Disclaimer: Well, I still think Tammy's greedy for not sharing, don't you?
And wow…it's been so long. Actually, anyone who wanted me to update, you should really thank Jinks, cus that was a very nice review, and I feel proud of my little baby…and so this chapter is dedicated to you.
Chapter Two:
"So…Stone Mountain. Finally decided to grace us with your presence, I see?" Neal smirked at Joren, one which Joren himself would have been proud of, if he could remember who the hell he was. When Joren just stared blankly at him, Neal felt angered for some reason, seeing that Joren would not rise for the bait. Well, he could not, actually, but Neal hadn't quite come round to working that one out yet.
"Ah…yes, you must be talking to me," Joren replied, "I am the one they called Joren of Stone Mountain, am I not correct?" He asked Neal very politely, although Neal just narrowed his eyes and glared. 'What did I do?' Joren thought long and hard, trying to remember what his relationship to this boy had been, but, alas, he couldn't even remember the boy's name.
Neal hated Joren all the more. 'What in the name of the Great Mother Goddess was Joren doing in his father's office?' As if to resolve the issues of young Master Neal's mind, Duke Baird came back into the office with several records of Tortall's history, to help refresh Joren's memory.
"My dearest father," Neal drawled, "Care to tell me what he is doing here?" The Duke of Queenscove sighed. 'This is going to take some explaining. And I don't think Meathead will ever come round to forgiving Joren for things he doesn't even remember he's done. I certainly hope the others don't take it nearly as badly as he is sure to.'
"Nealan, sit down," Duke Baird commanded his son. "This may take a while, I believe. A drink?"
Neal looked at his father as if he were crazy. He sat, however, and stared at his father expectantly. "Alright, Neal. I may as well tell you now, seeing as it will be announced tomorrow morning. As you can see, Joren here is well and alive again." Joren got up and moved towards the door, sensing that he wasn't welcome in the conversation.
However, "No, Joren, don't go anywhere," Duke Baird requested, "it may be useful for you to hear this and see Neal's reaction to what I am about to tell him. It will certainly prepare you for what is to come when it is announced to everyone that you are well and alive tomorrow." He pulled a chair from the furthest corner of the room (the only other one in the office not cluttered by papers and books) and it scooted neatly under the table, right next to Baird.
Joren took the offered seat, and began to listen intently, yet pondering profoundly, hoping that some shred of his memory would come back to him. As he sat, deep in thought, he was interrupted by Neal's shriek, sounding somewhere between a scream and a squeal. Then, of course, came Neal's outraged bumbling and rambling.
"Do you expect all of us to just forget what he has done, and think of him as, what, a complete stranger? To befriend him? Help him?" Neal was furious. He figured it was bad enough that Joren had awoken without his memory, therefore meaning that Neal couldn't taunt him, but the fact that his father expected him and his friends to help Joren was just going too far.
'Well, he certainly seemed to take that better than I thought he would. Thank Mithros for that, at least. Maybe the others will take this in stride then.' Baird thought to himself, though he knew better than to count his chickens before they hatched. 'Maybe Neal is a blessing in disguise,' he mused to himself, 'Mithros knows how Kel would take it, but, maybe upon seeing Neal's reaction, she would use her common sense and not judge Joren for something he no longer had any control over.'
Neal continued his rant. "Don't you remember what he did to Kel? To Lalasa? And he got away with it? Because he knew he'd have to do nothing other than pay a fine?"
"Then I take it you can inform Joren of what he has done in his past, Neal?" with that said, and the task of telling Joren what horrible things he had done delegated to his son, the Duke retired to his rooms to rest.
And now I will sleep, Neal rants to Joren or maybe a diary entry of his telling what happened that night. Yeah, I think I'll do that, a diary entry of Neal's, and one from Joren. That should tell the story well, and in different POV's, and I can also display their characters more, in case anyone thinks this is OOC.