because same applies to you at the end there. Your opinion is invaluable. Crazylittlekiwifruit: lol if the Kel/ Dom upset you so much you should write a kel/ faleron or kel/ merric for yourself. However, you may like where some of this is going lol dodges kel/dom fan apples and shouts of traitor lol we'll see Alianne Cooper: I did read Trickster's Choice. I just forgot to check it... memory really not a strong point. Shibhon: glad you like it, keep reading
CTHKSI: thanx for the correction. Btw very nice prediction about chap 2
Daughterof Death: Chapter up! Fayr Warning: I agree it ended way too fast! TP should break pattern and write a fifth. Thanks for adding me to your favs and sorry for the wait. Secret is going to be fun to write (I have not yet seen a fic with this one) lol and if that doesn't hook you:P. Secret Agent Angel: You don't have to beg, not that it insults me :P , but really I'm updating! Kittycatcare2004: help with what exactly? Grammar? Spelling? brainstorming? Any are welcomed. Rootless californian: look forward to more emotion tangling on my part as it is so fun! :D Have not yet revealed which war, but yes Kel is readying New Hope again – or should I say was? ;).
Wow that's long...really shouldn't combine chap thanks and apologies from 2 different chaps.
Now onto thanks/ apologies, because I have more to serve up. To those who reviewed, added me to favourite or alert lists etc., my sincerest thanks. To those who couldn't because of the "only signed review" option I didn't even know existed you have a thanks for trying (feel free to try now as I would like your opinion) and a "sorry" for that setting.
Personal thanks for chaps 1 2 at end of story because I forgot to include them... memory is not my strong suit.
General Disclaimer: Probably all the characters of any importance in this fic are property of Tamora Pierce (a truly excellent author). The plot is mine. I keep very good track of what I've read and where, but in the unlikely event that you feel I've copied your work, please let me know, so I can either remove the offending material or offer explanations.
My first fic, but no going easy. Flame at will!
The white-splashed walls greeted Kel as she opened her eyes. There was only one place with rooms this blinding. Embarrassed, but not overly shocked by her location Kel tried a bit desperately to remember what she was doing in the hospital wing. Her whole body was sending pain signals to her brain.
Dom, she remembered yelling at him. Why? She couldn't answer such a complex question – not when her head felt like someone was sawing it in two with a dulled glaive. A brief memory of the sergeant threatening to carry her if she didn't walk to the infirmary flicked up. She'd seen his resolve and given in, hadn't she? Hadn't she? Nothing else came clear.
Tired and achy, she went back to sleep. It was all she could do for now.
In Kel's quarters, Dom and Tobe were packing. Tobe smiling over the mutterings of a very irate sergeant.
"Is no one but me capable of stopping one Lady Knight from over- working? What was she thinking? Signing herself up for twice the duties of any of the soldiers when she already has double the paper work and responsibility and she was sick too! Crazy woman."
"We do try sir!" Tobe defended because Dom's voice was getting steadily louder. "But she has higher rank."
Dom blinked. Tobe guessed he had been talking to himself.
Realising how close he'd been to shouting, Dom snapped out an apology. "Sorry. I know you tried your best, Tobe. But ... Neal should have been able to do something. Could've knocked her out with magic, or used his authority as camp healer to order off duty."
Tobe visibly winced. "He didn't get much done by it except a very sore stomach. To be honest, Sir. We need someone with more authority or less fear of Kel's retaliation around here. Milady treats everyone fairly except herself. She just plain ignores us if we suggest she take a break or that someone else should do something. The most we can do is complete tasks before she does, offer distractions, and conveniently 'forget' to wake her up."
Tobe laughed bitterly, "It's the first time I've ever seen people volunteer to do latrine duty."
"I'll talk to Wyldon," was the only reply.
Acknowledging this with a nod, Tobe wondered just who the sergeant had in mind.
Keladry of Mindelan woke to the green stare of her best friend. Not that he was looking particularly friendly at the moment with a deep-set scowl scrawled across his face. Kel smiled a bit nervously. This was NOT a happy healer.
"Exactly, what did you think you were doing?" Neal snapped. "I seem to remember taking you off duty and ordering you to take rest."
She thought about her situation for a second. Telling him she didn't remember, while true, was probably not the best of answers. It would only make him angrier. She glanced around the room for a diversion. Nothing. Damn!
"Mindelan."
Oh gods, Kel thought. Warning tones. Not good! At a loss for other answers she threw back, "Arguing with your idiot cousin!"
Neal's next argument faltered. His jaw set in a dangerous expression. "He failed to mention that." (A/N gotta love Pirates!)
A bit unnerved by the waves of anger, Kel shifted slightly and was rewarded with a wash of pain exuding from every muscle in her body. What have I done to myself? Kel thought disgustedly and irrationally decided that it was Dom's fault.
"Here." Neal handed – ok more like shoved – a glass of pink liquid into her hands; tipping back the glass and her head in a very practised maneuver. It tasted awful. She closed her eyes and prayed that it would take effect soon. There ought to be some benefit to medicine that revolting. She couldn't deal with Neal when she was like this.
"I think I'm going to have a chat with my cousin. Bringing you in here and not mentioning the part he played in getting you like this. And then abandoning you! Oh yes, we'll be chatting real soon."
"Dom brought me in?" Kel asked without thinking, sitting up.
His back turned to her; Neal froze. "Yes. Said something stupid, stubborn ladies and hypocrisy, that you'd basically fainted in his arms, and told me that if I didn't heal you he'd never forgive me."
Kel blushed.
"What were you arguing over?" Neal asked lightly, his back still turned.
"I'm not sure. All I remember is yelling at Dom and having him threaten to carry me to the infirmary."
"So what do you conclude?" His voice has clipped, making the words sound like part of a science class.
"That I must have refused, I guess, and..."
"YOU DON'T REMEMBER? ONE MIGHT THINK THAT THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING YOU FELT STRONGLY ABOUT IF YOU WENT SO FAR AS TO HALF-KILL YOURSELF! "
"Neal, calm down. Please," Kel begged, pulling her knees into her body and massaging her temples. His voice was bruising her brain, and he'd yet to stop ranting. She had enough physical pain as it was.
"Please Neal. You've already won; I'm leaving and resting. I'm under the watchful eye of my escort captain already. You've won. Just PLEASE don't yell."
A soft knock at the open door made both turned to it.
"Mindelan, this was stupid even for you. Nine tomorrow." Giving her a disgusted look, he left, glaring at his cousin who stood in the doorway.
Dom shifted to let Neal by; then leaned his tall frame against the doorway folding his arms across his chest.
She could feel his eyes on her, calmly sweeping up and down her body. She flushed. No one had studied her quite so thoroughly since Cleon. Knowing that Dom was judging her health not her physical beauty didn't alleviate any of her embarrassment. This was Dom after all. It was just too weird having him stare at her so minutely; it was making her nervous. Seriously nervous.
Why doesn't he say something? Is he angry? I don't even remember what I said to him... oh Goddess this was not good!
RubberDuck: Thank you for telling me about the anonymous reviewing setting. But I confess to being happy you're worried for Kel because you're supposed to be :D Wake-Robin: Thank you for complimenting the insults. I had a lot of fun making them up, so I'm glad you liked them. Ps. Now I've finally updated, could you please follow my lead? Dying to know the end of "Out of the Blue" please? Snakefeather: The corrections will be made when I figure out how to alter existing chapters. They are very useful as I didn't have the books with me at the time. I also didn't edit the story, because I tend to over-edit my work. If my grammar/ spelling goes crazy flame me would ya? Yamaniprincessubu: lol alanna fit? That's like the perfect term... mind if I use it sometime? Frosted-Darkfox: You payed me an amazing compliment on my grammar/spelling because I forgot to edit it! Lol read snakefeather's comment because same applies to you at the end there. Your opinion is invaluable. Crazylittlekiwifruit: lol if the Kel/ Dom upset you so much you should write a kel/ faleron or kel/ merric for yourself. However, you may like where some of this is going lol dodges kel/dom fan apples and shouts of traitor lol we'll see Alianne Cooper: I did read Trickster's Choice. I just forgot to check it... memory really not a strong point. Shibhon: glad you like it, keep reading
CTHKSI: thanx for the correction. Btw very nice prediction about chap 2
Daughterof Death: Chapter up! Fayr Warning: I agree it ended way too fast! TP should break pattern and write a fifth. Thanks for adding me to your favs and sorry for the wait. Secret is going to be fun to write (I have not yet seen a fic with this one) lol and if that doesn't hook you:P. Secret Agent Angel: You don't have to beg, not that it insults me :P , but really I'm updating! Kittycatcare2004: help with what exactly? Grammar? Spelling? brainstorming? Any are welcomed. Rootless californian: look forward to more emotion tangling on my part as it is so fun! :D Have not yet revealed which war, but yes Kel is readying New Hope again – or should I say was? ;).
Wow that's long...really shouldn't combine chap thanks and apologies from 2 different chaps.