Uncommon Attraction
Disclaimer: This story is a collaborative effort between Lotti's Lot and Ally-Marty, writing as Dawn of the Sky. 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. The song excerpt is from "Now is the month of Maying" which is one of the most famous of the English madrigals, by Thomas Morley published in 1595.
A/N: Thank you for the very nice reviews! We advise you to get comfortable before you begin reading this extremely long chapter. ;D We also hope you'll continue to read and enjoy - and review - our story as we spin it along. :D
The young woman ignored the page and nodded toward the girl. "My name is Lady Caelyn of Glenmont and this is my daughter, Joreena. She's named for her normally doting uncle here, Page Joren of Stone Mountain. What is your name, novice? I promise, we won't report you." And she turned to give her brother a warning glance.
"I ... I am Keladry Mindelan and I apologize for any trouble, my lady." replied the girl, "And I'm a novice guard, not priestess. I am allowed to leave the temple grounds." She stared at the still-glaring page, silently challenging him to contradict her, even though today he happened to be correct - while she was being punished, she wasn't supposed to leave the temple grounds at all.
Chapter 2: Beltane Blues
Corus
May, 458 H.E. (Human Era)
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Now is the month of Maying,
When merry lads are playing,
Fa la la la la.
Each with his bonny lass,
Upon the greeny grass,
Fa la la la la.
The Spring clad all in gladness,
Doth laugh at Winter's sadness,
Fa la la la la...
###################
Guardian Keladry Mindelan scowled in disgust because she could not get that silly old song out of her head. Beltane was the worst time of the year in Kel's humble opinion. Ever since her days as a novice, she'd witnessed the cruel aftermath of the brutality and depravity of men who forced females to 'celebrate' the occasion against their will. Goddess, she hated this holiday! So far this season, fourteen young women and girls had sought asylum within the temple grounds. Two of them were so traumatized that they still hadn't spoken to anyone for several days.
Many of those unfortunate souls had been to see Kel's best friend and long-time confidant, Lisette, who was one of the temple's best healers and a mid-level priestess. The healers stayed very busy after Beltane, trying to mend the mental wounds as much as, if not more than, the physical wounds of their patients.
After treatment, most of the battered women and children would return to their places and positions in Corus, but only after they'd received training in self-defense. Others would relocate to distant towns and villages when they had recovered enough to travel. Some, however, would remain within the temple walls and eventually become members of the close-knit society of women who devoted their lives in service to the Goddess.
Lisette, or Lissie as most people called her, had befriended the tall, stoic Kel after she came seeking relief for her hands, which were raw from many days of scrubbing floors and stairs with hot water and harsh soap. Everyone had heard about the new novice, who'd received many weeks of punishment and detention for running off of the temple grounds to save a child from being trampled by a horse. Not everyone had agreed with the harshness of the punishment, but the girl had become 'the example' to halt a near epidemic of rash and impudent behavior amongst that year's novices.
The older woman had a somewhat mysterious past - Kel knew only that she had come from a noble family and that she had chosen to stay cloistered at the temple after her two older brothers died trying to save her from an attack during the Immortals War. Lissie remained skittish around any winged creature, including birds, but Kel had coaxed her friend to be calmer when the ever-present sparrows flew around them in the temple's gardens. Today, she barely flinched while the two friends walked arm-in-arm through one of the flower gardens, taking a break to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine.
"How are all of your patients today, Lissie?" Kel asked. "Have you made any progress with the silent ones?" She'd liked her tall friend from the moment the older woman had told her that "we tall lasses must stick together, especially since we're always going to stick out in a crowd."
The thin, green-eyed brunette shook her head slowly and said, "The Daughters have been in constant prayer to the Goddess about those two poor souls. There's no telling what truly happened to them. We may never know."
Kel's expression turned angry and Lissie could feel her tense up, "Why do men do such things? They're such ... awful creatures and I ... I hate them!"
"No, Kel, do not hate what you do not know," replied Lissie soothingly, "There are many good and kind-hearted men in the world. Our king is a good man. The men in my family were - and still are - good men. And haven't you told me wonderful stories of your own father and brothers? Aren't they good men, too?"
"Yes, but ..."
"Ah, ah, ah," Lissie shook her head, "You know that we teach compassion here. It's not right to pass judgment upon people of any kind, based on the misbehavior of some of them. Certainly, you've had your share of seeing - and fighting against - the worst that men can do. But don't condemn all men because of that."
Kel stopped on the gravel path and made her friend look at her, "How can I forget about the horrible things men have done when I see all the hard work you do in the infirmary to heal those poor women and girls?"
"You must always look for the best in everyone," Lissie insisted. "Who knows? You might not be a Guardian of the Temple forever - I've seen the way you are with the little ones, Kel. You'd be a fine mother someday and you'll need a man for that." Her green eyes sparkled with the implication.
"Well, you're good with children, too, but you're still here," Kel muttered without thinking, and then covered her mouth in shame. "I'm sorry, Lissie! I didn't mean to--"
The older woman patted Kel's arm, "It's alright, Kel. I know I must come across as something of a hypocrite - always pushing you younger girls out of the gates, but never going out there myself. I ... I promise that I will visit my family ... sometime in the future. I do miss them, especially my younger brother; you know, he's a squire now. Perhaps when he is knighted ..."
But she never got to finish her sentence because a deep-sounding bell started to clang in a particular rhythm. Clang, pause, clang, clang, pause ... clang, pause, clang, clang ... It was the call-to-arms for all available guards and healers to assist those who were stationed at the gates. It meant trouble - usually belligerent men in search of their fleeing wives or lovers or more women with casualties arriving - so the friends ran toward the temple buildings to get their gear and report for emergency duty.
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Now is the month of Maying,
When merry lads are playing,
Fa la la la la.
Each with his bonny lass,
Upon the greeny grass,
Fa la la la la.
The Spring clad all in gladness,
Doth laugh at Winter's sadness,
Fa la la la la...
###################
Sir Joren of Stone Mountain wrinkled his nose in distaste as the minstrel strolled past his table, singing one of the traditional Beltane songs. Gods, he hated this holiday! The only reason he was at the palace that evening was that his father, Lord Burchard, had eaten some bad food the day before and was unable to attend. Lady Emelda, Joren's mother, had insisted that the handsome young knight escort her to the royal Beltane banquet.
Joren recently had accompanied his parents from Stone Mountain to Corus and he'd been staying at the palace, awaiting the details of his new duty assignment on the Scanran border. He wished his sister and her husband hadn't cancelled at the last minute; he sensed that something was wrong between them. Joren also wished he'd stayed at the town house - Beltane was a time for lovers and this year, he had no one to call his own.
He gazed across the gaily-decorated banquet hall and his jaw tightened with bitterness at what he saw. Joren's insides churned as he watched his former best friend, Sir Garvey of Runnerspring, raise the hand of a gorgeous young woman to his lips and kiss her. She smiled prettily back at Garvey and then leaned close to him to whisper into his ear. The knight nodded and grinned wolfishly back at her.
The lady's name was Elinor of Josu's Dirk and she was one of the most beautiful girls at Court. Her honey-colored hair and amber eyes were like those of a great lioness or cougar - and she'd proven to be just as fickle as a feline. Joren had courted Elinor immediately after she was presented at Court, but she'd actually used him just to get to Garvey, to whom she recently had become betrothed.
"Joren, we really do belong together," Elinor had said to him when she refused his offer of marriage, "Our good looks complement each other so well, we'd be the prettiest couple at Court - except for their majesties, of course."
Joren had been hurt and confused, "Then ... why are you refusing me, Elinor?" This had happened during the Midwinter festivities, after he was knighted, but the memories still stung.
Elinor just shrugged, "You know my parents' situation since the drought. Our fief - the lands, the people, everything - is in such poor condition. I must marry a 'first son' - someone who definitely will inherit a title and lands. I need to be able to help my family."
"Stone Mountain is very wealthy," Joren argued, "It doesn't matter that my brother, Rafe, is the heir. My father would give us anything and everything we needed to help your home fief."
"Dear, sweet Joren," Elinor shook her head, "That's all very kind, but it does matter - to me. I don't want to be a second son's wife and you'll never be Lord of Stone Mountain. I just can't marry you." And she'd left him sitting on one of the palace's stone benches, feeling like a fool.
Joren had felt all the more like a fool when Elinor showed up at the next ball on Garvey's arm. Apparently, she'd been flirting and corresponding secretly for quite a while with Joren's supposed friend, who was the only male heir to Fief Runnerspring. Other close friends, like Vinson of Genlith and Zahir ibn Alhaz, had known about Elinor's deceitfulness, but they were Garvey's friends, too. At first, Joren was heartbroken; now he just felt angry and betrayed.
Joren forced himself to look away from Garvey and Elinor and he glanced around the room at all the other guests. The large royal banquet hall was filled to capacity and the pages were beginning to bring out the heavy platters of food. Joren was mildly surprised - and annoyed - that the page assigned to serve him and the other guests at the table that evening was a girl.
Now there were three girl pages at the palace. The one serving at Joren's table was the realm's first female page; two more had come to the palace the next year after her. The girl was average in height, with tightly braided and tucked black hair and calm, blue eyes. She also happened to be King Jonathan and Queen Thayet's second daughter, Princess Lianne of Conté. Joren didn't have anything against the girl personally; he just didn't think that women should become knights.
Joren's family was quite conservative, but they were not as opposed to the activities of the royal family as many other conservatives were. Joren knew the oldest Conté children fairly well. The Crown Prince, Roald of Conté, had been friendly toward him when they were pages and squires together. The beautiful Princess Kalasin usually danced at the formal balls with Joren whenever he requested, even before he became a knight. She was only a year younger and everyone thought she'd have been the first girl page.
The fact that Princess Kalasin was magically Gifted like her father and older brother - and the first Lady Knight, Sir Alanna the Lioness - was offered as a major excuse for her not becoming a page. Some conservative nobles didn't want her to 'magic' her way through - even though no one ever accused any Gifted males of such cheating. Joren preferred to believe the more popular rumor that King Jonathan feared not being able to make a good political match for his oldest daughter if she became a knight. After all, what sane monarch would want a wife who might be able to beat him in a real battle?
Joren didn't really know Prince Liam, who had become a page the same year Joren and Prince Roald became squires. Unlike his older, very reserved brother, Liam had gained a reputation around the palace as a bit of a prankster. Supposedly, he was the only one who could - and did - haze his sister, Lianne, when she became a page. Now that he'd passed his big exams, Prince Liam was King Jonathan's squire. Princess Lianne was half-way through her page years and most people assumed that she'd become Sir Alanna's squire eventually.
As for the younger royals, Joren knew that Prince Jasson would begin as a page at the palace in the autumn. Like his brother, Liam and his sister Lianne, Jasson did not possess the Gift; however, he was incredibly intelligent and many people at Court wondered if he would become a scholar-knight someday. No one knew whether or not the youngest and very powerfully Gifted Conté, Princess Vania, wanted to become a knight. Joren smiled at the thought that the precocious, eight-year-old princess was the same age as his niece, Jori. There was plenty of time for both little girls to decide their futures.
Joren smiled stiffly at Page Lianne when she offered the fingerbowl to him. She was very proficient at her duties and did not seem pretentious or haughty as some people might have expected her to be. Even so, he was doubly glad that he'd been out on missions with his knight-master when the girl pages had arrived. Joren wondered how the male pages were handling all the extra pressure and competition not only to be better than each other, but also to be better than the females. Life at the palace was difficult enough without having to watch yourself around a bunch of girls.
###################
Now is the month of Maying,
When merry lads are playing,
Fa la la la la.
Each with his bonny lass,
Upon the greeny grass,
Fa la la la la.
The Spring clad all in gladness,
Doth laugh at Winter's sadness,
Fa la la la la...
###################
Lady Caelyn of Glenmont wished she could laugh at Winter's sadness, but instead, she winced in pain as she heard the drunken revelers passing outside her window, wailing that old Beltane song at the top of their lungs. Gods, she hated this holiday! Every Beltane, when fertility was supposed to be assured, her husband would insist on them "making the most of the opportunity" to create another baby. Now Caelyn lay on her bed, trying to be quiet and still so that she wouldn't disturb, Elliot, the man to whom she'd been married for nine long years.
They had known each other since they were little children; the Glenmont and Stone Mountain families' town homes in Corus shared a common back alley and Caelyn had grown up watching the antics of Elliot and his four older brothers from across the way. Her older brother, Rafe, was a close friend of Elliot's brother, Barton. There was an old saying: "Familiarity breeds contempt." Perhaps they all knew each other too well - and hated each other for it.
Even though Elliot's brothers had always teased him for being the 'baby' of their family, Caelyn had never realized how insecure her husband was around them until after they were married. Elliot was certain that they blamed him for anything bad that happened in their family. The last Baroness of Glenmont had died giving birth to her fifth child in seven years of marriage, and the Baron never remarried.
Elliot and his brothers grew up fairly wild and uncontrollable and their father encouraged intense sibling rivalry. The pranks and jokes of the Glenmont men sometimes seemed good-natured, but there was a cruel undertone that marred most family gatherings. Caelyn, whose own family at Stone Mountain was very quiet and reserved during meals, began to dread the raucous mealtimes with all of Elliot's brothers and their wives.
The beatings began subtly; when they first started living at Castle Glenmont, Elliot hadn't liked the way that Caelyn seemed to be amused by all of his brothers' stories about him and he would quietly stomp on her toes under the table whenever she laughed at their jokes. One evening, Elliot accused Caelyn of having secret longings for his handsome brother, Barton, who was well-known for his philandering ways. He slapped her face when she proclaimed her innocence and indignation. Of course, Elliot apologized afterward and blamed it on his being too inebriated to control his actions.
Situations usually deteriorated into arguments and worse whenever the men of Fief Glenmont drank too much - which, unfortunately, was much too often. All of the brothers' wives kept to themselves and didn't discuss what went on behind their closed doors. Both Elliot and Caelyn despised the tense atmosphere at Glenmont Castle, so they spent most of the year at the town house and he attended to their family's interests in Corus.
When Elliot was away from his brothers, he usually was in a better mood and he didn't get drunk as often. When he was happy, Elliot was the most charming man Caelyn knew; he was the man with whom she'd fallen so deeply in love that she wouldn't allow her father to consider any other suitors for her. During the good times, he took his wife and daughter on long rides through the forest or on picnics in a nearby park. But the 'good times' were becoming increasingly rarer with each passing year.
Silent tears ran down Caelyn's swollen face and soaked her pillow as she remembered Elliot's latest beating. They had received a message from Glenmont that Barton's wife had given birth to a fourth child - another boy to add to their three other sons - and the news had put Elliot in a foul temper.
After he heard the news of the birth of another nephew, he told Joren that they would not be attending the Beltane banquet at the palace that evening. Elliot then drank for a while before he dragged Caelyn up the stairs to their bedroom, declaring that it was time for them to try again to make a son.
All four of Elliot's brothers had one or more sons, but Joreena was his only child and he'd never recovered from his siblings' harassing him about his failure to sire a male child. Several healers, including Caelyn's own brother, Rafe, had been unsuccessful in their attempts to discover or eliminate the cause of her inability to become pregnant again. It was a constant source of stress in their household. Elliot often was too drunk to carry out his procreative plans and that's when he started taking out his frustrations on his wife.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
The next morning, when she was certain that her father had gone out for the day, Jori crept into her parents' bedroom. Caelyn closed her eyes and felt the cool, healing magic flowing into her skin wherever Jori touched her mother's bruises. She soon felt well enough for to get out of bed and get dressed with very little pain. Caelyn was certain that the only reason she and her daughter were still alive was that the eight-year-old girl recently had started to show signs of being magically Gifted. Actually, Jori was becoming quite the natural healer.
The Gift ran sporadically through Caelyn's mother's side of the family. Rafe, Caelyn and Joren's older brother, didn't start showing signs that he was Gifted until after he survived a horrible horse-jumping accident which should have killed him. The resulting limp prevented Rafe from training to become a knight, but he received a full university education in the arts of magecraft and healing. Now he served as the primary healer and mage for all the tenants of Fief Stone Mountain and the surrounding area. Rafe guessed correctly at the sad state of Caelyn's home life when he examined her, but she'd made him promise not to tell anyone - just as she'd made Joren make the same promise earlier.
Jori's soothing, blue-tinged touch had healed both mother and daughter, seemingly of its own accord, many times in the past year or so. Often, Caelyn became aware that Jori had mended their wounds only after the girl fainted from the exhaustion of using her Gift to its limits. They did not tell Elliot about Jori's Giftedness; he simply thought that his beautiful daughter, his only child, was becoming a frail weakling as she grew older.
"Mama?" Jori asked quietly after she helped Caelyn get dressed and they headed down the stairs to have a late breakfast, "Will Papa always be mad at us if you don't ever have a baby boy?"
Caelyn wanted to reassure her brave daughter, but she couldn't make herself lie, "I ... I don't know, darling. I don't know."
Jori paused for a moment and then asked, "Why does he blame us? It's not your fault, Mama. Really, it's not. You could have many more babies."
"Hush, child!" Caelyn breathed, alarmed. "It's ... it's impossible for anyone to know that." She glanced around to make sure no servants were nearby.
"But I do know, Mama," Jori quietly insisted, as she stopped on the landing between the upper and lower staircases, "It's just like with the kittens and the puppies. I always know how many will be born and how many more will come. I don't know how I know, but I really do know that you could have mo--"
Caelyn put her hand over Jori's mouth and hissed, "No, Joreena! Never let anyone hear you speak of this. Your father must not find out what you can do or even what you think you can do. Do you understand me?" She released her hold on her daughter only after the frightened girl nodded and they continued down to the dining room in silence.
The household staff never commented on the condition of or the colorful bruises on their mistress' face and body. The fact that the entire right side of Lady Caelyn's jaw line and neck looked rather purplish-blue this morning saddened them, but they were glad to see that neither of her eyes were blackened this time and the little girl seemed to be alright, too. The servants were not stupid; they'd been cleaning up after the Glenmont family for many years. And they understood all too well that Sir Elliot was not above hitting anyone within the household - family or servant - when he was upset.
Caelyn now knew without a doubt that she must come up with a plan to escape from the worsening situation with Elliot before he discovered their daughter's true abilities. The Baron of Glenmont neither liked nor trusted anyone who was magically Gifted and he would not be pleased to discover that his granddaughter was so 'afflicted.' Caelyn also realized that she should allow Rafe to assess Jori's Gift and determine how to help her - the sooner the better.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea occurred to Caelyn while she and Jori worked on their embroidery. The previous Midwinter, one of her favorite dressmakers, a talented woman named Lalasa Isran, had designed a long-sleeved, high-necked ball gown for Caelyn to conceal her tell-tale bruises. When the seamstress delivered the beautiful gown, she discreetly sang the praises of the Daughters of the Goddess at the Moon of Truth Temple who had provided shelter and healing to the shy woman after she'd been brutally attacked. Caelyn now remembered that there was a perfect spot for a picnic in the park across from that particular temple. Once she and Jori were safely inside the temple grounds, no one - not even the king himself - would have the power to retrieve them.
Jori had been begging for them to go on a picnic together, and since it was such a lovely spring day, Caelyn sent a message to Joren. He quickly replied that he'd love to escort them to the park when he returned from the palace later that day. Joren recently had accompanied his parents from Stone Mountain to Corus and he'd been staying at both the family town house and the palace, awaiting the details of his new duty assignment on the Scanran border. Jori looked forward to visiting with her uncle and she was very excited about their picnic.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Mama, I really like this place," said Jori, as she gazed around the park.
"Why haven't we ever come here before?"
"Oh, we used to come here all the ti--" Caelyn stopped as she noticed the stricken look on her brother's face.
Caelyn adjusted her position on the blanket and fingered her wide-brimmed hat before glanced back at Joren. They had, of course, been here many times before - just not since Jori was two years old. Joren and Caelyn still remembered the day Jori almost was trampled in the street. It truly was one of the prettiest little parks in Corus, but the siblings didn't like to be reminded of that awful time.
"Now that I think about it, Caelyn," Joren began, sounding suspicious, "Why did you want to come to this park? I thought you didn't ... care for it anymore."
Caelyn slowly loosened the ribbon beneath her chin and let her hat fall back behind her. Jori dropped her gaze to her lap when she heard her uncle gasp in horror. The large hat had disguised Caelyn's injured face and neck, but now her brother clearly saw the fresh bruises. The battered woman was silent as she watched Joren's face turn red with rage that his sister had been so mistreated.
"Joren," Caelyn's voice was barely above a whisper, "We ... we'll need your help, but you mustn't tell anyone. Today - very soon - Jori and I are going to ... disappear into the safety of that temple for a while."
The color drained from Joren's face as he began to understand what his sister was telling him. This particular park was directly across from the Moon of Truth Temple of the Great Mother Goddess. Often, when women sought shelter with the Daughters of the Goddess, no one saw them for a long time. If Caelyn and Jori went into the temple, there was no telling when he'd be able to see them again, especially since no males could enter those grounds without incurring serious bodily harm. Joren shook his head in disbelief.
Caelyn continued, "We're ready. Both Jori and I are wearing an extra set of clothes underneath our outfits and I was able to pack few essentials into the picnic basket when the servants weren't watching. I know they inform Elliot of everything about my comings and goings and he's likely to be furious when he discovers that we're gone."
Joren shook his head more vigorously, "Caelyn, no! You ... you can't just ... disappear. Let me tell Father - I'm sure he already suspects - and he and Rafe will keep both of you safe at Stone Mountain."
"Joren, I know you've wanted to help me for a long time, so please try to understand," tears rolled down Caelyn's face, "Last night ... I finally realized that ... nothing will stop Elliot. He ... he wants a son. And we can't ... I just can't ... be with him anymore. He'll keep on punishing Jori for being a girl and he'll keep hurting me until ... until ... I don't know what. This is the only way out for us." Then she began to sob.
Joren reached out and held his sister's hand tightly as he spoke through clenched teeth, "Why won't you let me pound that fool of a man? Hardly anyone has ever been beaten me on the practice courts. And you know I usually win the contests I've entered. I'll give Elliot a taste of his own treatment - just let me at him!" Joren's voice was bitter and angry.
"And start a blood feud between our families?" Caelyn sounded horrified. "No, I can't allow such a thing to happen. Besides everything else, Jori is ... well, she's got the Gift - just like Rafe. And you know how strongly Elliot's family feels about that." Jori smiled shyly and scooted over to lean affectionately against her uncle.
Joren remembered all too well that when they were younger, Rafe endured all kinds of harassment and ridicule from the Glenmont brothers, with exception of his friend Barton. When everyone learned that Rafe possessed the Gift, the Baron of Glenmont declared that he would not allow his sons to have such a dangerous companion. The old fool was afraid that Rafe would use magic to exact his revenge for all the teasing his sons had inflicted through the years. He only consented to Elliot's marriage with Caelyn once he was assured that neither she nor Joren were magically Gifted.
Joren reached down and softly stroked his niece's hair. Caelyn squeezed his other hand reassuringly before she withdrew from his grasp. He couldn't believe this was really happening now. He knew the Daughters of the Goddess would take good care of them, but he'd miss them terribly.
The scene at the gate was chaotic. Every week, temple guards took a mule-drawn cart down to the Lower City to offer victimized women and children a ride back to the temple for medical attention and, in many instances, asylum from their tormentors. This time, a group of drunken ruffians had followed and harassed the cart all the way back to the Temple District. Now several thugs were attempting to recapture frantic women out of the guards' care.
Kel waded into the melee, dressed in her armor, with her battle-ax raised. She clubbed the brawlers' heads with the ax's handle and knocked a few of them unconscious without drawing much blood. She was in mid-swing when she felt a strong hand grab her forearm and pull her through to the edge of the crowd. She wrenched free and turned to attack her assailant and found herself face-to-face with a very handsome, very blond nobleman. Somehow, she didn't think he was with the ruffians.
Joren, Caelyn and Jori couldn't help but notice the ruckus across the street which had interrupted their discussion. It looked as though the temple guards had been bringing in a cart-load of women and children, most of them were dressed in barely more than filthy rags. A group of loud, angry men had arrived and seemed to be threatening the poor women and harassing the guards at the temple gates. Some of the thugs were very large, menacing men and Joren didn't think that the female temple guards had much of a chance for success. Suddenly, Caelyn and Jori got up and ran for the temple gates.
"Caelyn! Jori! No!" Joren yelled as he ran after them. "Don't go yet! Wait!"
Miraculously, the mother and daughter made it onto the temple grounds without anyone molesting them or hindering them from entering the gates. Joren saw one of the priestesses whisk them away into the nearest building and cried out in anguish. He tried to push is way through the brawlers to get to the gate. Then he saw one of the temple guards and pulled her to the side so he could explain the situation.
"Sir, you need to step back!" Kel warned Joren as she wrenched free of his grasp. "I don't want to hurt you!"
"My sister! My niece!" Joren exclaimed. "I need to talk to them. They just ran inside. Help me!"
"Sir, this isn't a good time," Kel said as she tripped a thug with her leg, "I really don't think you're part of this riot, so I'm letting you go."
Joren ducked a wild swing from one of the men, "You're letting me go? That's funny. You ... guards are lucky I'm here. I am a knight and--"
Joren never finished his sentence; one of Kel's sister guards hit him in the back of his head with her ax handle. He dropped to the ground, unconscious. Kel look at his fallen form in horror. The other guard shrugged and went back to subduing other brawlers.
The 'riot' ended soon enough. One thug was badly injured and several others lay in front of the gates, still unconscious. The temple guards tied up the men with their hands behind their backs to wait for the Provost's guards to haul them away to prison. Someone had sent for a healer to come to the gates to care for the injuries.
Kel had pulled the blond nobleman over to the side, away from the other men and tried to revive him. He looked vaguely familiar to her, but she was certain that she'd never seen a man who wore the badge and sword of a knight up close. She slapped his face lightly until his eyes fluttered open.
"Sir? Sir?" Kel asked as she helped him to sit upright. "Are you alright?"
"Huh? What happened?" Joren asked groggily. "Who are you?"
"I'm Guardian Keladry." She replied. "We're sorry, but you took a rather nasty blow to the head. One of our healers will be here in a moment to take a look at you. Do you know where you are, sir?"
"Temple. My ... sister and her daughter ... came here," Joren's speech was slightly slurred. "Want to ... talk to them."
Kel had seen too many battered women and children running away from supposedly loving brothers, husbands, fathers and other men. No matter how nice this man appeared to be, she knew that looks could be deceiving. She pursed her lips and asked, "Who are you? Tell me your name, sir, and I'll get a message to them."
"My name ... is Sir Joren ... of Stone Mountain," he said, "And you're going to be ... very sorry that ... you assaulted me." And then he fainted.
A/N: Okay! Just to recap, for the purposes of this AU story, we are writing that Princess Lianne became the first girl page because, obviously, our common-born Kel could not do so. After losing the arguments over Princess Kalasin, Queen Thayet insisted that King Jonathan allow their second daughter to enter the palace training when she turned ten years old. There was very little fuss - no probationary year nonsense - when Lianne became a page and no one hazed her, except her brother, Liam, who is two years ahead of her. Since we couldn't find the exact ages of Jon and Thayet's children, we are assigning their ages and dispositions are as follows: Sir Roald is 18 (same as Joren) and magically Gifted; Kalasin is 17 and Gifted; Liam is 14 and 'normal' and he's just become his father's squire since Zahir is now a knight; Lianne is 12 and normal and half-way through her page years; Jasson is 10 and normal and will become a page soon; and Vania is 8 and Gifted and she doesn't know yet if she wants to become a knight. Obviously, the above information had very little to do with this particular chapter, but it gives you an idea of the current social climate for noble girls in our AU version of Tortall. Please let us know what you think. Thanks! ~~ Dawn of the Sky