(-a/n- As always I thank my lovely reviewers who leave such wonderful messages of positivity! (I think I just invented a word but oh well!) …I don't know where I'd be without them :D I'm also exceedingly happy as this story has over 400 reviews! That a record for me ;D Please, please keep them coming. And if you are one of those who don't review… please do, as they really do keep any author writing and it doesn't take very much effort. And I KNOW there are more that 40 people reading this story as 117 of you are being sent emails when I update according to my stats so please, please review :D I don't care if you've never done so before but just start from now…okay? –Right now I've got that out of my system…
(P.s. All the people who review already get star-shaped biscuits with pink icing and sprinkles :D) Secondly Alex is a) my own character, b) 20 years old …for those of you who asked.
And thirdly I've picked out a quote for you all from the great works of TP herself:
'Very good. If you ever want work as an agent, I hope you'll come to me.' –Sir Myles of Olau to Keladry of Mindelan, in 'Squire'.
See!! Even TP herself recognized Kel's potential to be a spy! Lol…I just thought I'd share that with you…(see my thought processes are not so crazy after all !)
PoopieThanks for reviewing :D
SavingSaturnthanks, happy reading!
epobbpCool! How long have you been playing the flute and tuba for? Thanks for reviewing :D
shamrockgirl07Thanks!
SarahE7191oops…I was always under the impression that Tortallan and common were different, oh well thanks for pointing that out :D Alex is 20.
Pie of Doomehlol thanks :D
kgwoozleThanks, don't worry I won't go crazy… :P
Yabberlihehe ultimate Frisbee sounds so cool! Thanks for reviewing :D
inuyashaswife12I'll try to sort out your confusion over how much time has passed in this chapter. I loved the super duper long review :D Oh yes this is gonna go right up to her return to Corus and maybe even beyond but we'll see…
x17SkmBdrchiczxxhehe you're very welcome :D Especially since you've reviewed practically every chapter I've ever written :D
Michi Thanks!
darkjewelledassassinMaybe…teeheehee you'll have to wait and see …
Elf-of-Sunlighthehehe thanks for reviewing, I really do appreciate it :D
Erynfaerwe should get hats for our sleep-deprived club! Lol! Don't worry Alex is a new character – you're not having a memory-lapse :D
Golden23lol and I'll say thanks again!
truffletruffle01okydoky ;D
theknightofkonaha ooh! Go you! Congrats on being accepted :P hehe you proved your advisor wrong ! Thanks for reviewing as well :D
rosie please don't die!!
Echo Chamberswow! Thanks so much :D
Mrs. Dom MasbolleI'm so excited about writing Kel and Alex…I hope you'll all like it…Anyway (Oh dearie me I do use far to many ellipsis's hehe…but I do so love them… :P) Thanks for reviewing :D
Hasamakilol well at least it's original! Alex is 20…
the. dead. addict.Hehe thanks ;D
I love Fallen! Yeah Kel is gonna be a spy (at least for a while ;D ) Thanks for the review :D
Justanotheraddiction Thanks!
ErythaThanks!
Grace of MasbolleHe's a character which I made up :D Thanks…
JaBoyYaah…you'll have to wait to find out about his lovely complicated past.
bookworm-4-ever2012:D I hope it was worth the wait :P
SaphirePhoenixNo…definitely not…the hazel eyes and spying thing was a coincidence.
On top of cloud 9well…at first people were like 'what the hell are you ?' and then they glanced downwards, saw the hairy feet and began laughing…at which point we laughed, smiled politely…and ran away! It really was jolly fun but also quite embarrassing…
Me Thanks!
All Hail TPOkay!
ella plain and simpleI know!
Bertie Botts Thanks :D
Kat1132thanks for reviewing :D
Elentarielhmmm…you'll have to wait and see :P
alynawatlovers:D thanks !
Devouring Sarcasm Phantasmokay…the bone…in reply to the bone, basically Kel is eleven years old so she is pretty small anyway…(judging by the titchy ones we have at our school! lol) And also the year in the convent and eating little in the north means that she isn't going to grow as tall or as broadly as she would've done at the palace. Which is why I refer to her as small...Okay I'm updating now ;D
Cat in a boxThat is good! Tortallan fanfic is actually amazingly popular…of course its not huge on the Harry Potter scale, but compared to loads of other very well-known books TPFF thrives :D hehe thanks for reviewing ;D
CIRPG I love sugar too (mainly in chocolate form :D ) Thanks for reviewing :D
mangoladyIt would be very interesting indeed, (I'm not saying anymore :P) lol…thanks for reviewing.
queenoftheostlersExcuse me it was not just the first name in the Baby names book I took a great deal of –Okay so maybe I did get it from the book…it's a nice name –sulks- :P
brezzybrezYup we should soon meet the whisper man, a.k.a. George :D
oirishgoddessThanks!
Dom-Basher CHAMPIONhehe thanks :D
Confusedknight xxx
P.s. Here's another song for you guys. This one is 'On My Way' by Phil Collins from Brother bear…
Tell everybody I'm on my way
New friends and new places to see
With blue skies ahead yes
I'm on my way
And there's nowhere else
that I'd rather be
Tell everybody I'm on my way
And I'm loving every step I take
With the sun beating down yes
I'm on my way
And I can't keep this smile off my face
'Cause there's nothing like seeing
each other again
No matter what the distance between
And the stories that we tell
will make you smile
Oh it really lifts my heart
So tell 'em all I'm on my way
New friends and new places to see
And to sleep under the stars
Who could ask for more
With the moon keeping watch over me
Not the snow, not the rain
Can change my mind
The sun will come out, wait and see
And the feeling of the wind in your face
Can lift your heart
Oh there's nowhere I would rather be
'Cause I'm on my way now-
well and truly
I'm on my way now
I'm on my way now
Tell everybody I'm on my way
And I just can't wait to be there
With blue skies ahead yes
I'm on my way
And nothing but good times to share
So tell everybody I'm on my way
And I just can't wait to be home
With the sun beating down yes
I'm on my way
And nothing but good times to show
I'm on my way
Yes, I'm on my way
When Kel woke she lay still, staring at the leaf patterns made on the tent canvas by the early morning sunshine. Rolling over Kel saw that Alex's bed lay empty and she wondered why they were awake so early. She groaned; her back hurt after yesterday's occurrences, and extracted herself from the blanket.
It took Kel's eyes a moment to acclimatise to the dazzling light of the new morning and when they did she saw Alex sitting on the grass, cross-legged and quite obviously waiting for her.
'I was wondering when you were going to wake up,' he said, smiling good-naturedly at her.
He gestured that Kel sit down next to him and she did so, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
'Right,' Alex said, 'I've got a lot to teach you in a short space of time. Listen carefully. In an hour or so we're going to start the journey south, I have to meet with someone before we can return to…' he trailed off. 'To put it frankly, I have three weeks to go and meet the person who I work for and return to where I was working. That means you have three weeks to learn all there is to know about spying. If you don't learn, we'll both be dead within a week of returning. I'll emphasize again that what we'll be doing is dangerous, if you've got any second thoughts I won't mind if you leave now and there'll be no hard feelings.'
Kel stayed sitting, she was going to see this through to the end. It would be her only chance to truly learn the art of swordplay.
Seeing her determined expression a broad grin broke over Alex's face.
'We'll have breakfast in an hour or so. Firstly I will keep my side of the deal and begin to instruct you in swordplay.'
They both stood, Kel tying back her long hair with a leather thong.
'First we stretch,' said Alex. 'I'm going to teach you a trick that is crucial to any form of fighting; you can't possibly expect to fight with a head full of thoughts so as we stretch I want you to empty your mind. Find inner stillness, set aside all emotion. It will take practise but once you've mastered the skill it will be invaluable.'
He then led Kel through a lengthy stretching routine, explaining that in doing so she was reducing the chance of injury but also making her more agile. Alex himself was the most flexible person Kel had ever met, and she had difficulty in following some of the more complex stretches.
'That's right, and hold that position,' he instructed, 'It will get easier with time and gradually you'll become a lot more limber.'
Then Alex fetched both their swords, handing Kel's to her wordlessly.
He looked at her, scrutinizing her face.
'You've got a 'Yamani' face on.' He said, 'Like you did yesterday.'
Kel nodded her face expressionless.
'Okay, consider this your first lesson. As useful as it may be sometimes to hide your true emotions, by removing them altogether you attract far too much attention to yourself. For example yesterday, if you had been bawling your eyes out I would've passed on my way without a second glance. As it was, I noticed you immediately. You're going to have to learn to control your emotions without showing me a blank face. Anyway more of that later.'
He started off Kel's lesson by checking Kel's grip on her sword and her stance. Once he was satisfied with them both, then he set Kel to learning a tricky thrust, in which the sword drove forward, twisting at the last minute. They practised that for a while in various states of motion. Then Alex indicated that she should transfer her sword to her left hand. Mystified Kel obeyed.
'The best swordsmen and women can fight equally well with their left and right hands,' explained Alex.
'But-' Kel protested.
'You want to be one of the best?' he cut across her.
Kel nodded.
'Then you learn to fight with both hands.'
And he made her start with a basic sweep with her left arm. It was awkward and the sword felt heavy and cumbersome on her weaker left arm. Eventually Alex signalled that she should stop practising. Sighing inwardly with relief she sheathed her sword.
'I'm not going to teach you anything new until your left arm is up to the standard of your right arm. You can't possibly expect to fight with only one arm. What if your right arm gets injured? If you can't fight with the left arm you're dead.'
Kel nodded, slightly annoyed at his refusal to teach her anything new, but it made her more determined to master the sword with her left arm. They proceeded to pack up their small camp and as the final few things were loaded onto Prince, Alex asked,
'Can you speak Scanran?'
Kel shook her head.
'You've got three weeks to learn it then,' said Alex, ever cheerful. 'You'll be completely useless as a spy if you can't understand the conversation you overhear.'
He then switched into the harsh Scanran tongue. He spoke slowly and deliberately and Kel recognized a few of the words, including the word for 'Scanran' itself. And although she didn't understand much of the conversation, the meaning was all too clear. Her heart sunk, he was only going to talk to her in Scanran.
It will be like the Yamani Islands all over again, Kel thought, remembering how she hadn't understood half of what was being said, and the other children calling her 'stupid foreigner.'
On the other hand it had only taken about a month or so for her to be speaking more or less fluent Yaman, maybe it was true what they said; the only way to learn a language is to speak it.
Alex mounted Prince and Kel stood, wondering what to do. This decision was made for her when Alex set off at a brisk trot. She ran after him wondering what on earth he was doing.
Alex called something down to her, smiling and Kel heard the word for 'good' and 'you'. Sighing yet again, now with a pretty good idea of what she was meant to do, she continued to jog after the glossy chestnut horse and her slightly eccentric new teacher.
After half an hour Kel's legs felt like jelly and her skin was flushed and hot. Breathes came in short gasps and her heart hammered madly in her chest. She gritted her teeth and kept running. Ten minutes later Kel was about to collapse from exhaustion. The sun was really up by now and even in the shady forest the temperature was soaring.
Just as Kel was about to sit down, unable to carry on, Alex stopped Prince. He beckoned for her and extending an arm to reach her, he helped Kel onto the massive horse. They started up again, Kel sitting in front of Alex. He offered her a canteen of water which she gulped at thirstily.
All the while Alex was speaking to Kel in Scanran, making her repeat phrases to get the feel of the harsh language, even if she didn't have a clue as to what she was saying. After about an hour or so Alex stopped Prince and helped her down, leaving her to jog alongside the huge horse again.
The rest of the day continued in this fashion, Kel alternating between running and riding as they travelled ever southwards. Eventually the thick northern forests gave way to the rolling foothills of the Grimhold mountains, whose very peaks could be seen on the horizon. When Kel had run away from the Convent in the City of the gods she had headed West, right along the Northern border, through the forest. Now, to travel south they had to make there way through the hostile terrain of the Grimhold mountains. Kel had never seen the mountains up close, just the distant peaks which could be seen from Mindelan, all those miles to the West and on the southern side of the mountains.
They met few people as they travelled and as soon as they did come within hearing distances Alex switched abruptly to Tortallan, sometimes in mid-sentence, without even pausing to breathe as he seamlessly changed languages. Kel wondered which was his first language, his home language. His blonde hair would indicate Scanran origins, but most Scanran's eyes were blue and Alex's were most definitely hazel.
That evening, camping at the roadside, Kel's lessons began again. They once again performed the complex stretching routine, which felt good after a hard days travelling. Then, instead of swordplay, Alex began to teach her a new style of punch, her hand shaped into a thumb-over-fingers fist, which started palm up at her waist and travelled upwards to face down at the point of contact. She practised this with both her right and left hands until her arms ached.
Alex had left her to her own devices whilst he set up the camp so Kel unsheathed her sword, set it resolutely in her left hand and began to practise. When Alex came back he carried several small, sheathed daggers. Kel stopped practising as he drew closer.
He began to talk again in Scanran and handed her the six daggers. He began to point to the different body parts, naming them all in Scanran, making Kel copy him. Then Alex showed her how to conceal the daggers upon her person and Kel had the feeling that some of her future lessons would be learning how to use them.
That evening they ate a plain, but filling meal of the last of the bread, beef-jerky and apples, washing it all down with water. Every so often Alex would point to something and name it, Kel trying her best to store the names in her memory.
Kel went to bed that night exhausted, both mentally and physically. She had no doubt that within a few months of working for Alex she would have learnt so much. Not only about spying, or fighting, but about the world. Kel had lived a relatively closed life. She had only lived in Mindelan, then the Imperial Palace in the Yamani Islands, the Palace in Corus and then the Convent. Even just living in Goatstrack and travelling the North for a week had given her a taste of what life was truly like for some people. There's so much to learn, thought Kel sleepily, at least I'm on my way again, most importantly with someone who can teach me.
Kel could see the monster's vindictive eyes, feel its hot breath, it's horns ripping into her flesh, it poised above her…
Kel cried out, flailing madly and woke up. It took her a few seconds to realise where she was; safe in Alex's tent. Alex had sat bolt upright at the noise, dagger drawn and was staring about, his eyes wide, peering through the gloom.
'Kel are you all right?' he called out in Tortallan.
Kel didn't reply, instead she shut her eyes, trying to rid herself of the horrible memory. She breathed in and out, shakily.
Alex, sensing that she was upset, said
'Come on; let's get you out of this stuffy tent.'
And he helped her out into the cool night air. They made their way across the leafy clearing, to a small pond. Prince whinnied softly in greeting as they sat down on a log, staring out across at the moonlight reflecting on the still water. Alex sidled closer to Kel, wrapping a brotherly arm around her. Just as Neal would've done thought Kel.
Kel wanted him to tell her that everything would be alright, that she'd never again have to live through one of her nightmares but she knew it was impossible. She would be plagued with them until the day she died. They were always so real, so terrifying and she wanted to break down and cry, but she had to be strong. I've put it behind me, she told herself sternly.
She rubbed her chest scar unconsciously and Alex looked down. Kel stopped, embarrassed, she mustn't be weak, she had to be strong-
'I don't know how you got that scar and I respect you too much to ask,' said Alex slowly. 'But it has healed, and given time the memories and nightmares will fade too. Be patient…'
He stood up and made his way back to the tent, leaving Kel to make sense of her confused thoughts. She looked out over the still pool and realised something, it was almost a year since she had left the Palace. Which would mean that sometime in the next few days would be her twelfth birthday. It seemed so strange that after all that had happened to her that year, something as mundane as a birthday would still occur.
And what have I achieved this year? Thought Kel sardonically, and at that moment she made herself a promise; in a year's time, if she was still alive, she would look back and be proud of what she had learnt.
Kel then made her way slowly back to the tent, deeply inhaling the sweet, damp smells of Tortallan summer.
Neal couldn't sleep. It was an hour past midnight, on the sixteenth day of June; it was Kel's birthday. But Kel is dead, he told himself for the hundredth time.
His page room at the Palace was stiflingly hot. Normally the Pages would still be on their Summer camp, but the new training master had shortened the holiday considerably, feeling that two months was too long to be away from the Palace training. This year's training camp had been remarkably uneventful, although two days after they'd left a couple of squads of the King's Own had stumbled across a large group of bandits.
His cousin Dom had been in the centre of the fighting and had written to Neal, telling all about how they'd captured the errant bandits and how the normally calm Raoul had lost his temper with the district commander, who had assured the King's Own that the area was Bandit free.
Neal was close to completing his second year of page training, despite the fact that he was already seventeen years of age. Sometimes Neal could really feel the age gap between himself and his year mates. Even the respected fourth year pages were still three years younger than he was.
When Kel had been there it hadn't bothered him so much, despite the fact that she was the same age as his younger sister, but Kel was only a fading memory, Kel was dead. No matter how many times he told himself, Neal still couldn't bring himself to face the fact that the best friend he'd ever had was dead. Sighing he rolled over, tomorrow he had a test in mathematics, he needed to get to sleep.
Kel would've been twelve… the same thought plagued him, running round and round inside his mind until his head ached.
It was no good, he couldn't sleep. Getting up, Neal went to the window and opened it wider still, searching for a hint of a previously overlooked breeze. Neal wasn't normally a person who sought divine intervention in his daily life, but now, as he stared out at the sleeping city he prayed, more sincerely perhaps than he ever had before.
'Great Mother, if Kel, by some miracle is still alive, grant her your blessing. Just let me see her again, like she promised. And if she resides in your brother's dark realm then send her the peace she so deserves.'
For now, Neal clung to the shred of hope, the miniscule chance that Kel might still be alive.
And although Neal didn't know it, the Goddess was smiling. For how could Nealan of Queenscove know that at that very moment a certain twelve-year-old was sitting, staring out across a pool, also unable to sleep? About to embark upon a journey that would turn Kel into the woman whom Neal would meet in less than three years time.
(-a/n- Okay so another fillerish chapter, but these things can't be helped and hopefully you'll all gradually learn more about Alex and Kel's new lifestyle. Please review, especially as it's my birthday on Friday :D )
Toodles xxx
Confusedknight