Eating Vegetables and Understanding Yamani Women
Kel and Neal were sitting at their regular seats in the palace mess hall. Around them sat Merric, Faleron, Shinko, Roald, Yuki, Wyldon, Alanna, Baird, Raoul, Owen, Dom, and several others. Neal's plate, like usual, had no vegetables on it. It was covered with meat and cake.
"Neal eat your vegetables." Kel told Neal. Their year mates took no notice of this since it was a natural occurrence to them by now. "No. Vegetables are gross." Neal said in a whinny little kid's voice. "Besides, I didn't get any!" Kel just stared at him.
She slowly pulled a fan that had been tied at her hip. Neal saw it and looked startled. By now the others at the table were watching. "Neal eat your vegetables." Kel said again. "And if you don't have any then go get some." She delicately flicked the fan open and fanned herself. Most of her friends were startled by this, because Kel never acted like a lady, so why would she carry a fan with her.
Neal gasped "Yes Mother." and ran back to the serving line and got a plate full of vegetables. He sat down with half the table staring at him, for like Kel, he was acting out of character. He quickly ate all of his vegetable while watching Kel fan herself.
Yuki, who was sitting across from Kel, started laughing. Kel just smiled at her and gave her a secretive wink. "Kel, why did you just wink at my Delicate Yamani Blossom?" Neal asked mostly from habit but partly from curiosity. Kel just smiled again and hit him in the head with her fan.
Neal blinked for a while. "Kel, why didn't that hurt like it usually does?" Kel laughed and said, "Because Neal, it is a fan, not a shukusen." She, Yuki, and Shinko burst out laughing.
The rest of the table was still staring. "Kel, what did you do to my son?" Baird asked. "Oh nothing My Lord, I just used his fear of the Yamani shukusen to get him to eat his vegetables. You know, for a healer, he doesn't eat anything remotely healthy." Kel said practically. That got the whole group laughing, all except Neal.
"You mean I ate those nasty, atrocious, foul, vegetables for nothing." Neal said, his face turning a nice crimson color.
"Of course not dear. They are good for your health." Yuki said to him, trying not to smile. Neal just stuck his tongue out at the Yamani ladies. At the same time Yuki and Shinko pulled out a fan slightly similar to Kel's, and started fanning themselves. While Neal was looking at them she switched her fan for her shukusen.
"Nealan, that was very rude of you." Shinko said to him slowly, pronouncing every syllable precisely. "Your fans don't scare me!" he said boastfully not looking a bit scared, like he had before. "Oh they don't." Yuki said. She then tossed her fan in the air. She seemed to barely toss it, but it seemed to touch the ceiling. When it came back down it landed infront of Neal, 4 inched deep in the table. His eyes went as round as saucers, staring at Kel and Shinko who both still held their fans.
By now the whole mess hall was watching, for they had seen the fan fly through the air. Neal didn't know who to be more scared of, the delicate princess, or his dangerous best friend, who could make a regular fan, hurt just as bad as a shukusen when she was angry enough. He decided to watch them both, just incase.
Their table was silent to see what would happen next. Raoul and Dom were trying to set up bets to see who would win. It didn't work though, because everyone was placing bets on the Yamani Ladies.
"Neal, would you like to take that back?" Shinko asked, always being the lady. Neal quickly nodded his head. Kel and Yuki laughed. "Shinko, you always were the best out of us three, at making people do what you want them to do." Kel said. "I agree with Kel. Remember the Carthaki ambassador? I swear he was trying so hard to please you, and do what you said, I thought he might have a heart attack." Yuki said, her eyes laughing. "Yes, but how could he please her if he was dead?" Kel asked laughing.
"Umm…I'm confused." Neal said. "Sorry Neal. We only explain stories to good little boys." Kel told him. "I will have you know that I am a man…Owww!" Kel interrupted Neal but poking him in the stomach with her shukusen.
Everyone had calmed down in the mess hall, finding out that it was just Queenscove causing all of the trouble. "Well I guess it's time to leave." Kel said. "Oh yes. We need to get together to talk about all the fun times in the Islands. Like Ellis. He had the biggest crush on you Yuki. I do believe he asked his father to have you two betrothed. The only thing that stopped his father from doing that was that Thaire liked you too. And being the prince made him more likely to get you." Shinko said, reminiscing about the past. "Oh I remember that!" Yuki cried, as the ladies got up from their chairs to dump their trays. "We can go to my room, since I'm the only one with my own room." Kel said.
"You are so lucky that you have your own room. I have to share mine with NEAL!" Yuki mock complained. "You know I'm standing right here?" Neal asked his wife. "Oh course dear, I wouldn't say it otherwise." The girls laughed, and Neal, well Neal didn't seem to get the joke. He seemed to be thinking about their conversation before they started discussing rooms and room-mates.
"Wait, Yuki, the PRINCE liked you in the Yamani Islands?" Neal said. He was turning a shade of red that almost beat his last face discolorment. "Yes and what's wrong with that?" Yuki asked. "Yes Nealan, what is wrong with my half brother?" Shinko asked. "Uh oh." Neal's face said it all. "Umm…nothing, never mind, I think Father's calling me. Have to go. Bye!" Neal said while rushing out of the mess hall.
The rest of the gang was staring after Neal. "Sweetling, I didn't know you had a brother named Thaire." Roald said to Shinko. "I don't." she said sending the ladies into more gales of laughter. "Umm…then why did you tell Neal you did?" Owen asked. "He's ever soooo much fun to tease." Kel said in a lady like voice. The others started laughing. The women hooked their arms together and headed towards Kel's room.
"Oh Shinko, remember that horrible man you were betrothed to. And his mother. Phew, it was a good thing that you were deemed important enough to wed the prince of Tortall. It might even be worth it, marrying Roald I mean." Kel said. They turned around to see Roald's face a deep purple. "You know Roald's almost as much fun to tease as Neal."
The Yamani ladies left the room laughing, leaving the men clueless. Thinking the world's toughest question "What's wrong with those women?"
The End
A/N: Sorry this wasn't that good. It started out like I wanted but then ended totally different from what I had intended. But it was fun to write. And was just like women. Changing the topic every 2 seconds. Me and my friends do that all the time. You know I have a cat named Kacey. LOL.