Title: Trust Betrayed
Author: Jessalae
Disclaimer: Any people, places, or things that you recognize belong to Tamora Pierce.
OOooOO
Yukimi noh Daiomoru was, quite literally, stuck between a rock and a hard place. What had started as a peaceful morning walk had quickly turned into a disaster. Now Yuki was sitting on her bottom a mile and a half away from the castle with her foot painfully wedged between two good-sized rocks and no means of calling for help.
'Well,' she told herself, 'I suppose this is what I get for being unfaithful to my fiancé and to my best friend." Her face showed no glimmer of pain, but in truth this odd angle was not very comfortable. 'As it is my fault, I shall have to do something about it.' She eased herself up carefully, took hold of one of the rocks, and lifted. Nothing happened. Tugging at it again, Yuki grimaced as it shifted, only to fall back onto her foot once more. She covered her mouth with her hand, immediately ashamed of having shown her emotions so, and nearly laughed out loud when she realized it didn't matter. Here, there was no one to see her.
With that new thought giving her strength, she tried to move the rock again, and again it landed on her already bruised and beaten foot. She yelped out loud, then stared down at the rock. Taking a deep breath, she gathered all of her anger and frustration and screamed. It echoed through the forest, scaring swarms of birds into flight. Yuki fell onto one knee, breathing deeply. She rubbed her side, pushing away the fan that was poking into her.
"That's it! The fan!" She suddenly exclaimed. Yanking it out of her belt, she jammed the end of it under the rock. Then, shifting her body around to have more leverage, she pushed. The rock groaned and lifted one agonizing inch at a time. Yuki pulled her foot free and stood up, glaring triumphantly down at the rock. She started out in the direction of the palace, half walking, half limping.
As Yuki lay in her bed, her battered foot propped up on a cushion, she thought back on what had happened in the forest. She had lost her cool, certainly, which she must never do again. But it was not really what she had done, as much as what she had said, that interested her. True, she had not spoken a word out loud, but thinking inside her head was much the same.
'I said that since I was to blame, I would have to set it right.' She had been talking about the rock then, but really it applied to the bigger conflict in her life right now- the whole fiasco with Dom and Neal. 'And Kel, mustn't forget Kel. I hurt her too, I have an obligation to her as much as the others.' And she would meet that obligation, all of them, as soon as possible. The question was, which one to tackle first? Weighing her options, she decided to handle the biggest problem first. Yep, she was going to try to make up with Neal.
OoO
"King me!"
"What? No way!"
"I said, king me!"
"Oh, all right." Kel placed another checker on top of Neal's, scowling. "I still don't see how you managed to get five of your pieces 'kinged' in less than ten minutes."
"Practice, my dear. Practice and strategy."
"I have strategy! Remember that time we ran into those bandits, and you boys all froze up? I was the one who saved all of us by taking command! What was that if not strategy?"
"Tactics, Kel, tactics. There's a difference. Do we need to go over this again?"
"No." Kel took a deep breath, willing herself to be calm. Neal smirked.
"Your move." Kel studied the board for a moment, then picked up one of her pieces and jumped it over one of Neal's.
"Ha!" she said, smiling triumphantly. Neal grinned and jumped his king over four of her pieces. Kel stared at the board, dumbstruck.
"Ha!" Neal settled back in his chair.
"What? How did you do that?"
"Would you like me to repeat it?"
"No! It's just that I didn't even see it coming."
"Well, that's because I started from the other side of the board. If I had done it earlier, I would have taken three of your pieces, but as you so kindly moved a fourth one into my reach, I took that too. So it's important to look at the whole board, and try to anticipate-"He was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"I'll get it," Kel sighed, pushing her chair back. The door opened on an empty hallway. "Hello?" Kel peered down the hall in both directions before stepping back and closing the door. "That's strange." She took a step back in the direction of the table, and something crackled. She looked down and saw a piece of parchment, now complete with footprint, lying on the ground where it had been pushed under the door. Picking it up, she read the salutation. "It's for you, Neal."
"Oh, big surprise there, considering this is my room," he said, taking the parchment. "Dear Sir Nealen- Neal, it's Neal!- I am truly sorry for what I have done, and wish to apologize to you further, but written words are no way to express such contrition. I would like to meet with you face-to-face to discuss our situation. Please send me a note to arrange a time for us to meet. Sincerely, Yukimi noh Daiomoru." He set the note down on the table with shaking hands. "She wants to apologize," he stated flatly. He stared at the checkers board, then slammed his fist down on the table so suddenly that Kel jumped. "She wants to apologize?" he shouted. "Who does she think she is? Does she think that I'm going to just forgive her for cheating on me?"
"Neal, calm down," Kel urged.
"What do you mean, calm down? How can I calm down when she slipped a note under my door saying she wants to apologize?" He screamed, standing up and knocking his chair over. "She's such a coward she can't even come and talk to me in person! What makes her think I want to forgive her? She's not worthy of my pardon! She's not worthy to do my laundry! I will not see her!"
Kel tried in vain to stop him, or at least get him to lower his voice, but Neal would not be stopped, and continued his tirade at a roar.
Yuki, sitting just around the corner, heard every word.
OOooOO
A/N: Ooh, cliffy! I am so evil. Sorry to keep you guys waiting, but you must understand I'm writing this as I go and I'm not at all good at keeping my updates regular. I should have the next chapter up in less time than this one took, though. Other notes... I'm new at this whole Yamani thing. Any suggestions on how to make Yuki more realistic are appreciated. I honestly have no idea whether or not they have checkers in Tortall. They have chess, but there's no mention of any other games. Until next time-
-- jessalae
Author: Jessalae
Disclaimer: Any people, places, or things that you recognize belong to Tamora Pierce.
OOooOO
Yukimi noh Daiomoru was, quite literally, stuck between a rock and a hard place. What had started as a peaceful morning walk had quickly turned into a disaster. Now Yuki was sitting on her bottom a mile and a half away from the castle with her foot painfully wedged between two good-sized rocks and no means of calling for help.
'Well,' she told herself, 'I suppose this is what I get for being unfaithful to my fiancé and to my best friend." Her face showed no glimmer of pain, but in truth this odd angle was not very comfortable. 'As it is my fault, I shall have to do something about it.' She eased herself up carefully, took hold of one of the rocks, and lifted. Nothing happened. Tugging at it again, Yuki grimaced as it shifted, only to fall back onto her foot once more. She covered her mouth with her hand, immediately ashamed of having shown her emotions so, and nearly laughed out loud when she realized it didn't matter. Here, there was no one to see her.
With that new thought giving her strength, she tried to move the rock again, and again it landed on her already bruised and beaten foot. She yelped out loud, then stared down at the rock. Taking a deep breath, she gathered all of her anger and frustration and screamed. It echoed through the forest, scaring swarms of birds into flight. Yuki fell onto one knee, breathing deeply. She rubbed her side, pushing away the fan that was poking into her.
"That's it! The fan!" She suddenly exclaimed. Yanking it out of her belt, she jammed the end of it under the rock. Then, shifting her body around to have more leverage, she pushed. The rock groaned and lifted one agonizing inch at a time. Yuki pulled her foot free and stood up, glaring triumphantly down at the rock. She started out in the direction of the palace, half walking, half limping.
As Yuki lay in her bed, her battered foot propped up on a cushion, she thought back on what had happened in the forest. She had lost her cool, certainly, which she must never do again. But it was not really what she had done, as much as what she had said, that interested her. True, she had not spoken a word out loud, but thinking inside her head was much the same.
'I said that since I was to blame, I would have to set it right.' She had been talking about the rock then, but really it applied to the bigger conflict in her life right now- the whole fiasco with Dom and Neal. 'And Kel, mustn't forget Kel. I hurt her too, I have an obligation to her as much as the others.' And she would meet that obligation, all of them, as soon as possible. The question was, which one to tackle first? Weighing her options, she decided to handle the biggest problem first. Yep, she was going to try to make up with Neal.
OoO
"King me!"
"What? No way!"
"I said, king me!"
"Oh, all right." Kel placed another checker on top of Neal's, scowling. "I still don't see how you managed to get five of your pieces 'kinged' in less than ten minutes."
"Practice, my dear. Practice and strategy."
"I have strategy! Remember that time we ran into those bandits, and you boys all froze up? I was the one who saved all of us by taking command! What was that if not strategy?"
"Tactics, Kel, tactics. There's a difference. Do we need to go over this again?"
"No." Kel took a deep breath, willing herself to be calm. Neal smirked.
"Your move." Kel studied the board for a moment, then picked up one of her pieces and jumped it over one of Neal's.
"Ha!" she said, smiling triumphantly. Neal grinned and jumped his king over four of her pieces. Kel stared at the board, dumbstruck.
"Ha!" Neal settled back in his chair.
"What? How did you do that?"
"Would you like me to repeat it?"
"No! It's just that I didn't even see it coming."
"Well, that's because I started from the other side of the board. If I had done it earlier, I would have taken three of your pieces, but as you so kindly moved a fourth one into my reach, I took that too. So it's important to look at the whole board, and try to anticipate-"He was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"I'll get it," Kel sighed, pushing her chair back. The door opened on an empty hallway. "Hello?" Kel peered down the hall in both directions before stepping back and closing the door. "That's strange." She took a step back in the direction of the table, and something crackled. She looked down and saw a piece of parchment, now complete with footprint, lying on the ground where it had been pushed under the door. Picking it up, she read the salutation. "It's for you, Neal."
"Oh, big surprise there, considering this is my room," he said, taking the parchment. "Dear Sir Nealen- Neal, it's Neal!- I am truly sorry for what I have done, and wish to apologize to you further, but written words are no way to express such contrition. I would like to meet with you face-to-face to discuss our situation. Please send me a note to arrange a time for us to meet. Sincerely, Yukimi noh Daiomoru." He set the note down on the table with shaking hands. "She wants to apologize," he stated flatly. He stared at the checkers board, then slammed his fist down on the table so suddenly that Kel jumped. "She wants to apologize?" he shouted. "Who does she think she is? Does she think that I'm going to just forgive her for cheating on me?"
"Neal, calm down," Kel urged.
"What do you mean, calm down? How can I calm down when she slipped a note under my door saying she wants to apologize?" He screamed, standing up and knocking his chair over. "She's such a coward she can't even come and talk to me in person! What makes her think I want to forgive her? She's not worthy of my pardon! She's not worthy to do my laundry! I will not see her!"
Kel tried in vain to stop him, or at least get him to lower his voice, but Neal would not be stopped, and continued his tirade at a roar.
Yuki, sitting just around the corner, heard every word.
OOooOO
A/N: Ooh, cliffy! I am so evil. Sorry to keep you guys waiting, but you must understand I'm writing this as I go and I'm not at all good at keeping my updates regular. I should have the next chapter up in less time than this one took, though. Other notes... I'm new at this whole Yamani thing. Any suggestions on how to make Yuki more realistic are appreciated. I honestly have no idea whether or not they have checkers in Tortall. They have chess, but there's no mention of any other games. Until next time-
-- jessalae