Chapter 11 - Attack
Disclaimer - Tortall and its characters are the property of Tamora Pierce.
NB - The rating for this fic has changed as of the start of this chapter. This fic is now rated T.
As Joren arrived at his rooms, he saw a note pinned to the door. Still furious, he was about to rip the note to shreds, before realising that his name was written in Zahir's familiar scrawl. Ripping off the seal, he scanned the note and began walking down the corridor to the place specified in the note, some of his anger being replaced by curiosity.
Joren opened the door and was shocked by what he saw. Zahir was arguing with Vinson and Garvey. On the wall hung a battered Kel, chained and unconscious. Her white dress had been torn to shreds and stained with blood, amongst other things. He crossed the room and pulled Vinson and Zahir apart. "What happened?" Joren knew, but wanted to be sure.
"Well, the Lump interfered while I tried to have a little fun with her whore of a maid, so we thought to teach her a lesson. We had a little fun with her too," Vinson declared proudly.
Resisting the urge to thrash Vinson, he said calmly, "Where are the keys?" Vinson handed the keys to him silently, smirking. Joren crossed over to Kel and started unlocking the chains on her ankles.
"What are you doing?" asked Vinson, shocked.
"Taking her to a healer. She's half dead." He removed her last wrist-shackle and grabbed Kel as her body fell limply. Holding her gently, he whirled and left the room.
Vinson ran and grabbed Joren's arm. "If either of you say anything, I'll make sure her maid pays," he threatened. Joren continued down the corridor, ignoring him.
Finally, he reached the healer's wing. As Duke Baird saw Kel's body, his eyes widened and he ushered Joren into a small room. Laying her down on the bed, he glanced at Duke Baird, who was busy examining Kel. "Who did this?" the healer asked, shocked.
"I think it would be best for Kel to say."
"Did you do this?" Duke Baird demanded. "To get rid of the baby?" He looked at Joren accusingly.
"What? No! I was waiting for her at the temple when... wait, do you mean she lost the baby?" Joren's head spun.
"Yes. She's also badly injured. It will be quite a while before she can resume training." His face was still fixed in anger as he gently began healing the worst of Kel's wounds.
Joren sat by the bed and stroked her hair, which was sticky with blood. "Her maid needs to know, and Lord Wyldon. At least she hadn't told him yet."
"She hadn't told him yet?" He sounded surprised.
"Nobody. Not even Neal. Her maid guessed she was pregnant and Kel didn't try to hide it."
"I guess that was for the best. Now tell Lord Wyldon and her maid, make your excuses to Lord Paxton and return here. Unless, of course, you do not wish to return."
"I'll come back." He twisted a lock of Kel's hair absently. "How long can I stay?"
"As long as you want."
"Thank you, for helping her." Joren rose, bowed and left.
Lord Wyldon was not impressed. "What do you mean, Mindelan is in the healer's wing? Only I can approve healers. And why is she there?"
"She was, uh, attacked."
"Be a bit more precise, Stone Mountain." Lord Wyldon's voice was steely.
"She was kidnapped, then chained and assaulted."
"How did this happen?"
"I do not know, my lord."
"Who did this?"
"It is not my place to say, my lord." While Joren didn't want to protect Vinson and Garvey, he did think it should be Kel's decision to put her maid's life in danger.
Joren sighed as he watched Kel's maid weep. "This is all my fault. My Lady tried to help me, just like I wanted her to and now they hurt her. It was them, wasn't it?" He nodded slowly and the young girl collapsed into sobs again. Awkwardly, Joren tried to comfort her, but she shied away. "May I see her?" Again, he nodded. "Thank you."
"I'll take you to her. It's probably not safe for you to be here alone anyway, er…." He tried to think of her name.
"Lalasa, sir."
"Lalasa." Joren tried to fix the name in his memory. He had never known the names of the commoners, not even those who had helped raise him in Stone Mountain. Although, he thought to himself dryly, Kel probably knows the name of every commoner she's ever met, even the servants. With a sigh, he followed Lalasa out of the room and closed the door behind him.
Lord Wyldon and Duke Baird were talking in the small room when Joren and Lalasa arrived a short while later. Kel was still unconscious, although she appeared to be well. Duke Baird informed Joren and Lalasa that while Kel was healed, she might not wake up for some time, if at all. "How did she get healed so quickly?" He was confused as to how the Duke had healed her so quickly and yet seemed to be partially awake.
"Kel was close to dying once or twice during her healing. I needed the assistance of a few more healers to keep her alive, so they stayed and helped heal her too," Duke Baird replied.
"You should tell us who did this, Joren," added Lord Wyldon.
"It isn't my place to tell," said Joren firmly.
"What about the – " Joren clamped his hand around her mouth.
"No. Gone. Kel barely survived herself," he said softly in her ear and released her.
As her mind registered the thought, she started weeping again. "This is all my fault. You must hate me." She said the last to Joren, collapsing into sobs again.
"I don't hate you. You didn't make them do it." Again, he tried to console her, but she shied away with a whimper.
"Tell me when my Lady wakes up, if I'm not back. I have to finish Lady Oranie's gown."
Joren nodded. "I'll stay with Kel. I already left a note for my Lord."
"Very well." Lord Wyldon gave a brief nod. He looked at Kel. "If only she'd been a boy."
"What do you mean?"
"She'd have made an excellent boy."
Joren snorted. "I think she likes being a girl too much to be a boy."
Lord Wyldon smiled. "Maybe. I'll come by later to check up on her."
"As will I," added Duke Baird. They rose. "I trust that I can leave you here alone with her?"
"Yes, your Grace."
"Very well. Make sure you eat something and get some sleep." Duke Baird followed Lord Wyldon out of the room. Joren lightly kissed Kel's forehead before sitting in a chair beside her bed to wait for her to wake up.
AN - We've hit 100 reviews! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and poked me to remind me to update. Hopefully, I will be updating sooner from now. Also a big thank you to Cesy for betaing. Please Review!