UNCOMMON ATTRACTION
Disclaimer:Tamora Pierce owns all of PotS and everything else in Tortall. We just like to play around in her world. Everything you recognize is hers and everything you do not recognize is ours.
A/N: Hello all my little minions, Lotti here. You guys are amazing. I love how you have accepted our story so full out. Well, I hope you enjoy my contribution as much as you did Ally-Marty's.
Chapter I: The End of the Beginning
-Midwinter 458 H.E.
- The Chapel of the Chamber of the Ordeal
In, out, in, out, issued each breath from the pale young man's nose as he knelt on the hard stone floor. He never had experienced such an oppressive silence; it pushed in all around him. Joren of Stone Mountain was bent over in a humble posture. His head bowed in submission as he gazed at the ground and several wisps of his rebellious white blond hair fell into his half-closed lids. Thousands of men before him had faced their greatest fears in the Chamber of the Ordeal. He knew of men who were better than him who had not survived. Would he?
Joren thought long and hard about the events of the previous night, when he had performed the ritual bath and received his final instructions of the Rules of Chivalry. Never before had the power of those words hit him more forcefully. They were almost like a punch in the gut…
…Sir Paxton of Nond's deep voice vibrated as Joren embarked on what was to be the biggest night of his life. After emerging from the cleansing bath, Joren dried off and dressed in the soft white tunic and breeches which he never had worn before. His father, Burchard of Stone Mountain and his knight-master, Paxton of Nond, stood before him, both looking grim, as men often do prior to the Ordeal of Knighthood.
Joren's knight-master began in his deep gravely voice, "If you survive the Ordeal of Knighthood, you will be a knight of the realm. You will be sworn to protect those weaker than you, to obey your overlord and to live in a way that honors your kingdom and your gods."
Burchard continued in the same solemn tone of voice, "To wear the shield of a knight is an important thing. It means you may not ignore a cry for help. It means that rich and poor, young and old, male and female may look to you for a rescue, and you cannot deny them."
"You are bound to uphold the law. You may not look away from wrongdoing. You may not help anyone break the law of the land, and you must prevent the breaking of the law at all times in all cases."
"You are bound to your honor and your word. Act in such a way that when you face the Dark God you need not be ashamed."
"You have learned the laws of chivalry. Keep them in your heart. Use them as your guides when things are at their darkest. They will not fail you if you interpret them with humanity and kindness. A knight is gentle. A knight's first duty is to understand."
"From this moment until you emerge from the Chamber of the Ordeal, you may not speak."
Joren acknowledged this with a nod, and looked away as his emotions threatened to engulf him.
Father and son embraced. Burchard kissed Joren on the forehead as he had done when his son was a child. "Make me proud, boy."
Reaching in Paxton grabbed his protégé into an embrace of his own, pounding him hard on the back. Then the three men sat quietly in the chapel, each one in his own brooding silence until the next morning…
The weight of each word would later hang with Joren for the remainder of his years. So would his kneeling there in the Chapel for many hours. Countless thoughts and memories, as well as numerous faults, criss-crossed his mind crossed Joren's mind, all squabbling for the foreground. There had been a time when Joren had acted the arse to everyone around him. Sir Paxton had pounded most of the bad attitudes out of him, but nothing could take away the guilt he still felt from his past actions.
He remembered the time that his young niece Joreena, or Jori as they now called her, had been running across a street and a horse almost ran over her. A young, novice temple guard had saved the little girl. Instead of thanking the novice guard, then-Page Joren had behaved like the arrogantly privileged arse that he was and proceeded to scold her. Then there was the time he had ignored a young girl's cry for help when he was passing through the Lower City, blatantly walking past the alley of desperate whimpers, just as so many others had done. He completely ignored the Code of Chivalry in his single attempt to escape a similar fate.
The worst thing though, the thing that tore at Joren's conscience from the inside out, was a secret. Dark and dangerous. Caelyn's beatings. Jori's too. All bestowed by their husband and father- respectively- Elliot. As the squire knelt in the chapel, the memory of the first time he found out about the beatings flashed across his mind…
…Jori was walking past Joren. He watched her as she passed by, slightly disturbed at the usually happy young girl's dejected state. On a sly suspicion, Joren grabbed her arm. Sun glinted off the tears that streamed from her fawn brown eyes as she looked down at the ground. The girl winced in reply as he turned her face toward him. Pulling her into his arms, Joren let Jori weep into his shoulder. For a long time uncle and niece sat there, comforting each other. Finally, Jori pulled herself away, quivering.
Joren looked at her with tenderly questioning ice-blue eyes. He pushed damp locks of white blonde hair from her face, "What's wrong, Love?"
The young girl began to tremble again and turned her head away, as if ashamed to admit the truth. Joren's hand gently coaxed her face around. He gazed at her kindly. Shakily, she pulled up the sleeve of her forest green brocade and showed him a very large, very purple bruise which was painted across her skin underneath the cloth. Tears were falling again, and in anguish, she whispered, "Daddy hit me." She began to sob…
Joren knew that the beatings had continued on from there, but somehow Caelyn, Joren's older sister, had elicited from him a promise of silence on the matter. Everytime it happened, Joreena dashed to him in tears and with fresh bruises, and buried herself in the comfort of her uncles arms. Each time a twinge of guilt pricked his heart. The silence was torturing Joren and he was certain that he would be punished for not telling anyone that Caelyn's husband had beaten her to the brink of consciousness, repeatedly. This could be the death of both his niece and sister…and him. The Chamber would know. It knew all. And he would be held accountable for his actions - for what he hadn't done. Shudders imperceptibly racked the silent squire's body as he fought to hold back his own tears of shame.
A gentle hand touched Joren on the shoulder. Looking up, the anxious squire saw one of the gray-robed Mithran priests who had been with him inside the chapel all during his vigil. This one looked tranquil and reassuring. Joren rose. Another of the old monks gestured to the open metal door before him. Swallowing deep gulps of air, Joren of Stone Mountain valiantly stepped forward and entered the Chamber of the Ordeal, doubting that he would emerge alive…
Keladry Mindelan knelt- garbed in a traditional gray robe- in front of the large marble altar. Her head was bowed and her posture demure, as was expected of all temple novices - whether they were to become priestesses or guards. Her long, mouse-brown hair was plaited down her back. It had grown a lot since it had been shaved off when she'd entered the temple at the age of ten. Unbound, Kel's long locks now hung past her slim waist.
If Kel had been standing, she'd have been taller than most women and even some men. Her body had grown strong during her years of swift and deadly training to become a temple guard. She was muscularly lithe and she had a deadly grace - the kind usually only held by the Shang warriors who occasionally stayed at the temple and taught at the temple
Long-lashed hazel eyes nervously glanced toward the High Priestess of the Moon Temple of Truth of the Great Mother Goddess. The woman who stood in front of Kel wore long blue robes with the lighter baby blue edging of the hems- a sign of virginity. The robes covered almost every inch of the older woman's skin. The priestess' name was Ebony, but she swiftly punished anyone she caught calling her that, just as she would have punished any other act of disrespect.
Tonight was to be the night that Keladry took her vows - those of the temple guards. This action would proclaim their acceptance of her into their ranks. She would receive her blue robes and join hundreds of other women who roamed temples, such as the one in which she knelt, in service to the cause of the Goddess.
"Rise, Novice Keladry." The High Priestess' husky and sweet voice rang out in the silence. Kel rose to her full height, head still bent. "Do you, as a Guardian of the Great Mother Goddess' sacred home, swear to protect this temple with your very life?"
"I do."
"Do you, Novice Keladry, as a servant of the Great Mother Goddess, swear to defend any woman or child who calls for your help, no matter the circumstances? Do you swear to answer every cry of help that you hear, no matter the distance, and to never ignore the harming of another woman or child, whether it is in the law or out?"
"I do."
"Do you, Novice Keladry, as a servant of the Great Mother Goddess, swear to protect the small?"
"I do."
"Do you, Novice Keladry, as a servant of the Great Mother Goddess, swear to bring to justice any man who has beaten, raped, killed, or otherwise harmed a woman or child in any way, as long as it is in your power to do so?"
"I do."
"Do you, Novice Keladry, as a servant of the Great Mother Goddess, swear to uphold all the teachings of the Great Mother Goddess, during your entire time as a Guardian of her sacred temple and home, and to always listen for her and her words, and to heed them with all swiftness and obedience?"
"I do."
"Then lift your head, Guard Keladry and enter the ranks of your sisters in this noble order you have joined."
Temple Guard Keladry Mindelan lifted her dreamy hazel eyes and her gaze met the piercing black eyes of the High Priestess. Kel bowed in respect. In unison, both student and teacher turned to leave the chamber in the depths of the Moon Temple of Truth. At the heavy stone door, the High Priestess turned once more to Keladry and said, "You may not speak of what has been said in this most sacred place. Nor may you speak of your feelings of this moment, for they, too, are sacred and should not be shared with any other person."
The door then opened in a seemingly solemn and final way. As the two women emerged, a great cheer erupted from the assembled priestesses and guards. As the well-wishers pulled Kel away from her mentor, a slight smile slipped across the High Priestess' hard face. "She will do," thought the older woman, "She will do."
The heavy metal door closed with a solid-sounding clunk as Joren stepped into the darkened Chamber of the Ordeal. The whole place was pitch black. Silence reigned beyond any silence he had yet to experience. The emptiness of it shook him to his core. At first, it seemed like nothing happened. Tension slowly built in every bone and muscle of Joren's well-conditioned body.
Something began to crawl up Joren's leg; its little feet felt sharp and hard on the thin white cotton breeches that barely protected his skin from the creeping thing. It was a very long moment before Joren figured it out. A scorpion! Joren hated scorpions with a passion and they terrified him to the very marrow of his bones for no plausible reason. Slowly, more of the creatures began to gather and crawl all over him; their legs digging into him with each ticklish step they took. Joren felt insane as he tried to keep himself from laughing, shrieking, and jumping around all at the same time.
And then it was over and the room filled with a light so dazzling, it rivaled the sun. It was horribly bright compared to the darkness of the room only moments before. Joren's eyes were very light sensitive - it was one of the problems his mage brother had been unable to cure him of. For a moment the confused squire truly was blinded.
Suddenly, Joren heard the sounds of the city and he was transported to the time 6 years earlier, when he had walked with his sister and niece through the temple district in Corus. Little Jori was racing across the street, chasing a gray pigeon who kept hopping away from her. Totally oblivious to the mounted courier speeding down the road, she continued on. The courier sped toward the palace - and her. When this had happened in real life, a bald novice of the Great Mother Goddess temple guards had jumped in and saved the toddler. Unfortunately, this time the novice guard wasn't there and Joren didn't make it as he chased after Jori and her chubby legs. The horse trampled her before the courier riding it even realized what was happening. Pain tore through Joren's chest as he felt his heart break for the first time in his life. What had once been his two-year-old niece was now a pile of mangled bone and blood lying still in the middle of the street. Joren fell to his knees as he tried to approach her.
A much younger Caelyn than the one he had seen that very afternoon ran across the street past him and over to her dead child. "NOOOOOO!" She cried piteously, tears streaming down her face in rivers, as she collapsed in a heap over her baby's battered body. She turned to Joren in a grief-stricken rage, "You failed! Why didn't you stop her?! How could this happen?" Caelyn's sorrow was almost more than he could bear. In an attempt to comfort her, he opened his mouth, but then stopped. NO! I cannot speak - no matter what!
Caelyn turned to Joren again, still sobbing with agony, and before his eyes, big purple bruises sprouted all over her face and arms. She got up and began to run away from Joren. He followed her just as fast as he could. And then she disappeared over the edge of a cliff. Joren dropped to the ground and tears fell relentlessly from his eyes as he fought to restrain the screams that tore at his throat for release.
Then the room darkened once more and the scorpions were back. This time they crawled all over Joren as he lay curled up in the fetal position, shaking with silent sobs.
And then it was over. The room turned to gray as light from the open doorway entered into his vision. Joren fainted.
A/N: Well, I hoped you liked it. Please review. Thanks!