(-a/n- Whoo! Lots and lots of wonderful encouraging reviews :D I'm so happy that you're all liking the plot so far. I'm really enjoying writing this especially as it's so different to almost everything else I've written…(and if it doesn't seem that different now you'll have to wait a few chapters where my plot will dive completely off all logical or previously-used plot lines :D ) …still please keep reviewing and I'll keep writing :D )
nativewildmagelol! Yes Kel's life is a bit of a mess at the moment but it's going to get worse before it gets better…
hiccups, katiebug123, Me, ForeverinTwilight, Warrior by heart, Erytha, Pie of Doomeh, SarahE7191, Eclipsa, brezzybrez, kelroxmysox, Tortall gal, Misled Nymph, oirishgoddess, dancerboy8, On top of cloud 9, Do you know Emily Davison, Aly the Spy, TsknRaider & Rinnabeth Archer.
Crazy Lady Knight Basically the first chapter was just an insight into the future. From now on the chapters will appear in chronological order right up until we reach the scene in the first chapter (if that makes sense?!?)
shamrockgirl07yeah I had to move it on quickly else I think that Kel would've decided against the convent if she'd had more time to think about it. But for my plot line to work she has to go to the convent…
alynawatloverslol I shall apologize in advance for it will get worse. I'm so mean to poor Kel.
queenoftheostlers:( I'm glad it made you feel a bit better :D Keep smiling :D
x17SkmBdrchiczxxthanks for your faith in me :D lol! I know exactly where this is all going and it will be very…unique! I just hope you all like it :D
Mrs. Dom Masbollehehe…nope, Kel will actually reach the convent. Because my whole thing is that for a reason (as yet unknown to all of you) she will disappear…I don't think that she would just disappear before this thing… (arrgh it's so hard because I don't want to ruin the plot…) because she couldn't be a knight…she's too strong and determined…anyway… that's just for this fic. If you are going to write a fic go for it! I'll read!
Confusedknight xx
This chapter was inspired by the song 'You can't take me,' by Bryan Adams, written for the film 'Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron.' If you want to listen to both songs (Fallen as well) look on youtube and search their names and artists.
You can't take me…
Got to fight another fight - I gotta run another night
Get it out - check it out
I'm on my way and I don't feel right
I gotta get me back - I can't be beat and that's a fact
It's OK - I'll find a way
You ain't gonna take me down no way
Don't judge a thing until you know what's inside it
Don't push me - I'll fight it
Never gonna give in - never gonna give it up no
If you can't catch a wave then you're never gonna ride it
You can't come uninvited
Never gonna give in - never gonna give up no
You can't take me I'm free
Why did it all go wrong? - I wanna know what's going on
What's this holding me?
I'm not where I supposed to be
I gotta fight another fight
I gotta fight with all my might
I'm getting out, so check it out
you're in my way
yeah you better watch out
Don't judge a thing until you know what's inside it
Don't push me - I'll fight it
Never gonna give in - never gonna give it up no
If you can't catch a wave then you're never gonna ride it
You can't come uninvited
Never gonna give in - never gonna give up no
You can't take me I'm free
I'm free…
The coach rattled onwards into the new day and after a particularly violent jerk, Kel woke up. She had found it impossible to sleep on the seat, and so had lain on the cold, wooden floor of the coach, before she finally fell into restless slumber.
Her body was stiff and aching from her uncomfortable position and Kel winced as she pushed herself upright. She looked around at her living quarters for the next week or so. It was a dingy carriage, the upholstery faded, and the curtains at the grimy windows were moth eaten.
Hardly fit for a young lady, thought Kel sardonically.
Outside the window, there were sunny fields, wet with the early morning dew. They had left the city far behind and now she was awake Kel didn't know how she slept, even for a few hours in the juddering wreck that was her transport. She knew that with presenting her two sisters at court, the family couldn't afford to send their own carriage up North. They would've had to pay for guards, a supply wagon and spare horses, not to mention fees for wayside Inns.
Kel sighed and her stomach grumbled hungrily. She hadn't eaten since her last meal in the Mess hall and that seemed like months ago. Kel knew that in a large train of coaches and wagons, there was likely to be food provided, and that the chances of stopping in a comfortable Inn were poor. Undoubtedly they would just stop when the mules and horses became weary and sleep in their own coaches, the drivers and merchants in their wagons.
She reached for her sword which she'd laid next to her, so that it didn't dig into her hip whilst she slept and belted it onto her slim waist. She tied back her shoulder length brown hair and opened the carriage door, hopping out into the fresh morning air.
The driver of her carriage was a wizened old man and he called out to her as she looked around. The carriage was going at a slow pace and Kel could easily walk alongside it.
'Oi, what're you doing?'
'Just stretching my legs,' said Kel.
'Get back in the carriage, I've been instructed to take you to the City of the Gods, but I can't take any responsibility for losing you along the way, so get back inside. There'll be a break in about an hour, you can stretch your legs then.'
Kel sighed and climbed back up into the carriage, opening up the dirty window, allowing the fresh air to fill the musty space. She stared out at the passing countryside, her face still hiding the emotions she felt within.
Anger; at the injustice shown towards her by not only Lord Wyldon, but also that of the King, who allowed her to be put on a probationary year in the first place. Fear; at her unknown future, the convent, then the Yamani isles. Desperation; how would she ever prove to them that they were wrong to get rid of her. Sorrow; at leaving behind her family and friends. Loneliness, hurt and shame, also weighed on her heart.
But through the midst of it all a blazing fire of determination shone through, and it wasn't a happy or joyful thought, but over the next few months it would become an obsession, leaving no space for regret or anger.
The countryside varied slightly with each passing day, and Kel felt like a caged animal. Shut away in the carriage for the majority of the day was driving her crazy. Her trunk had been sent on a fast carriage, and had been loaded into the coach, so at least she could change her clothes. It was accompanied by a letter from her parents to the Mother Superior at the Convent and a short note telling her to behave herself. Adie's note was short and vicious, forbidding Kel to shame the family name with talk of weapons or knighthood.
One night, everything simply became too much. She couldn't sleep, even though the carriage had stopped to allow the mules and horses to rest. Neal's face swam in her vision and her heart contracted painfully, missing her best friend and realising that it would be a very long time before they met again.
Stifled in the heat and musty smell, she curled up and shook with suppressed emotion. She opened the carriage door gently and climbed up onto the roof of the coach. Out here it was peaceful, no musty smells or walls pressing in on her. She lay and stared up at the stars, eternities away in the blackness, comforting herself in thinking that back at the Palace the same stars hung in the sky. And compared to the aeons of blackness that the light from the stars had crossed, the Palace and her home, were relatively close.
Kel fell asleep, peaceful for the first time since she'd left Corus, under the inky black sky. Free at last from the confines of the carriage, free from her own suffocating thoughts and the criticizing eyes that seemed to follow her every movement. Free she had thought, I'll be free someday, free to do what I want, without people frowning upon me or pulling me down.
(-a/n- Sorry it's not very long, but in all probability I'll update tomorrow as I break up from school tomorrow :D Also I just wanted to give you all an insight to what I'd imagine Kel to be feeling. Please review :D )
Confusedknight xxx