Redemption
Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce owns all of PotS. Everything you recognize is hers; everything you don't recognize is mine.
A/N: Okay, this is a long chapter. Originally this chapter and the next chapter were one humongous chapter, but I had to break them up. Bonus for you - you get two updates this time. :D I just hope they flow alright. Enjoy!
Progress and Plans
The morning was bright and the sky was clear as Kel drank her hot cider and looked out of her office window. There was a new, but thin layer of snow on the ground, making everything look fresh and clean. Kel thought she would never get enough of the mountain views; the sky was so blue it almost stunned her eyes and she loved looking up at the snowcapped mountain peaks where she could occasionally see the wild goats enjoying their freedom. She now understood why the previous commander had spent over twenty years here at Stonebridge. Kel considered that it wouldn't be so bad to stay here in the mountains. She had bonded easily with the village headmen of both Silver Stream and Ironblade, and the villagers greeted her with warm smiles. If history repeated itself, and it usually did, there would be plenty of opportunities to use her battle skills against the Scanran spring raiders and other bandits. All things considered, this was a very good life, even if she had to endure Joren as her closest neighbor.
Kel opened the window and spread dried fruit on the snow-covered ledge as a treat for her sparrow friends. She had just completed writing a progress report to send to General Vanget when Daine arrived, again in the form of an eagle. This time, the Wildmage flew in through the open window and only transformed her head before she started speaking to Kel. Kel had gotten used to the weird vision of Daine's little head on an eagle body; she knew that it meant Daine was only staying for a short time before flying back to Corus. Both of them had come to the conclusion that it was a waste of time for Daine to watch Joren. All he did was eat and sleep, talk to his mother as they looked over piles of documents, and grapple with his men-at-arms for exercise. Daine had informed Kel that she thought Joren would have no choice but to ask for real help soon if he was serious about regaining his skills as a knight. His men were good at what they could do, but none of them had ever trained for knighthood; therefore Joren would not be able to practice sword drills or tilt against any of them. Only Kel and her officers could offer him the kind of training he seemed to need, especially because no one else would be able to come up the mountains for a while yet.
"Numair says it will probably be another two or three weeks before supplies can get through," Daine, ruffling her feathers, reported to Kel. "He's got two other mages working with him now to move one set of rocks with a spell and then crumble them to dust with another spell. The tricky thing is to hold back the new rocks that keep rolling down and make them go someplace other than the part of the road they just cleared. Numair explained it all to me but it's too complicated. By the way, everyone sends their greetings. They all want to know how you're holding up against Joren, but I told them that you haven't even seen him yet. Neal is especially worried."
Kel rolled her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair. It was getting shaggy, but she didn't care as long as she could keep it out of her eyes. "Trust Neal to worry about me getting into more brawls with Joren. Mithros! We're not squabbling squires anymore."
"For what it's worth, lots of folk - Raoul, Buri, Yuki, even Tobe - hope you kick Joren's b- ... well, you get the picture," said Daine.
"Tobe? He never even met Joren!" Kel exclaimed. "Honestly! When you think about it, I don't even know Joren, not really. And Joren certainly doesn't know me - he never did."
"Well, do you want me to go over one last time and see what the man is up to now?" asked Daine.
"No!" Kel had a determined look on her face as she made up her mind to move forward. "Daine, thank you so much for all of your help. I would have gone mad up here without your company and friendship, but I think you should stay home with your family for a while. There's just no point to your spying on Stone Mountain anymore. We know now that Joren is only trying to get back to normal - whatever that might be for him. Everything else that's happening is just more mining and more stonecutting. It's going to be a very lucrative year for both the Royal Treasury and Stone Mountain. And like you said, it'll only be a few more weeks before we can all get together again."
Daine opened her mouth to protest, but Kel held up her hand and continued to speak.
"Please, tell everyone that we're fine up here. Sir Aron has returned from Aili - he found some goat trail and made his way back across the mountain. I've brought him up to date on everything that's happened so far." Kel paused and took a deep breath. "It is time for the Commander of Stonebridge to pay a visit to the Lord of Stone Mountain. I will be polite and I will inform him of Numair's progress. It's the right thing to do. Anyway, we need to start coordinating the guards for the first shipment of all this new silver and stone. No more putting it off!"
Daine looked at her friend and nodded. She knew that once Kel set her mind to something, there was no point in trying to dissuade her.
Joren's dream was the same as it had been for the past few days:
He was walking up the worn path that led to his favorite grassy hilltop. He knew he would find her here - Lady Celeste of Groten, his late friend's widow. He crunched his boots into the gravel so that she would not be startled by his presence. They both knew there was no future together for them but he wanted her now. Her arms were folded across her chest to keep herself warm while the wind was fiercely pulled at her skirts. Joren could feel the tension in her tight shoulder and neck muscles when he reached out to gently massage them. She relaxed into him, still looking out over the valley toward the setting sun. The scent of her hair and the warmth of her skin were intoxicating to him as he leaned in to nuzzle the area of her neck just under her ear. He knew he could convince her to come back to the castle before the fiercer, skin-chafing winds gusted up from the valley. "Please come back inside. The wind only gets worse after the sun goes down," he whispered seductively to her and then thought to add, "I promise ... I won't harm you." She turned in his arms to face him and kissed him warmly on his lips. To his complete horror and shock, the object of Joren's affection was not the Lady Celeste; it was instead his old enemy, Keladry of Mindelan.
Joren woke himself up with a start. Sweat beaded on his forehead and his heart was beating rapidly. He knew he was supposed to find love with Keladry - it was one of the gods' conditions for him living beyond this year - but the mere thought of her blank 'Yamani Lump' face and her total disdain for him was so emasculating, Joren couldn't begin to think of how to win her heart. Not that he had had any experience with actually wooing ladies - they had always swarmed around him when he was younger and he just picked whoever appealed to him the most. Right now, the Lady Celeste was far more appealing - and available - than Kel. Joren was relieved that this part of his life was completely back to normal. He would figure out what to do about Kel later.
Lady Celeste had been staying at Stone Mountain since before the New Year's earthquake. She had been visiting her brother Sir Alwin the healer, for the midwinter holidays and then stayed to assist him while he tended to the villagers who had been injured in the earthquake. He was her closest relative since her husband, Sir Ansil of Groten, had been killed during the Scanran War. She never had felt welcome at Groten, especially since she had failed to give them any heirs. Although their older brother offered Celeste a place back at Jennsmont, she preferred to stay with Alwin for the time being. Here, at least, she was able to offer help and feel useful again.
Joren had known of Celeste since they were children. Celeste had had a crush on Joren when they were young, even though she was several years older than him. Her father had been the healer for Stone Mountain, and her brother Alwin had taken over the duties when their father died. Lord Burchard considered Celeste an excellent candidate for marriage to Joren because the Jennsmont family was related through marriage to one of his female cousins. Unfortunately for Lord Burchard's plans, Ansil of Groten wooed Celeste and married her while Joren was still a young squire. Celeste and Ansil had not been able to have children before one of Blayce's killing machines ended the bold knight's life. Now, as a barren widow, Celeste had no expectations of a lasting relationship with Joren, but she didn't mind sharing his bed for the time being. The main problem for Joren, other than the fact that she was not the person he was supposed to be with, was that Celeste was somewhat physically frail. He always had to be so gentle with her, but at least she was a willing partner.
When Joren woke up from his bizarre dream, Celeste stirred next to him and snuggled deeper into the covers against the early morning chill in the air. Joren wrinkled his nose at the sight of the new fallen snow outside his window. He looked down at Celeste, laying there so peacefully, and wished he could snuggle back in with her. Celeste definitely was not Kel. The only thing that was even slightly similar between the two women was the color of their hair; they both had mousy brown hair that showed blondish highlights in the sun. But Celeste's long tresses fanned out across both of their pillows as she slept. Celeste was a real woman. She was soft and warm and ... Joren sighed heavily and pulled on his cold loincloth and breeches. It was time to get to work.
One of the things that Joren had decided to do was to imitate the exercises he had experienced Kel doing when the Chamber forced him to 'visit' Kel. Joren figured he must have spent the majority of his seven-year slumber 'reliving' the first fifteen years of Kel's life. He knew that he must capitalize on all the time he spent inside of Kel's head; Joren called it his 'hidden knowledge' of Kel. His memory wasn't perfect, but he guessed that if the weird exercise routines Kel had done every morning made her stronger, then they would probably work for him, too. Joren obviously didn't own a glaive, but he did find a heavy staff and now he worked at a reasonable form of all the movements he remembered Kel doing. Joren really despised all the moving and stretching and sweating before breakfast, but he knew he had to get back in shape as quickly as possible. His chance at life was going by pretty fast.
When Joren finished, he wiped the sweat from his face and drank down an entire pitcher of water. Every muscle screamed in protest, but he no longer felt the burning numbness that tormented him when he first woke up from the Deep Sleep. He hated that he actually had learned something from his time as a spirit within Kel's mind and body, but he longed to spar with her and surprise her with what he knew to do now. A slow smile spread across his face as he crossed back over to his bed. Celeste had been a silent audience-of-one for the last part of his workout and she looked quite impressed.
"It's no wonder you're getting back to normal so quickly," she remarked. "My brother is amazed at your progress. Does he know you're doing all this?"
"I did tell him that I am exercising as much as possible, but I haven't told him any specifics," Joren replied. "I just want to be ready for whatever happens when I go to Corus to swear my loyalty to the King. I hope he'll go ahead and knight me, but who knows? It's been seven years. I've seen some of the villagers make the sign against evil when I pass by. There are ... others ... who might not take kindly to my return. I may have to defend myself."
"Surely not!" she replied. "You're a good man, Joren. Ansil always said so."
"Not everyone would agree. So I must work hard - just as your brother said. That's why I'm doing all these exercises."
"Where did you learn them? I never saw Ansil do any kind of exercises like that."
"Ah ... no. These are some things I've ... learned ... along the way."
Joren had inwardly flinched at the mention of his late friend. He knew that both he and Celeste were consenting adults, but being with her felt wrong. It was as though Ansil's ghost might barge in at any moment and accuse him of breaking some part of the Code of Chivalry or at least failing his duties as a friend. This was in addition to the feeling that he was 'stealing' Kel's knowledge and experiences to use against her. Joren knew that he should try harder to be honorable, but he didn't want to think about all of that at the moment. He might only have this year to live, so he intended to enjoy just a little bit of it now and then get serious about his missions. Joren had wiped away all the sweat and was ready to pull on his shirt, when he noticed that Celeste had pushed back the covers just enough to let him know she was willing for a little 'exercise' of their own making. He did not hesitate to oblige.
Lady Virryn was not happy about the situation between her son and Lady Celeste. It was a waste of precious time, in her opinion. The Goddess never promised her that she would live to see an heir born to Stone Mountain, but she had hoped that Joren would seek out serious candidates for marriage when he emerged from his Deep Sleep. Unfortunately, they all were still isolated from 'civilization' due to the earthquake and there were only two noble-born women available at this time - Lady Celeste and Lady Keladry. Virryn already knew, from an earlier conversation with Sir Alwin, that Celeste had failed to give the House of Groten any heirs. Fortunately for that family, Ansil had two younger brothers who already had sons of their own. Stone Mountain had no such fortune. Virryn wanted a grandchild, and she wanted one soon, before she went to the Peaceful Realms.
There had been a time when Lord Burchard had wanted to destroy Squire Keladry of Mindelan. Even after he knew that Joren was not dead, he hired men to secretly investigate Kel's family, as well as to follow her around. He had hoped to find some breech of decorum or moral laxness, but the only 'dirt' he could find was that the girl had had some sort of innocent dalliance with a young knight from Kennan, who later married another woman. No, Keladry and the House of Mindelan were quite clean, so he gave up his quest to dishonor her.
After Lord Burchard's death, Lady Virryn discovered the information about the girl, her ambassador father, and their extended family. Her sneaky husband had kept the documents locked in his desk in his private office. It was there that she learned that the new commander of Fort Stonebridge came from a very large, very fertile family. Virryn ached with envy when she thought of Lady Ilane's nine living children and uncountable grandchildren. Best of all, the Mindelan clan did not share any bloodlines with Stone Mountain. Lady Virryn remembered the Goddess' warnings very clearly and she was not going to take any chances with the future of Stone Mountain.
There was an old woman who told fortunes and sold potions in a booth outside of the village's temple of the Goddess. After the new moon service, Lady Virryn slipped quietly into the old woman's tent. It was very dark and the air was thick with the smoke from musky-smelling incense.
"I know why you're here and I know what you want," cackled the crone, her eyes shining brightly in the light of the single dim candle. Virryn bowed her head and offered the old woman a red velvet bag full of gold coins. She said nothing as the woman rummaged in a leather case that was caked with dust. The woman finally pulled out a small glass vial, dark green in color, with a cork stopper. She held it in the palm of her withered hand and Virryn stared at it intently.
"This is the most powerful love potion known to mortal man." said the old woman. "You cannot taste it or smell it, so it disappears in food or drink. Take care not to get it on your skin, unless you want the effects for yourself."
Virryn bit her lower lip and nodded silently in her understanding.
"One drop is enough to enable lovers to go on for a long time," instructed the ancient woman, with a sly, toothless smile. "Two drops helps lovers to see each other in the best light, no matter how repulsive they actually may be. Three drops and the lovers see the one they most want to be with at that time. The illusion only lasts for twelve bells worth of time, so you must plan carefully. Do you understand, my lady?"
Lady Virryn swallowed, and answered slowly, her voice was barely above a whisper. "If I ... if I were to take one drop of this potion, I would not tire in bed. If I were to take two drops of this potion, I would see my ... lover ... as the most handsome man I know. If I were to take three drops of this potion, I would see the face of the person I most love instead of, say, my steward - but only until morning?"
The crone shook her head and laughed which sounded more like a harsh barking. "No, no, no. Not the person you most love, dearie, rather the lover you most desire. There is a difference. For you ... you would only see your late husband, because he is the only lover you ever had. Someone who has had many lovers will see their most favored one, even if that is not the person they actually are with at the time. Otherwise, you do seem to understand the seriousness of handling this vial properly. If you are cautious, you will succeed."
Lady Virryn's eyes were as wide as saucers. This woman knew things about her family that she shouldn't know. This woman knew the desire that burned in her heart. This woman was giving her the means to secure the future she wanted so desperately. This woman was placing unspeakable danger in her hands. Virryn's fingers closed around the vial as the crone gently place it in her palm. Virryn closed her eyes and bowed her head again; when she lifted her face up to thank the old woman the tent was empty. She was alone.
"Nicely done, dear sister," applauded the Trickster god. "I couldn't have done it better myself."
"Go away, Kyprioth," warned the Great Goddess. "This has absolutely nothing to do with you or any of your vassals."
"Aw, can't I admire a good trick when I see one?"
"Fine. You came. You saw. You admired. Now, be gone!"
"Humph! See what happens when I try to pay you a sincere compliment?"
"Right. Don't you have some islands to take care of? Go bother them."
The Trickster was already gone.
A/N: Tee hee! I know I tried to make you think that Joren got all his 'bad' genes from his father; however, as the saying goes 'the apple doesn't fall far from the tree', and all of the Stone Mountain apples (remember Burchard and Virryn are cousins) are from the same tree. It's twisted - that's why this is rated 'T' anyway.