Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters you recognize, they all belong to Tamora Pierce…well duh…but there are also some descriptions in this chapter which you might recognize and they belong to her as well just changed around slightly.
(-a/n- Ok so I said I wouldn't update for a while…! But I'm sure you don't mind, it's just I've had eleven exams this week and all of my revision has been last minute. However after finishing the exams I decided to begin to write this chapter and so I wrote and wrote and wrote…this is the longest chapter I've ever, ever written. This chapter has been the central plot point since I started planning the story and I wanted it to be perfect :D . Still before you read this chapter I will warn you that it's not a happy one. Some of you may be getting fed up with all the angst but I shall now explain my reasoning.
First of all I wanted to write a story in which Kel got kicked out, then I listened to the song Fallen and it seemed to tie in nicely. My next logical thought was where should she go? I didn't want her to just run away because I personally think that Kel is stronger than that. One of the main things that I've had to think really carefully about with this story is Kel's character…she's a very strong person but she's also human and it's quite a fine balance (which I hope I've managed to get right). But my plot did want Kel to run away (as it said in the summary) so I had to place Kel into a situation where she would finally snap and run away. I'm a bit nervous at writing this chapter because I've no idea whether or not you'll all like it but here goes…)
Pie of Doomehlol I think I've failed Chemistry anyway but never mind…hehehe
SarahE7191ew…that's disgusting!! Having ribs taken out…-shudders- lol
Mrs. Dom Masbolleno offence taken :D The (main) plot will really start in this chapter. The reason why its taken a bit long to get going is because I wanted a thorough base to work on, lots of details over the past few chapters will be more significant later on and I didn't want to rush. Anyway…things will become a lot more active after this chapter…
the. dead. addict.Thanks!
SavingSaturnThanks :D
theknightofkonahaok!
kitty-mooglesThis is the last chapter in which convent stuff will be occurring. Yup exams suck –sniffs- still…omg! Someone actually read my profile!! Hehehe yup those are two wicked authors, I wish they'd hurry up and write more!!
after.a.hard.dayyeah evil convent ladies stole them…
On top of cloud 9hehe…Have you ever been skiing?
Hyperbookworm yeah poor Neal…
Spy In Trainingit will end happily but it will get worse before it gets better…
Yabberliyup I hate Christina Aguilera too…but not that song :D Yeah I couldn't resist Neal Daffodils :D
Love's a four-letter wordYup :D
BSGirlThanks!
Justanotheraddiction Updating… :D
shamrockgirl07Thanks :D
queenoftheostlersCrazy little beastie. Hope you're feeling better ;D
x17SkmBdrchiczxxThanks ;D
Erythaok thanks…
Me Thanks :D
katiebug123Ok, thanks for the comments. I've taken a lot more time over this chapter, partly because of it's length. So hopefully it will be better :D
Blaz-GrlThanks :D
oirishgoddessyeah but we do love Owen for it :D
Tears of Winterwow! That is the first time anyone has ever dreamed about my fanfiction :D I'm honoured lol :D Thanks for reviewing…
inuyashaswife12wait and see…
alynawatloversyeah it's a shame that Kel and Owen haven't met…sniffs…
brezzybrezok :D
tamorapiercerulzok, thanks for reviewing!
Confusedknight xxx
For all that it was a Sunday the Convent was remarkably quiet. Most of the girls had risen early, made the compulsory visit to the Goddess's temple to pray, eaten breakfast and had hurried off into the City of the Gods. It was the day of the Grand Market, a day that had been the topic of excited conversation for many weeks, especially since it was rumoured that there were soldiers in town.
The majority of the Convent population had left the Convent their purses full and jangling in anticipation of all the pretty things that they could purchase from the traders. There hadn't been a market since before Midwinter due to bad weather and most girls still had money leftover which was itching to be spent.
Only a few stayed behind, mainly the older girls who had lost interest in such things or those who were ill or forbidden to go. After her 'impertinent' behaviour two weeks previously Kel was one of those who had been forced to stay behind. Not that she minded much, she had no particular desire to gawk and giggle at soldiers, although it would've been nice to leave the convent for an hour or so. Upon hearing that Kel wasn't going, Lucie valiantly offered to stay behind and although Kel argued with her at first Lucie insisted that she wouldn't have much fun anyway if she had to spend the day with the other girls in their year.
And so the two girls slept in late and enjoyed freedom from the strict timetable that usually ruled their lives. The only obligatory thing that they had to do between the time they got up and the time they went to bed was visit the temple, and even that would only take about thirty minutes at the most. They spent the morning in amiable chatter, playing a Yamani card game which Lucie had taken to.
Dom shivered, looking around at the bleak city spread before him.
'Cheerful looking place,' he remarked to no one in particular.
Domitian of Masbolle had been in the King's Own for just over a year and a half. Tall and broad-shouldered his blue eyes surveyed their surroundings with an appraising calm. They had been called to the area after reports of strange activity in the woods as well as several sightings of bandits.
He was stationed in Rowan's squad of the Third Company, and riding under the command of Lord Raoul. The company had split, leaving half camped further along the border helping to rebuild some towns that had been destroyed by flooding, whilst Lord Raoul rode to the City of the Gods with five squads to try and get to the bottom of all the strange disappearances in the woods.
Looking down upon the City Dom realised that in actually fact in wasn't very big at all, not even half the size that Corus was. Ahead of them, where the city stopped was a vast expanse of trees, stretching into the distance. To Dom it seemed like it would be impossible for them to find anything in there.
He mentioned this to Lord Wyldon, who was in command of the fourth squad.
'This is very true,' agreed Lord Wyldon, rubbing his injured arm distractedly. 'But there is a road that runs through the trees as well as several villages. From the sightings and reports we've been able to narrow down the area where we might find them.' He gestured to a part of the forest, 'I believe the plan is that a squad rides in there, dresses as simple travellers, in an attempt to lure out the bandits, whilst two squads back them up. If we come across a large number of them then the remaining three squads will all be close enough to answer a summons for help.'
Dom still didn't look convinced so Lord Wyldon said, 'There haven't been any attacks for several weeks. It may be that the bandits have moved on, if so we'll simply leave tomorrow. But if they are still here then they're going to be pretty desperate to get some food, especially after all the bad weather they've been having and are likely to fall for the trap.'
Geran's Squad had dressed in plain travelling clothes and had dulled down their horses, concealing their weapons beneath large cloaks. Lord Wyldon's squad and Roran's squad, along with Lord Raoul were the back up.
'Really we need the riders for this sort of thing,' said Raoul, 'But there aren't any Rider groups near here, so we'll have to make do.'
The two back-up squads dismounted and left their horses at the camp on the outskirts of the city. As carefully and as quietly as possible the twenty one men entered the dense woods on foot. Soon all noise of the city was swallowed up until they could just hear the noise of the forest. The disguised squad up ahead was making as much noise as possible, their mounts crashing through the forest, their riders laughing and talking uproariously. It was very easy to follow their trail. For about forty minutes they walked without even so much as a clue that their might be any other life in the forest, when very suddenly the loud chatter from the first squad stopped.
'Who goes there?' boomed Halcorm, a big giant of a man from the first squad. It was the pre-arranged signal.
Raoul was smiling, 'Once all this is over remind me to thank the Gods for Halcorm's voice. It can be heard for miles, come on let's go.'
And stealthily the men crept up and surveyed the scene before them. Bandits had surrounded the ten men from the first squad and were conversing in low tones that couldn't be heard over the distance.
'God's I hate fighting in land like this,' sighed Raoul. 'One…Two…THREE!!'
And the fifth and fourth squads burst out of the trees in the pre-arranged formation. Several of the bandits dropped dead, arrows sticking out of their backs, the work of several men from the fourth squad who had concealed themselves in the bushes as archers.
The fight was over quickly as the men over-powered the bandits.
'Right, we need to call in the reinforcements and we'll follow their trails back to their camp.'
'Sir, there were eleven men who overpowered us but there are only ten here now,' pointed out a man from the first squad, looking around at the captives and the dead men strewn about the floor.'
Raoul cursed, 'He'll have gone to warn the others,' he looked at Lord Wyldon, his expression questioning.
'We'll have to go straight away and hope that the reinforcements arrive soon.'
Raoul nodded in agreement, 'Have two men on horseback ride to get the second and third squads. Then leave five men to lead the captives back to the camp. Everyone else comes with us.'
Lord Wyldon hurried away, issuing orders to various people that stood around cleaning bloody weapons or plucking arrows out of fallen men. In under five minutes the men had reformed their squads and Raoul lead them cautiously through the forest. They followed the fairly obvious tracks left by the recently deceased bandits, right back until they came to a small settlement. It was fairly obvious that the bandits had been installed here for quite a while, although not long enough for it to pass as an ordinary village. The houses were made from crude timber beams, nailed hastily together. There were a few dogs hanging around the place and clean washing hung dripping on a line, pegged down firmly in the gusting wind.
Raoul turned and signalled for his men to crouch down in the undergrowth. Leaving one man to act as a lookout, he signalled for his men's undivided attention.
'I want this to be a quick fight,' he whispered. 'Ignore the women and children; I'll have no slaughter of innocent people today. Try to avoid killing the men if you can but don't endanger your own lives in the process. Wyldon take your squad around the back of the village and fan out in a circle staying hidden until the fighting starts. Prevent anyone from fleeing and if we look to be outnumbered join in the fight. Geran's squad is going to come with me into the village, we're going to try to draw them out of their hidey holes and if that fails then we start work on the buildings. Roran's squad you're back up, I want you to prevent escape from this side of the village.'
Without further ado, Lord Wyldon led his squad around the back of the village. After waiting for five minutes Raoul hefted his great frame up out of the foliage and strolled towards the village Geran's squad following close behind.
Dom and the others left from Roran's squad spread out, not bothering to conceal themselves after Raoul had announced their presence so openly.
'Lay down your weapons and submit to the Law of King Jonathan of Tortall,' boomed Raoul's voice, echoing slightly in the empty forest.
Dom shivered, the adrenaline was coursing through him as his body prepared for battle. He shifted on the spot. It was cold in the gloom of the forest being only the first week of February. Frost still covered some of the plants and now Dom had stopped moving he was getting chilly. He hoped the suspense wouldn't last much longer, wished that the bandits would simply surrender and they'd all be able to return to their camp, without any further bloodshed and Dom would buy himself a drink with the other men. Then he would return to his tent and sleep the tiredness from his cold limbs.
But it was not to be, grubby looking men were advancing, carrying an assortment of weapons and were all striding towards Lord Raoul and Geran's men. The fighting began and it turned out, to the utmost displeasure of the men of the King's Own, that there were far more men left in the town than previously anticipated and none of them wanted to turn themselves, or their wives or children over to Raoul.
Roran beckoned his squad forward into the fighting. Dom drew his sword and still keeping an eye on the men around him, selected his target and engaged in a brutal exchange of arm-numbing blows. Just as Dom succeeded in disarming his opponent and knocking him unconscious with the flat of his blade, he heard an agonized yell to his right. Whirling about he saw Roran, an arrow sticking out of his chest falling to the floor in horrible, twitching convulsions. Just by looking at him Dom saw that there was no hope for his squad leader, a lump formed in his throat and he said a noiseless prayer that the Black God ease Roran's suffering.
He then turned, his blue eyes scanning the field for the enemy archer who was selecting another target.
'Hassen,' bellowed Dom, 'Take down that archer.' Hassen, a Bazhir who was short and slender followed Dom's line of sight and calmly placed a new arrow on his bow string and shot the offending archer, who fell backwards, dead.
Realising that half of Roran's squad had stopped fighting to gawp and gather round Geran's body, Dom decided that someone needed to take charge.
'Hassen, Symric, form a back-up, pick off lone enemy and kill any other archers,' he called calmly assessing the situation.
'Peter, Seth, don't just stand there, get to it. You're with me, you too Luke.' And the four of them threw themselves back into the thick of the fighting. Raoul's men were outnumbered two to one, the odds weren't looking good. If they were mounted then they could have retreated, regrouped and charged again, but Raoul had no choice but to carry on fighting, felling bandits with massive sweeps of his enormous long sword.
Dom's men darted in and out of the battle, knocking unsuspecting bandits unconscious, much to the relief of the soldier they'd been fighting against. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that a group of the bandits had broken away and were attempting to sneak around the back in order to surround Raoul and Wyldon. Without thinking he called out to his two back up archers and together with Seth and Luke, formed a right flank to Raoul's two-pronged attack.
It did the trick and although the battle raged on, the numbers were slightly more even now. Knocking yet another man unconscious he helped Luke disarm the man whom he was fighting. After what seemed like an age the bandits retreated into their buildings, barricading themselves in desperately.
Raoul hurriedly shouted out orders to all the men. Dom was just wiping a sleeve across his sweaty brow when the bandits rushed out once more in one final, desperate attack. Lord Wyldon was ordering his remaining men into a defensive position on the left of the town. Raoul's men, consisting mainly of Geran's squad, took the centre. Dom instinctively called out to the leaderless men from Roran's squad and took them to the right side of the defensive line, to meet the oncoming attack.
Raoul looked over and saw that the young soldier Domitian of Masbolle was ordering his men into position. He had one man with a bleeding shoulder who stood behind as well as the Bazhir archer Hassen. Raoul smiled to himself.
Turning back to the bandits that advanced before them, time seemed to still. Lord Raoul hadn't expected the bandits to put up this much resistance and he wasn't sure how many of them remained in the town. Once again the two sides met, and finally over the clash of metal on metal, he heard the horn that signalled the arrival of the two back up squads. Calling his soldiers into retreat he turned to see Lord Wyldon and Dom doing likewise. The soldiers ran backwards. Those bandits that pursued them were cut down, and the ones that stayed behind all retreated back to their pitiful houses.
After that it didn't take long for the two fresh squads to ferret out the remaining resistors whilst any who tried to make an escape were caught by members of Lord Wlydon's squad.
Eventually in the middle of the town stood a fair number of women and children. The group also included a few elderly men and the men who had either been injured or rendered unconscious in the fight.
The dead bandits had been piled unceremoniously in a heap whereas Roran and Will, the only two fatalities from the King's own, had been laid out ready to be carried back to the City of the Gods.
Raoul beckoned Lord Wyldon, the commanders of the reinforcement squads and as an afterthought Dom.
'I want everyone to clean up here as quickly as possible, the weather is going to break quite soon,' he said peering up through the dense branches to the grim, cloudy sky beyond. 'Hand them all over to the City's law enforcers, I don't want to have to stick around for another two weeks watching all their trials and punishments. I want us to leave tomorrow morning. We did what we came for, and we need to return to Flyndan and the other squads, before this weather gets really nasty.' He then dismissed the Sergeants of the second and third squads.
Turning to Dom Raoul said, 'Nice work today, you saved us from a rather tight spot back then. I think Wyldon will agree with me when I say that good commanders, ones who have an eye out for everyone under their command, are very rare. '
Lord Wyldon nodded in agreement.
'Thank you Sir,' murmured Dom, feeling slightly awkward yet pleased by the praise, especially since it came from the two most famed commanders of the present day.
'I'm going to say this bluntly Dom, do you want to take command of Roran's squad?'
Dom was struck speechless, whatever he had expected that was not it. He had only been in the King's Own for a year an a half. Was he really ready to command a squad?
'What about Symric, Luke…' he faltered, 'They've been in the Own longer than I have.'
Raoul shook his head, 'Neither of them are commanders. They're valuable soldiers but only as long as they have someone telling them what to do. I know that Roran has only just died, but when riding around out here I'm not comfortable leaving a squad without a leader, there's no telling what we might come across and if we do get into fight I would rather that every man was under the command of someone I trust.'
Somehow Raoul's placing of his trust in Dom settled some unresolved arguments inside Dom's mind.
'I'll do it.'
'Excellent,' said Raoul clapping a massive hand onto Dom's shoulder. 'May I be the first to offer you my congratulations Sergeant Domitian of Masbolle.'
Just then Dom caught a glimpse of something moving in the trees behind where Raoul and Wyldon stood. Wordlessly he pointed to where a large hulking shape was lumbering through the trees, away from the village.
Leaving the hubbub of the village behind them they crept forward. The beast was moving fast away from them, becoming ever smaller in the thick forest, barely visible through the trees.
'Mithros, Minoss and Shakith,' Raoul swore, 'If that's natural I'll eat my tunic.'
'An Immortal?' said Wyldon questioningly.
'Yes,' said Raoul grimly. 'And I've a pretty good idea what it is. Hurry, we can't let it get away.'
'What about the Men?'
'They know what to do, they'll think we've ridden off to go fetch the magistrates or something, come on,' whispered Raoul urgently.
They began to run, it didn't seem likely that the beast would hear them, and even so, their running only just matched the beast's hulking strides.
Dom's breathing came in short and painful gasps. Sprinting through dense forest for what seemed like hours, had not been on his list of things to do as a Sergeant. Raoul was moving with an urgency that frightened Dom slightly. The constant running meant that neither of the men had any chance to communicate. Lord Wyldon and Dom just followed Raoul, taking comfort in the fact that there were three of them and only one of it.
Eventually the trees thinned out, and gave way to a large sloping hill which rose gently upwards and which had built upon it, the unmistakably architecture of a temple dedicated to the Great Mother Goddess.
Kel and Lucie had frittered away the day, playing cards, talking and doing nothing in particular, passing the time in amiable companionship, the way good friends can.
It was mid-afternoon by the time Lucie suggested that they'd better make their way up to the Temple to pray. The air was damp and chilly and the clouds overhead seemed to be preparing for more snow.
Their pace up to the temple was nothing short of a march, aiming to keep as warm as possible, even though their breath rose in steam in front of them. Wiping dirt off of their delicate shoes, the two eleven-year-olds entered the ancient building. It was deserted. The Sister's who normally ran the Temple also had a day off. Kel and Lucie went to the leather-bound book that lay on a small table and signed it so that the Sisters would know that they had been here.
Neither girls were particularly devout in their worship of the Great Mother, but as they had walked all the way here it seemed prudent to pray for a bit. Kel cast her eyes downward, fixing on the dark blue fabric of her warm dress and began as she always did, by assuming the calm state of mind which the Yamani's had instilled in her. Her breathing slowed and she relaxed visibly. She was just considering the words with which to best address the Goddess, and pray as she always did for some redemption, some way in which she might still achieve her dream, when she heard the door open and heavy foot falls on the stone floor.
Something in that heavy sound alerted Kel and she opened her eyes and turned around. The sight that greeted her would be one which would haunt her for the rest of her life. A massive beast, seven feet tall stood in the doorway. He had a bull's broad neck, large eyes and on top of his head were two broad horns. His nose almost resembled a human's but his jaws were large, slathering and his face wore an expression of undeniable triumph.
Most his body resembled a human's but grossly enlarged and thickened. He wore no clothes and to one side she could glimpse a bull's tail. It was a tauros. The very name of the immortal had instilled fear into hundreds of generations of women, for all the stories of tauros attacks were far too detailed and despite the fact none of the women were still alive at the end of it to tell the tale.
Suddenly Lucie screamed, having spotted the creature. Kel leapt up and for a moment her fear had caused her to forget about Lucie. Without a second thought she dragged Lucie to her feet and pulled her out of the pews. Kel ran across the space to the altar, searching desperately for something to defend herself with. Lucie's terrified screaming filled the temple and seemed only to aggravate the beast further. The tauros let out a deafening bellow, and lurched forward.
At last Kel spotted a weapon. An old broadsword was displayed on the wall, along with an axe, much like the sacred weapons of the Yamani temple, that her mother was famous for saving. She yanked it off the wall. It was heavy, much heavier than her own sword. Gripping it in two sweaty hands she leapt back toward where Lucie was cowering in a corner. The beast had slowed and seemed to be assessing it's prey. It turned it's slow head to fix unblinking eyes upon Kel, who stopped. She glanced around wildly for an escape route, somewhere to where Lucie could run whilst she fended the beast off.
Almost as if it knew what she was thinking, the air shimmered silver and the main doors swung closed with a sound that resonated round the temple. The silver mist covered the doors behind the altar too, that opened onto a large platform on the hill. When the echoes stopped all that could be heard were the harsh sounds of the beasts breathing and Lucie's terrified whimpering.
The tauros seemed to have made it's decision however and started once again toward Lucie. Oh no you don't, thought Kel grimly and ploughed forward she swung the mighty sword upwards and brought it down, but the beast deflected the blow with one huge horn. Kel's attack seemed to have provoked it however and although Kel had darted backwards it started towards her instead. Kel had a brief moment of triumph, Lucie was safe for the time being, but all that feeling drained from her as she realised that now the beast was coming for her and all she had to defend herself was a sword which she could barely swing fast enough to surprise anything.
Deciding that being backed into a corner wasn't the best idea, Kel gritted her teeth and like many times before in her life, she stood her ground.
As the beast grew within the distance of her sword she stepped nimbly forward and stabbed the beast's shoulder. Thick drops of glutinous silver blood spattered onto the stone floor and it howled, with anger rather than pain as the blow hadn't been very deep.
Without pausing to breath Raoul led them up the hill, which made Dom's already aching legs start to burn with exertion. When they reached the top, it was fairly obvious where the Tauros was as large hoof prints were embedded in the ground from the beast's sheer weight. Raoul was on his way to the door when it slammed shut, sparkling silver. Raoul tentatively touched the silver cloud, and withdrew his hand as though he'd been burnt. Cursing loudly he kicked the stone wall in frustration and ran to one of long windows, closely followed by Dom and Wyldon.
The sight that greeted him from the inside was one of the strangest and most horrifying he had ever seen. Inside, the tauros, for his first guesses had been correct, stood motionless. Raoul's gaze fell on the form of a sobbing girl and horror rose in his chest. He couldn't get in. He had defeated giants and yet he couldn't get into the temple to save that little girl. The windows would be impossible to break, as he knew that mages strengthened them when the temple was first built. Indeed the only way into any temple was by the two doors, one facing south, the other north and currently they were both sealed off by the magic of the Immortals.
It was one of the few times in his life when he had felt completely helpless. The tauros was in there with a young girl and he, the supposedly mighty warrior was out here. Lord Wyldon stopped beside him and Dom followed, when Wyldon let out a cry of horror.
'Lucie!'
Dom looked in on the scene, horror building in his chest. He could just hear Wyldon's agonized yells of horror. Dom presumed that the girl was his daughter. His pity for the poor man who would undoubtedly have to watch his daughter die, was matched with hatred for the beast and horror for what would undoubtedly be a slow and painful death for the girl.
Then something happened that none of them had counted on. A second girl appeared at the beasts left shoulder, wielding a large and heavy-looking sword which Dom was surprised she could even lift.
Wyldon gasped through his tears and Lord Raoul started.
'Please tell me that isn't who I think it is,' said Raoul staring transfixed at the small, brown-haired girl who was now occupying the immortal's attention.
'It's her,' stated Wyldon his voice choked. He began to run, desperately seeking a way to reach the two girls, pounding on the windows, although no one inside seemed to hear him. Raoul and Dom could do nothing but wait, the sheer hopelessness of the situation crashing down upon them.
'Sir, who is it?' asked Dom, confused at the expression on Raoul's face. Was it a glimmer of hope?
'Keladry of Mindelan, the girl who tried for knighthood.'
And suddenly Dom understood, and hope to surged in his chest, this girl would've had training, maybe she could hold the beast off for long enough for them to find a mage. But then another wave of realisation hit him, if Wyldon had let her stay she wouldn't have been in this situation. He shuddered to imagine what Lord Wyldon must be going through, knowing that it was not only his daughter, but also the girl, whom some said had been unjustly dismissed.
Kel was not aware of anything except her and the monster that stood before her. It was like a nightmare, a hellish situation with no escape. Time seemed to still as she and the monster weighed each other up. She banished all terrified thought from her brain and lifted the sword again. This time however it was wary and dodged her deadly swing, backhanding with a grunt of effort she managed to create another shallow wound which leaked silver blood.
The sword was too heavy and Kel's arms too weak. Her third swing was too slow and the beast lurched forward twisting the weapon from Kel's grip in one fluid motion. Kel was jerked forward by the unexpected attack, and the beast second horn gouged her. Scarlet blood began to seep from the long wound which extended the full width of her chest, just below her collarbones. She was lucky the horn hadn't caught on any bone else she would have been seriously injured. As it was the force of the blow had tossed her clean off her feet. The ripped material of her dress around the wound was already stained red, but she didn't think that her injuries were life threatening, not yet anyway.
The main problem seemed to be that her only weapon and last chance of defending herself lay on the floor about ten metres away from where she lay. Her brain seemed to register defeat numbly and somehow all thought deserted Kel as she watched the beast surge forward in triumph.
It was upon her before she had time to think or scream for help, its huge mass bearing down on her. It ripped at her underskirts and Kel's mind wondered dimly if this was the end. Meanwhile four sets of the eyes watched helplessly as they saw first hand the true monstrosity of a tauros attack. Kel began to scream as it continued its merciless attack and the cavernous temple rang with the blood-chilling sound.
During those endless minutes of pain and blinding despair all rational thought left Kel and all the walls which she had worked so hard to build around herself were shattered. Gone was the calm, determined warrior of a few minutes previously, and all that lay in its place was a terrified eleven-year-old girl, screaming in unbearable agony.
It was horrific to watch although somehow they seemed frozen in place, unable to tear their eyes upon the scene before them.
Kel could barely focus, all she could feel was pain, her mouth was open and she realised that she was screaming although she did nothing to stop herself. Reaching up with one, small, blood-covered hand she reached into her hair and then drove her hand upwards. When she unclasped her hand a silver handle was just visible embedded in the beast's chest, embedded in it's heart. Then she reached up and pulled in out. It was like a barrel had been uncorked and suddenly the beast's life blood poured out in a torrent onto Kel. It twitched and shuddered twice then collapsed dead onto Kel.
The silver light that had been covering the doors disappeared as the beast expelled it's last breath and the three men sprinted to the door, Lord Wyldon in the lead. They wrenched it open and sprinted down the isle and onto the area of open space before the altar. Wyldon ran to Lucie and Raoul and Dom ran to where the beast lay. Hauling the carcass to the side, where it lay, no less ugly in death than it had been in life, revealed the small blood-soaked form of Kel.
Neither men knew what to do; this girl had killed the tauros, saved Lord Wyldon's daughter, but at what terrible price.
Her brown eyes stared up, in numb shock at what had just happened, tears streaming unnoticed down her bloody cheeks. Lord Wyldon had taken off his tunic and covered his shaking daughter in it and picked her up. He walked towards where Dom and Raoul stood looking down on Kel.
Dom crouched down and took Kel's icy hand; she flinched but didn't seem to notice it. She was stared in uncomprehendingly at Lord Wyldon. Then suddenly something seemed to click somewhere in the recesses of her mind. Kel leapt up, ignoring the pain she began to run. Her sudden departure had taken them all by surprise.
Raoul cursed yet again and Dom and Raoul followed her out of the door and onto the square, paved platform. Kel had already reached the end of the platform, a silhouette against the dim light of the sinking sun. Tears were still streaming down her cheeks and the wind whipped her tattered dress around her blood-covered form. Wordlessly she turned and ran. About halfway down the slope she tripped and fell. Kel rolled onwards gaining speed until she crashed into the bushes of the forest.
Dom was running after her, but she was way ahead. Turning back one last time Kel wrenched off the stupidly delicate shoes which had been the reason for her fall, and in a gesture of last defiance lobbed them up the slope where they landed a few metres in front of Dom. Then she disappeared into the forest.
Dom knew it was no good, he'd never catch up with her. So he stepped forward and gently picked up the shoes that were covered in mud, silver immortal blood and the red blood of the girl herself.
On the platform Raoul and Wyldon were discussing what they should do next. Lucie was crying into her father's shoulder, traumatized by the whole experience. Lord Wyldon, was listening to Raoul, his mind working furiously, not noticing the silent tears that slid down his cheeks and Raoul knew better than to point this fact out to him.
As Dom rejoined them, he spoke urgently to Raoul.
'Sir, that girl needs medical treatment for mental and physical trauma. We have to find her before it gets dark or before the weather breaks.'
'We'll return to the camp immediately and alert the squads there,' said Wyldon decisively, 'But I need to get care for Lucie too.'
Raoul nodded looking sympathetically at the still trembling girl in Wyldon's arms.
'You will tell no one the truth of what happened here today. We have no right to tell others the horrors which –' his voice became choked, ' which Kel suffered here today like it was some horror story. If she chooses to tell people then that's her choice, but if everyone knew what happened she would never want to return. When we get back to Corus I'm going to tell haMinch to offer a place to Kel in page training, what she did back there was more noble than what half the knights you'll ever meet have ever done.'
Raoul finished his speech his eyes shining with sorrow. Wyldon and Dom nodded in agreement.
'So mote it be,' murmured Lord Wyldon.
'I'll never tell a soul,' whispered Lucie in a strangled voice. Raoul started, he'd forgotten about Lucie for a moment. They spoke for another few minutes, deciding on a suitable cover-up story.
The three of them went their separate ways, Lord Wyldon to deliver his daughter to the Convent and to inform them that Kel had run away.
There story was to stick as closely to the truth as possible. They had seen the tauros in the woods, tracked it to the temple, arrived in time to save the two girls, but Kel had panicked and run away.
An hour later the woods by the convent were teaming with soldiers, all looking for a small brown-haired girl in a tattered dress. The light had almost completely faded and their torches were the only means of light in the utter darkness of the forest.
Finally it began to snow, large icy flakes drifting from the sky and the searchers were forced to admit defeat. They would try again tomorrow. In the meantime Raoul hoped that Kel had found a nice warm hiding place because if the mage's weather predictions were correct a large amount of snow was due to fall over the next few days.
When Dom returned to his tent he was frozen to the core and wet from the falling snow. Yet he felt oddly apart from it all, as though the horrors of the afternoon had somehow separated him from his new squad. Even though he was exhausted sleep didn't come easily. The horrific scenes of earlier replayed in his head and he could only imagine where Kel was now, curled up in the snow somewhere too exhausted to go on…
And though he had managed to stop himself earlier, he now let the tears flow. Tears for the price paid by Kel to keep her friend safe and for the horrors she had endured. Eventually he drifted off into an uneasy sleep, full of hulking monsters and screaming girls.
Kel meanwhile had run, not directly into the forest but had skirted along the edge of the town and had hidden. Sure enough an hour or so later the King's Own camp had become completely deserted. She crept into one of the supply wagons and drew out a clean shirt, breeches and a thick. She also stole a loaf of bread and some beef jerky. She changed into the clean clothes and washed the blood from off her face. Kel un-tethered a horse from where he was grazing with the rest of the spare mounts and led him gently away into the trees.
Knowing that the woods would be swarming with soldiers, she headed into the main town. It grew dark and began to snow, gently at first and then the snow fell from the sky with increasing frequency until the air was full of the swirling flakes.
Kel left the horse out of sight, tied to a tree and hoped that no one would see it. She then went to the Convent one last time. She scrambled up onto the stable roof and edged along it till she found the window to her room. Sliding it up silently, Kel entered the dark room. She had come back for one purpose, for her sword.
It lay innocently at the bottom of the trunk, so far away when she had needed it most. Emotionlessly she picked it up and strapped it around her waist, along with a dagger and a purse full of all the money she owned. Without another glance she left the Convent, for good.
Once she was back in the woods, astride the stolen horse. The wave of numbness left her and tears began to fall again, streaming down her icy cheeks. The snow was falling thicker than ever. Time was lost to her, all rational thought was bent on getting as far away from that Gods-cursed place as possible.
When she could ride no more, in the breaking of the light that illuminated a world partially covered in snow, where the thick tree branches had only protected some parts of the forest floor from the deep covering of snow.
Seeing a small stream she dismounted, by now not caring whether the horse ran away or not. The water was freezing and pain stabbed at the fingers which were dabbling in the brook. The shock, pain and realisation overwhelmed the poor girl, and great bone-shaking sobs wrenched from her body. Kel's small form shook and yet more tears coursed down her cheeks as she clutched herself trying desperately to seek comfort or some respite from the memories that were haunting her.
About ten metres or so away from the girl, concealed behind a tree, a woman stood, watching. She was tall and her face beautiful. The skin was a perfect white colour, her lips full and red. The emerald eyes that completed the perfect image of the beautiful lady were full of tears. Tears for the suffering of the girl that sat before her.
(-a/n- So…any bright little people out there recognize the lady???...hehehe…Pretty please with a cherry on top tell me what you think in a lovely long review :D )
Confusedknight xxx