July passed quickly, like a lone happy moment in a horrible day. Kel found that although she did very little and saw very few people, she did not wish she could ever be anywhere else.
Yuki had taken Andrea back to Queenscove for one last year before the young girl went to school; Kel knew she would not see them until the next summer. It saddened her, but she knew it wouldn't be too bad. They would be back soon; a year was much shorter than most trips Kel herself had been on. Neal and the others were expected back in early autumn; hopefully early enough for them to take on squires in the new year.
So, Kel was hopeful; the summer was a beautiful one, and as much as she wanted her friends to come, she did not want winter to do the same thing.
But something was spreading through the city. Something of a plague; one that could destroy all of Tortall. But the royal family knew naught of this disaster. No knights knew; few senators knew, and those who knew would not tell.
Revolution was, is, and always will be inevitable. Any educated person knew that. No matter what decisions were made, someone would always be upset. Usually, the poor, but sometimes, the rich. The powerful, the ones who wished for more power than they already had; those were the men who could cause the most harm.
Being a knight of Tortall, married to a sergeant of the King's Own, best friends with many a knight and the son of the great Duke Baird, and a powerful leader at a young age, Kel knew nothing of the revolutionaries.
The king had his spies, of course, Sir Myles and many others, but they could not catch everything.
And the revolutionaries were very quiet.
Nothing was known for a long time, until one young man broke his oath.
Kel was walking through the palace, trying to find a cool place away from the humidity and the warmth, when she saw a lone soldier walking nervously down the halls.
She watched him for a moment. He was not guarding any door; he did not look like he knew where he was going.
"Excuse me," Kel called out, "are you looking for someone?"
The young man spun around jerkily. His black hair was sticking to his face from the sweat, his fists clenched, his body shaking.
"What's wrong?" Kel asked sharply. When a soldier was this upset, there was often not time for comfort.
"I need to see the king, My Lady." He stammered, bowing quickly to her.
Kel nodded. "Come with me."
She led him down the long hallway towards the kings chamber. "What is wrong? Or is it something you cannot tell me?"
"I don't know, My Lady, I just know I should tell the king."
Kel nodded as she strode past the two guards on watch and knocked on the door.
"My Lady!" One of the guard reached to stop her, but she held up her hand.
"I do not believe I have time to explain myself to you. Do not worry. I was acquitted from my charge of treason quite a while ago."
The guard nodded and opened the door. The King was waiting for them when the door opened, having heard Kel knock.
"What is it?" He asked calmly.
Kel shrugged. "I haven't the foggiest, your majesty. This young man here looked much more nervous than a proper soldier should, and he said he wished to speak to you."
Jon narrowed his eyes at the young man, who glanced at the ground nervously. "Very well," the king said, "we shall convene in the throne room. Caader," he said, turning to one of his guards, "send my clerk to the throne room, please."
Caader nodded and strode off in the other direction, leaving only one guard. "Keladry," Jon said, taking her aside, "what is going on?"
Kel shook her head. "Your majesty, I would tell you if I knew you. I'm sorry." She glanced at the young man again. "From the way he's acting, I don't think it's something about himself. There's a reason why he wanted to speak to you."
The king nodded. "Very well." He indicated to the guard, who took a hold of the young soldier and led him to the throne room.
"Speak." Jon said once he was seated in his throne, the soldier standing in front of him, flanked by two guards, the king flanked by Kel and a third guard.
The young man took a deep, shaky breath. "I was unhappy. I was angry with my commander, angry with our leaders. I was offered a chance to join a band of revolutionaries. A small group, already growing larger, they had no name. Nothing to trace anyone to them. They were careful. I don't know much, but I know they were very careful in their choices of men to invite. They were so good, in fact, that they were not traced. We were put into small groups with men we knew, given information by one man who had been in another, larger meeting. They told us little; at least our group. I hadn't been a member long, they didn't trust our group with very much information. But I knew enough to realize that what I was doing was wrong."
He glanced down, shaking more then ever. Kel glanced at the king, who nodded to her. "Soldier," she said strongly, please continue. Do you know any names?"
He shook his head. "Only about ten, the men in my group. I don't know who started it, I don't even think I know the real name of my squad leader. But I believe it is larger than they led on. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of supporters. Who knows? Maybe even enough to storm the palace."
Jon frowned. "And what do they plan to do once they storm the palace?"
The young man shrugged, his whole body convulsing, his eyes wide with fear. "I can only guess. They made some mentions of you, your majesty. I think they plan an assassination attempt. Please, ask no more of me, I know nothing else. They will come for me, your majesty. They are in the palace. I know they are. They will have seen me. They could even be in this room."
Kel frowned. "Do not make accusations like that, soldier. If you have suspicions, let them be heard. If not, keep your mouth shut."
The young man nodded and bowed. "One more thing, your majesty," he said, looking up again, "there are nobles. I can't name names, but I know they are there. I think there may be some in the senate."
Kel kept her Yamani mask as secure as she possibly could. She glanced at the king, who had a frown of disgust upon his face. He straightened his back, pulled the frown from his face, and rose. "You will be punished for high treason to the state. You will have no trial, having confessed to your crimes. If you are very helpful, and very lucky, maybe your sentence will be lightened for giving us information."
The young man nodded slowly. Jon sighed, and spoke. "Please take the names of the other men, then take him to the dungeon. Do not let anything happen to him; we may need him for more information, or to testify against other men."
The guard nodded and took a hold of the young man again, but Jon held up his hand. "What is your name, soldier?"
"Joseph Dakker, your majesty."
"Do you have a family?"
He shook his head. "Only my mum and father, sir. They're farmers just outside of Corus."
Jon nodded to the clerk. "Find them. Tell them of their son's treachery."
He turned and strode out of the room, signaling for Kel to follow. She glanced back at the man being led out of the room, then turned back and followed the king.
"Your majesty, what are you going to do?" Kel said, running to catch up with the king as she followed him down the hall. "I don't know, Keladry," he said, "I assume that I am going to locate my wife and children."
Kel nodded. "Shall I do that?"
Jon nodded. "Please do. Bring them to my rooms. Please send someone to find Sir Myles, please. It is of utmost urgency."
Kel nodded. "Anyone else, majesty?"
He sighed. "I don't know. I assume I can trust my knights, but how do I know? I don't want more people knowing than necessary, Keladry. Once you have brought my family and called Sir Myles, please find those three guards and make sure they keep their mouths shut."
Kel nodded. "Your family will be there in moments."
Jon smiled weakly. "This is where you re-earn your stripes, Keladry."
He strode down the hallway towards his own room, leaving Kel slightly dumbstruck in the hallway.
Seconds later she recovered herself and quickly ran through the palace, searching for Thayet, Roald and his siblings. She found Thayet in her own quarters with her daughters, Roald at the practice courts with two of his friends. She then went quickly to Sir Myles' rooms.
Almost half an hour later, she had done all she had been asked, but she knew there was one more thing she needed to do before she returned to the king. She ran back to her own rooms to find Dom spread out across the bed reading a book.
"Afternoon, love," he said, not looking up, "where have you been?"
"Get up." Kel said quickly, picking up her sword and fastening the hilt around her waist.
"What's wrong?" Dom asked.
"Come now, and I'll explain it to you." Kel said. Dom followed her down the hallway as she explained everything she knew. "I think the king just put me in charge of this."
"You think?"
"Well, he told me it was a chance for me to re-earn my stripes. To show my loyalty to the kingdom." She looked at him. "I don't know. We'll see."
She knocked on the door of the king's quarters, still only guarded by two men. She was admitted quickly. "Do you think you should have more guards, majesty?" She asked.
Jon shrugged. "If you can find men that you can guarantee will not try to hurt my family, please, point them out to me."
Kel nodded. "Too true, your majesty. But I believe we can trust at least the men of the Own." I am sure Dom can vouch for their loyalty."
"Any leader can vouch for his men's loyalty. That does not make it so."
Kel sighed. "Your majesty, it is a risk. You of all people should know that you cannot help but take risks when something like this is going on!"
Jon nodded and sat down. "Very well. Set someone from the Own on watch with two of my men all the time. Keladry, this is under your command. You will work closely with Sir Myles and any other knights that you both seem fit to help, but like I said, please keep this close to you. Do not alert the guards. Only you three and Sergeant Domitan's squad need know."
Kel nodded. "Very well, your majesty. I doubt you need to worry about being confined to your quarters. I think that if you bring someone from the Own with you, you should be safe on most of the grounds. We can always close the palace off to the public."
Jon shook his head. "I can't shut out my people. Life will continue as normal. Thayet and my daughters will not leave the palace walls under any circumstance until more information if found. Roald and I will only leave with someone from the Own accompanying us. Good day, Sir Keladry."
Kel bowed to the king, and she, Dom, and Sir Myles walked out of the room again.
They spoke long into the night. Sir Myles had heard little of revolution, but he knew some men who were 'unhappy' with the king, and could very well be in on it.
Finally, at almost midnight, they parted. A schedule had been given to Dom's men and the other squad of the Own that was still at the palace so that there were always two of the Own by the king's quarters, the twenty of them dividing their time into six hour shifts. Each man was only posted every two and a half days, so they would never be overtired.
Kel agreed to meet Sir Myles at nine o'clock the next morning to continue their discussions and have the ten men from the group brought in. It would be a long august.
Kel collapsed onto the bed with a sigh. She felt like crying. "What's wrong?" Dom asked.
She shook her head. "The life of the king rests on my shoulders, and I have no information to lead me to a culprit. What am I supposed to do?"
Dom sat down beside her. "I couldn't tell you." He said calmly. "Although for now, I advise that you get a good night's sleep."
Kel kissed him. "Thanks." She said. "It's good to have you here."
Dom grinned. "Always glad to oblige, my lady."
-
I would like to apologize for taking such a long time with this chapter… things have been pretty hectic in the last few weeks, and I just haven't really had time. The next few weeks are sort of the same way, but I hope to update some stuff soon. It should get pretty regular some time soon…
Alannalovingwriter: Oops. And there I go, a month before I even update at all… but this one is a good sized chapter!
Soccerchick-08: aww, thank you… so sweet!
Jennyvre Moss: thank you! I feel there is no proper length for a chapter, as long as it tells the readers what they need to know and entertains them
Smiles28: thanks!
Dreamerdoll: aww.. I guess you'll just have to check more often, now won't you!I'm glad you love the story. I am glad that you think it is 'flipping wonderful.'
Allimba: good.
AJ 4EVA: Don't worry. Hey, you used some punctuation in there! Score! Good for you! Jokes. I'm glad you liked it, and good luck with the exams, though I assume they are already over…
Lotr luvr: Well, I guess the puppy dog face worked. But hey, whatever floats your boat!
HeartKel: Yay, I'm glad you have found it! That is a very good thing. And fluffishness is a very nice word indeed.
Annmarie Aspasia: Hee hee. I love being so confusing that no one knows how to answer. It is great fun. I'm glad you understood my reasoning!
Heartdamoose: Okay, that was too odd for even me. I'm just going to pretend it enver happened.
Horsiegurl: glad to hear it.
Lady Crystaline of Jewel Cove: Eh. Everyone wants something!
Heartdamoose: Interesting. This one makes slightly more sense than the last, but not much.
PsychoLioness: yay!
Red-rose-with-a-touch-of-dew: Dude, baby steps, come on!
"If you go parachuting, and your parachute doesn't open, and you friends are all watching you fall, I think a funny gag would be to pretend you were swimming."
-unlimbo