Chapter 1

Home Sweet Home

The next morning, the army arrive at the capital and began to part ways, the Own to their barracks, the Queen's Riders to theirs and the various knights to their town houses in the city or their rooms in the palace. Kel herself was going to be staying in her parents' town house with her brothers, Inness and Conal. Anders had remained in Mindelan with his wife and children while the rest of the family was in the city.

The first greeting Kel received after handing her horse's, Hoshi's, reigns to Tobe was from Lalasa Isran, Kel's former main and now the most sought after dress maker in the city. What many people didn't know was that the shy business woman went out in the evenings to teach poorer girls how to defend themselves against violence, which she had previously learned from Kel.

"Milady, it is wonderful to see you in good health!" Lalasa exclaimed as she hugged Kel. "We heard so much bad news in these past few months and I'm relieved there was no such news about you"

Kel greeted her friend, "It is good to see you too, Lalasa, though I'm surprised you had enough time to come see me yourself."

"I wouldn't miss your return for anything," She insisted, "The shop wouldn't exist if not for you."

Before Kel could protest that Lalasa would have managed without her, she heard a familiar, musical voice calling her name and turned around to see the tall form of her mother walking slowly and gracefully down from the palace.

"Mama," Kel flung her arms around her mother, "I've missed you so much."

"And I you, darling" Ilane of Mindelan replied, reciprocating her daughter's embrace. She also nodded to Lalasa, who she knew well from having to buy dresses for Kel's two older sister, Adalia and Oranie, while they were at court.

Yukimi Noh Diamoru was the next to greet her, stopping first only to welcome her betrothed, Neal. Yuki had been Kel's close childhood friend during her family's time in the Yamani Islands and was now one of Kel's best female friends (though there weren't very many). Kel had also introduce Yuki and Neal, and she was glad to see the relationship worked out.

Upon arrival at the town house, Kel was met by Inness, her middle brother and former knight master to her old flame, Cleon of Kennan, now married to Ermilian of Aminar. She was delighted to see Conal, who she had last seen at her knighting ceremony, and only briefly at that. Otherwise, she hadn't really seen him in nine years; first she was too busy with her page training, then he with his studies at the university, and finally she with the war. Her relationship with Conal had always been a little shaky after he dangled her out the window of a tower back home in Mindelan, but in her years as a squire when she overcame that fear, she had learned to forgive him.

Ilane went off to make some green tea while Kel unpacked her clothes and hung her weapons on the rack in the corner. Tobe came with her saddle bags only minutes later.

While the two women sipped at the warm, frothy drink, Ilane announced to her daughter that the king was holding a feast to celebrate the end of the war. Kel merely grimaced in response. She hated feasts and balls, it meant dresses and make-up and too much unnecessary kerfuffle. It was not that she disliked dresses, she just disliked the process of being stuck with pins until she could barely breathe. She did, on the other hand, hate make-up and hair because she didn't enjoy the feeling of having all sorts of mess smeared across her face, nor did she like having women pull at her short hair in order to find something to do with it. But she had already accepted her fate and allowed her mother to drag her out of the house.

As usual, Lalasa had already made most of the dress from Kel's measurements before the war and needed very little adjusting, although Kel had lost a little weight while she was up North. As was always their discussion, Kel begged Lalasa to take some sort of money for the dress but Lalasa, as usual, refused.

Restless and tired of sitting around, Kel decided to seek out her friends. She'd left the house and had begun walking up to the castle when a hand caught her arm. She turned to see Dom's blue eyes and crooked smile, and her heart skipped two beats. She smiled at her friend, hiding her feelings behind her Yamani mask.

"Mind if I walk with you?" He asked with a grin.

"Not at all," She replied, "Are you heading up to the palace?"

"Yes, I was bored so I went into town to see if there was anything interesting at the Raven Armouries." He said then laughed, "In hindsight, I probably should have unpacked first. I bet that's what you did, Mother"

She elbowed him, teasingly " Of course that's what I did, and had I been with you that's exactly what you'd have done."

"Are you looking forward to the feast tonight?" He asked with a wink.

She mock glared at him before saying, "Only if there's some curtain or tapestry for me to hide behind"

He chuckled, "So you'll be joining the Commander and his wife for supper, then?"

She laughed, Raoul and his wife, Buri, were infamous for dodging social events in any way they could. "Something tells me that the king won't let him off that easily. After all his attempts to miss the Progress, I think the king intends to make his life a little difficult. Personally I'd almost rather be a page again and serve at one of these." She then thought about the constant late night etiquette classes with Master Oakbridge, "then again, maybe I'm better off at one of the tables."

"Where exactly are you heading?" Dom asked as they approached the palace.

"I was thinking I might go find Neal," she answered.

"I should warn you, based on how eager our dear Sir Meathead was on our journey, you may not wish to interrupt him." He said with a cheeky grin.

"Dom, you ought to be ashamed," She said in fake shock. The pair laughed. "You might be right though. Maybe, I'll see if Raoul wants some jousting practice. Perhaps, I'll go easy on him and let him knock me out of the saddle. Then I could claim that I'm injured and cannot, therefore, be expected at the banquet."

"Now you really sound like him. I think all those years with him as your knight master have been a bad influence." Dom teased.

"They also taught me that jousting with the Knight Commander and being trampled by an elephant are basically the same thing." She said seriously.

"You were one of the only people to come out of ten rounds with my lord and not be begging for a coffin." Dom joked.

"I was close to doing so," she said, half joking.

The two parted ways and in the end, Kel found refuge with Owen, who had been given the afternoon of to unpack before he was needed to serve at the banquet that evening.