(-a/n- Reviews broke the 1000 mark! Yippee! Whoo! You've absolutely no idea how happy I am :D Despite this late update, I have not been completely inactive. I've spent several hours just sitting down and finalising plot details :D which only adds to my excitement as I know the best is yet to come! I'm sorry about the lack of updates but I've been on holiday. However I did take my Dad's laptop with me and therefore have several chapters typed up. Once I've spell-checked them I'll upload, so look out for speedy updates ;D
Once again thanks to all the truly lovely people who review :D
Just one thing though, I was looking on my stats the other day and over 230 people have this fic on "story alert" so that means that 230 emails are being sent every time I update, so why do these people not review? If you haven't reviewed please leave one, even just a single sentence will encourage me and I do love hearing from everyone :D Anyway enough of the nagging…)
TheBrassPotato, Hasamaki, SarahE7191, ThJaFl, Grace of Masbolle, SavingSaturn, Uncertian Destiny, the. dead. addict., BlackWidow12, epobbp, ObSeSsEd WiTh ROXAS, Yabberli, Michi, deathequalsoul, inhuman grace, onyx-jade potter, Transfiguration, Tsumetai Taiyoukai, theknightofkonaha, Dante Inferno, Evil Bunny of Death, ShadowofScribe, killing u with umbrellas, Erytha, oirishgoddess, Pie of Doomeh, Orohippus, TopazEyez, Willow-Bee the Cat, Right or Ryn, seven3eight, BookWorm, brezzybrez, NotAfraidToLive, Rycr, I love Fallen!, Group Askew, Elentariel, Forget Me Not Blue, sweetalicious, Lightish Red, Bobboky, Lady Sapphirea, ella plain and simple, Waiting To Be Inspired, On top of cloud 9, Devouring Sarcasm Phantasm, 13.shimer.13, soupcan, Frog's princess, ravenmorrigan, Brokenflamesrebel, Mint Tea Rose, lady knight keladry, truffletruffle01, mylovelyminion, Storyreader102, Lisy111, Macko & Golden23.
Me It was a Tauros…
x17SkmBdrchiczxx Thanks for reviewing Eldorne's Atonement :D How come your mum is making you wait? Does she not trust you? Lol. It's the law in UK that you can't learn before you're 17…:( Prince got left at the village; don't worry he'll be back soon :D I'm glad you thought it had harrypotter-ishness, because JK is such an amazing author :D But I absolutely love it in any book when you have a mysterious character and then eventually you find out their past (so I guess that's what I'm trying to bring across here :P)
Lives for Fantasy Um…well I based their shelter on the survival shelter thingy we used for our Duke of Edinburgh's award, but I wouldn't trust what I say…I was making most of it up, but I did do some research on dog sleds ;D
zeurin Wowee! Thanks for the super duper long review; it was much appreciated :D I know Deathly hallows made me very sad too :'( No I didn't get the idea off of Alex of Tirragen, to be honest the name was just a coincidence although my Alex's name is actually Alexei. He he, my Alex! Lol. No, originally he was gonna be a guardsman then I thought a spy would be a whole lot cooler and his character sorta just took off :D Still…I'm glad you're enjoying it, I'll try to include some action soon :D
queenofthehostlers Well the D of E shelters were where I got the idea from :P Still, hopefully I'm gonna see ya tomorrow x
K.D. Rai It was on her upper arm, just above the elbow. Although the holocaust victims was where I got the idea from. A couple of years ago we met Leon Greenman who gave us a talk and showed us his number :( It was soooo sad :'(
Erynfaer I thought it was awesome! Very classy ending, not overdone :D But I was sad at some of the character deaths :(
fairydust000 Thanks for the compliments :D Just out of interest –how long did it take you to read from start to finish ? I was just wondering you see…
Eternityfalls Seriously, read the protector series, it's really, really good :D
Hunchbook Nope, I've never been to the artic circle, most of the stuff is made up…well not made up, some educational guesswork coupled with some research from the internet :P
Confusedknight xxx
As Alex had predicted it took them just over nine days to reach Sekholm. With the exception of a few small blizzards, they had been incredibly lucky with the weather, having managed to avoid one of the three-day storms that they had warned against.
Kel had done a little duelling with Alex, but constantly travelling on the sled it had been hard to find the time to get a decent practice in. Instead, they had spent many hours simply talking as they sped across the arid Scanran tundra.
Although Kel didn't realise it at first, after a couple of days she realised that Alex was not just talking to pass the time, but that he was teaching her things that may, in the future be crucial to her role as spy.
The main thing that Alex spoke of was Scanran history. Kel learnt that history and the telling of stories was very much a part of Scanran culture. He told her folk tales and legends that had been passed down the generations for centuries and Kel found that the more she learnt about Scanra, the more she understood the differences between Scanran and Tortallan culture. Kel had been surprised to learn that the events that formed each country had been very much interlinked.
'Many hundreds of years ago, there was no Tortall, Scanra, Tusaine or any other country,' Alex had said, 'instead the land was populated by wandering people who sought after greener pastures than the ones they had found. One of the biggest clans settled at the place we now know to be Corus. They built temples and many buildings encompassed by a huge stone wall.
To the other nomads this was a completely new concept; stone buildings and defences which proved later to be impenetrable. People who were tired of travelling sought shelter in the settlement and over the years it grew, much like Hamrkeng has done.
Eventually many of the other clans had settled too, the biggest being Naxen, haMinch, Legann and Queenscove.'
Kel's stomach had jolted at the name "Queenscove" and she desperately tried to ignore the ache in the pit of her stomach every time she thought about Neal; how she missed everything from his bright green eyes to his sardonic wit and intelligent humour. Alex continued, oblivious to Kel's feelings.
'Now the leader of the Conte clan which had settled at Corus was much more powerful than the other four and he proposed an alliance. He would become King and would be recognised as such by the other clans in return for giving them the protection of his armies. Thus Tortall was formed as they patrolled and defended the land in between their fiefs.
Gradually other clans settled building homes and castles and they too were accepted as "fiefs" of Tortall, clans such as Trebond, Masbolle, Goldenlake and Nond. As more and more Clans joined, Tortall grew. It didn't happen overnight, but as the years progressed more and more fiefs arose; those whose lineage dates back to the Book of Gold.
There were some who didn't like this growing power in the south-west and they moved away. Several clans settled the other side of the Drell river and eventually formed Tusaine. The southern desert remained unallied to the King and it's peoples became known as the Bazhir, forming smaller tribes within their clans.
As the centuries passed Tyra and Galla were formed and Carthak too was taking shape. Maren came a little later and several years later Sarain formed as well, although the clans who had allied, split –creating the nomadic K'mir and a group of nobles who established fiefs.
Meanwhile Scanra as we know it today was left unclaimed. There were still twenty or so clans that wandered, preserving the old ways. The land was protected from Galla by mountains, but in the south there was only a few foothills and the great Northern forest to protect from Tortall. The land was visited by the clans regularly, but no one laid particular claim to it.
Tortall spent the next couple of hundred years increasing it's population and steadying it's economy. When Jonathan the third took the throne, everything changed. Tortall's knights which had previously been used to keep bandits away, roaming around the realm, were turned into a well-trained fighting army with use of ordinary foot soldiers to make up the numbers.
He started to advance and push at the borders of other countries, especially the land which was now officially named Scanra. His work was completed by King Jasson, the "Empire-builder" and Tortall grew to the size it is today. During the reign of those two King's Tortall's northern border had come to rest upon the Vassa River.
The land won, belonged to the Crown for several decades before being turned into fiefs such as Tirrsmont and Mindelan.'
Kel blinked in surprise. She had never known that Mindelan had once been part of Scanra! Alex regarded her carefully out of the corner of his eye and then continued.
'The battles that preceded Tortall claiming the land were hard and bloody, such as the battle of Joyous Forest when an entire Clan had been wiped out. Before then the Scanran people hadn't been too bothered by the other countries; content to live their nomadic lives in peace. When the Tortallan army advanced, it was decided that something had to be done. A great meeting was called to which all of the Clan chiefs were invited. The meeting was held in the small town of Hamrkeng. At the meeting many options were discussed, such as creating an alliance with Tortall, or even becoming a Kingdom such as Tortall but nothing could be agreed on.
The only thing that was achieved by that meeting was that the Chiefs agreed that Scanra needed an army to defend itself. Thus each clan agreed to send several squads of soldiers to Hamrkeng and the National Army was formed. As Hamrkeng had been elected as the army base, not only did barracks and training grounds arrive but also a merchant city arose as many sensed the opportunity for trade.
The National army continued to defend from the Southerners while many of the clans started to slow their nomadic wanderings and build more permanent settlements.'
Kel had listened in earnest throughout Alex's tale.
'And now if they're starting to unite under one banner, Maggur's banner, that's very similar to how Tortall was formed,' said Kel slowly.
'Yes,' sighed Alex, 'yes it is. The truth of this whole messy affair is that Scanra needs to unite. If Scanra was united under one banner, then we could create alliances, be recognised for the people we really are. So little is known about Scanra in other countries. People presume that because the Clans are still fairly nomadic, that we are barbarians always fighting each other.' He sighed again.
'I admit that there is much that could be improved in Scanra, but Maggur is not the one to do it. He wants us united to go to War and regain the "glory of our country" and the lands long since lost. We need alliances, trading agreements and slavery abolished. We need to show the southerners our unique culture and be respected for it.
You have been living in Hamrkeng which is far too much like other Tortallan cities. When we arrive in Sekholm you will experience a true part of life in a Clan. We might have nothing in the way of great works of art, but they appreciate singing, music, dancing and warrior craft.
I have heard Tortallan tales of out "barbaric war parties" but in truth when Clans meet they do not war, they celebrate the skill of their warriors in week-long tournaments.' Alex smiled faintly.
'I wish that you could experience one of the Tournaments. We fight all day long, supporting each other whilst delicious meals are prepared and in the evening we sing and dance and celebrate all night long. But events such as that are becoming increasingly rare. Maggur does not want any Clans to meet at the risk that they will unite against him.' Alex's face had become increasingly dark as he spoke.
When Kel caught her first glimpses of Sekholm she was not overly impressed. It was just a small collection of buildings, nothing more or less than an average sized Tortallan Town.
Alex guided the dogs at a slower speed through the roads. Most of the houses were heavily boarded, the snow often piled in great drifts reaching almost up to the second floors of the wooden houses. Wherever the snow had been shovelled away Kel could see doors that allowed the houses' occupants access.
They left their sled and dogs in a large stall in a barn after paying a man four copper pieces. As Kel walked down the snowy road staring all around something thudded into her back. She whirled around to see Alex grinning at her. Bending down she scooped a handful of snow and with unerring accuracy sent it flying across the short distance towards Alex who jumped out of the way, laughing. A fast and furious snowball fight then followed, only ending when one of Kel's snowballs caught Alex's head. With a hearty laugh, Alex chased Kel up the road and upon catching her, slung her over his shoulders.
Kel, half shrieking, half laughing tried to shove her handful of snow down Alex's neck. Now it was Alex's turn to cry out as the freezing snow penetrated his warm clothing. Trying to get the snow out of off his jacket, Alex tripped and both of them went sprawling into the snow.
Kel and Alex lay there, half buried for several minutes, laughing too hard to move. Both of them savoured the moment, for they hadn't laughed so hard for years. When the laughing had subsided into broad grins intercepted by the occasional chuckle, Alex climbed unsteadily to his feet. The deep snow reached up to over Alex's knee and it was even higher up Kel's legs.
'You can have a ride if you promise not to put snow down my neck again,' said Alex smiling fondly at the girl whom he had come to regard as a mixture of friend and younger sister.
'I won't,' promised Kel, her eyes shining.
Alex bent down to allow Kel to climb onto his shoulders and they set off through the small town.
'Where are we headed?' asked Kel.
'You'll see,' Alex replied mysteriously.
The few people who they passed waved merrily, their faces ruddy, weather-worn and smiling.
From the height of Alex's shoulders she could see the mountains looming ahead of them, mountains which they seemed to be walking straight towards. As they neared, Kel could make out a patch of brown on the grey rock face. Becoming closer still, Kel realised that it was a door.
Alex set her back down on her own feet and Kel watched in amazement as Alex knocked firmly upon the wooden door. Within moments it creaked open to reveal a woman with greying hair and the same welcoming smile as the rest of the people that they had met so far.
She greeted them in heavily accented Scanran and ushered them inside.
'Hans and Elinah Strongarm,' Alex introduced them to the woman. They had decided upon the journey to pose as brother and sister, something which was quite plausible given their identical hazel eyes.
'Lanith Shoemaker, how can I help you? From your accents am I right in saying that you've travelled a long way?'
'Yes,' said Alex, 'and we're looking for somewhere to stay until after Midwinter.'
'I know just the place,' replied Lanith, 'if you'll just follow me.'
Lanith tottered off down the tunnel, Kel and Alex following.
It was the strangest place Kel had ever seen. Seemingly carved directly out of the rock with wooden beams for support, the tunnel was lit by the light of dim lanterns hanging from the grey stone walls. The tunnel sloped gently upwards and after a couple of minutes or so, opened out onto a scene that stopped Kel in her tracks.
'Impressive isn't it?' asked Alex, smiling at Kel's look of awe. Lanith nodded in agreement.
They were standing at the edge of a humongous cave; one with a ceiling so high that it was hardly discernable. A large fire burned at the centre of the cave, casting flickering light and heat into it's surroundings, the smoke rising into the depths of the ceiling. Many smaller fires littered the cave floor; each surrounded by people all milling around.
Lanith lead them over to one of these fires and greeted two women enthusiastically.
'Look Maia, visitors! Visitors at this time of year!'
'Gracious me,' said the tall, thin woman called Maia, 'you must be so tired from your journey.'
'They need a place to stay for the winter,' explained Lanith.
'I see!' exclaimed Maia, 'well I suppose we could make room for two more in our cave.' She cast an appraising eye over Alex and Kel. 'Where are your belongings?'
'We left them with our sled, I'll go and collect them later,' explained Alex.
Maia proceeded to lead them off into a side passage, which was again lined with torches. Eventually they came to a gap in the stone wall of the passage. Pushing aside a cloth curtain, the three of them ducked into Maia's cave.
It was spacious and the floor was dry and clean. Many boxes were piled around the outside of the cave and in the corner a small tent was erected which Kel presumed served as a bedroom.
'I'm sure if you go to the supply cave they can find you an old tent, that is if you don't already have one.'
'We've only got our survival shelter,' said Alex, 'we'll visit the suppliers later.'
'Do you know your way around?' asked Maia.
'I've visited before,' said Alex, 'I'll show El around.'
'I'll be in the Great Cave if you need me,' said Maia nodding politely and she left.
'You didn't tell me that Sekholm was underground,' accused Kel as soon as Maia was out of earshot.
'I wanted to see the look of surprise on your face,' sniggered Alex. 'Besides it's only underground during the winter months. These caves were all formed naturally and they used to be used for storing things by the original nomadic clan. Sekholm actually refers to a large collection of villages and towns spanning quite a large area. They're mainly pastoral farmers this far east, the crop plantations are more to the west where the weather is milder in places like Gentlund.'
'So in the winter everyone just leaves their homes and comes in here?' Kel asked incredulously.
Alex nodded,
'Even the animals are brought inside. All throughout the year surplus food and other supplies are collected to see them through the winter months. Everyone brings their businesses inside and life goes on as usual.'
'Don't people ever worry about theives?' asked Kel, thinking that a cloth curtain wouldn't be much to deter someone trying to steal Maia's possessions.
'I suppose they have to trust everyone else, besides there is nowhere to go once you've taken something and anyone caught stealing will be expelled immediately from the Retreat.'
'The Retreat?'
'This place,' said Alex gesturing around at the cosy cave, 'it's called the Retreat.'
'An apt name,' replied Kel smiling.
'Indeed, shall we go and collect a tent and the rest of our supplies?' suggested Alex.
Kel nodded and together they left.
Half an hour later, Alex and Kel had put up the tent that was to be their home for the next three months and had stowed their belongings neatly next to it. The dogs had been left in the expert hands of a middle-aged man who, like Rinicht bred dogs for a living.
All of their board and lodgings seemed to be costing an awful lot of money, Kel thought privately and she wondered who funded Alex; whose only job was a spy.
It was surprisingly warm inside the Retreat and Kel quickly discovered that her fleece-lined jacket on top of her shirt and breeches sufficed to keep her warm.
Once they'd finished settling in, Alex decided that it had been too long since Kel had last had a fencing lesson. With nothing else to do, they practised for over two hours, until Kel's entire body ached and sweat ran in rivulets down her forehead.
Just as they began to lessen the intensity of their exercises to warm down, Maia returned. She didn't object to her cave being used as a practise court and settled down on a box to watch the final few minutes of their fighting.
'How long have you been learning the sword Elinah?' she asked.
'About two years,' said Kel truthfully, 'Hans is a very good teacher.'
'Good teacher or not, you've got talent,' said Maia shrewdly. Kel allowed herself to blush slightly at the praise.
'My son was a fighter, just like his father. He left to join the National Army last year,' explained Maia. 'Pah, it's not a National army any more, it's that scum Maggur's pet army, but my son wanted to follow in the footsteps of his Pa,' she finished quietly. 'My husband died in the service of the National army seven years ago.'
'I'm sorry,' murmured Kel and Alex together.
'Anyway,' said Maia, clearly wanting to move on from the painful topic, 'it'll be nice to have company for Midwinter.'
Midwinter, thought Kel in surprise, I'd completely forgotten that it's nearly Midwinter. An even more surprising thought was that it was less than a year since she had left the Convent. And just look how far I've come, thought Kel a fierce sense of pride filling her.
'I'm starting to cook dinner with Lanith, so it should be ready in about forty minutes,' said Maia, gathering up several small boxes from the side of the cave.
'El will help,' said Alex, sheathing his sword and pushing Kel forward. Kel nodded, understanding that Alex wanted her to have an excuse to listen in on the day's gossip.
Kel assisted the two women, by chopping potatoes with a well-practised hand. After nine days of eating plain travelling food, the unfamiliar meal cooking on the fire smelt very appetising.
Alex appeared just as they were draining the water from the boiling vegetables. Lanith's family appeared as well and she introduced her husband and two daughters. They ate around the fire, sitting on blocks of wood, their legs stretched out to warm their aching feet.
Once every last morsel of food had been scraped from the cooking pots and eaten, Lanith's two girls, who looked to be about seventeen years old, gathered up the dirty washing and disappeared into the milling groups of people to go and do the washing up.
'I think El and I will take a quick walk before we turn in for the night,' said Alex, rising gracefully to his feet.
Kel followed and together they wove in and out of the fires littering the floor of the Great Cave. Kel recounted all she had overheard, but none of it was of any particular importance unless you wanted information about the ongoing arguments between Rihhu and her husband.
They returned to Maia's cave and settled down for the night, warm and content.
Before Kel realised it, the first day of Midwinter arrived bringing with it an atmosphere of barely contained excitement. Children chased each other screaming merrily in games of tag and adults all stopped working for the festival.
Alex and Kel who had been working in a forge for the last week and a half, welcomed the break. Kel had been surprised to find that Alex was a more than competent blacksmith and he had been teaching her to work metal. She had only been allowed to make nails so far, but after proving his skill, Alex had been making swords and other weapons.
'If you keep practising, one day I'll teach you to make a sword,' said Alex as he hammered away energetically on a glowing long sword.
It was hot, sweaty work but Kel persevered, the thought of being able to make her own sword acting as ample encouragement to learn the art of the smithy.
Their evenings would be spent practising with their swords. Maia, often observing interestedly as Alex taught Kel increasingly complex routines.
This was how Maia found them on Midwinter morning, duelling fiercely in the centre of her cave, their swords clashing furiously. Whenever Alex's sword attacked, Kel's was there to block it, responding instinctively after hours upon hours of practise. Despite the sweat that beaded their foreheads, the two combatants showed no signs of slowing down.
'Our Winter's lunch is almost ready,' said Maia, 'I just thought I'd come and let you know.'
Kel and Alex broke apart and bowed to each other.
'That was brilliant!' exclaimed Alex, 'you must've lasted at least fifteen minutes!' Kel beamed at him. 'We'll be along once we've stretched,' said Alex to Maia.
After "Winter's lunch" came the gift-giving time. Alex had given her a little money to buy presents for Maia and Lanith who had looked after Kel and Alex as though they were their own children.
Kel had bought herself some cloth and different coloured threads and had embroidered Maia and Lanith a little scene of a flowery meadow each, to hang in their caves. It wasn't a work of art and Kel knew that almost every girl who had attended the Convent would've certainly been able to do better, but Kel had noticed a lack of decoration and thought that once hung properly they wouldn't be too bad.
Alex however had been a bigger problem. She wanted to give him something special, something that he could easily keep with him as he travelled, something that would be useful to him.
Wondering despairingly through the cave that served as a market, she eventually spotted something. It was set upon a table of odds and ends. It was a map stone, one which when passed over the top of a map, would conjure up a realistic image.Trying not to look too excited she inquired of the price. Evidently the seller had no idea how valuable the stone was.
'Yes it's a pretty thing,' he had said, 'for that, two copper pieces.' Kel had handed over the money and pocketed the map stone, pleased with her purchase.
Now that the time had come to give the presents to their recipients, she couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement; would they like their gifts? Kel received three gifts in return and opened the brown paper with fumbling fingers.
Maia's gift was a forest green headscarf which Kel immediately put on, using it to keep her long brown hair from falling in front of her face. Laniths gift was a plain brown dress and a soft forest green shirt which matched her headscarf. The dress was obviously second hand, most probably one of Lanith's daughters before they had grown out of it, but Kel was touched that they had picked out colours that complimented her hazel eyes.
She unwrapped Alex's present last, and out of the paper fell a black cord upon which were three small pieces of dark jade. It was a simple design but was elegant and looked hard wearing. The cord was not long and when Alex helped her tie it around her neck, it hung visible above her shirt. Kel stammered her thanks; still taken aback that Alex had bought her something that suited her so well.
Alex meanwhile had opened her gift to him and was looking at the stone with a strange expression.
'It's a mapstone,' explained Kel slowly, 'If you have a-'
'I know what it is,' Alex said hoarsely, 'but where did you get it?'
'I found it in the market, I don't think the man knew what it-' but she was cut off as Alex hugged her tightly. 'Thank you, this is-' he trailed off, apparently unable to describe his appreciation for his gift.
At that moment a huge gong sounded throughout the cave, reverberating off of the walls and everyone fell silent.
'May I wish each and every one of you Midwinter's luck,' started a deep, oddly impressive voice, which seemed to be coming from somewhere near the centre of the Great Cave.
'That's the Clan Chief speaking,' whispered Alex so quietly that Kel had difficulty hearing.
The Clan Chief continued to speak for a further five minutes, praising his people for storing enough food to last them through the winter months, asking the Gods that they have a bountiful year ahead and then finally announcing the start of the festivities.
'Come on,' said Alex, getting to his feet.
'Where are we going?'
'To put our names down for the fencing competitions, it'll be good for you to fight with someone other than me.'
They registered with a grey-haired man and then made their way over to where the competitors had already begun to fight. According to Alex they just had to wait until their names were pulled from the box.
As they began to stretch and loosen up, Alex pointed out the Clan Chief and his family. The Chief was a large man with greying hair and beard. He was resplendent in a great purple cloak, with a burgundy tunic and brown breeches. He was sitting alongside a haughty looking woman, who Kel presumed was his wife and they were being attended, Kel realised with a jolt in her stomach, by a group of slaves.
'Right,' said Alex as he and Kel performed a few gentle attacks and blocks, 'things to remember in a tournament. The first thing you must do is always warm up properly, especially if your tournament is going to go on for several days. Then you must make sure that none of your clothing impedes your ability for movement, they need to be loose but not too loose that they flap. When you start to duel you must gauge your opponent's strengths and weaknesses. Don't start off slashing away because if your opponent in inexperienced you could end up hurting them seriously. Once you have a rough idea of their skill level, you must aim to disarm them. In most friendly duels you win by getting them to yield. There are no laws against injuring your opponent, although it is considered good practise to try not to. Once duelling you have the right to leave the duel at any moment if you feel that it is necessary, but once you have halted it, you have forfeited the duel. The only other things to remember are just to keep a clear head, ignore whatever the spectators are doing and be aware of the space in which you are duelling.'
'Okay,' said Kel, a lot more bravely than she felt. This would be the first time she would be duelling against someone other than Alex for a very long time and although she had nothing to prove to these people in Sekholm, she had something to prove to herself, that she was a warrior and could be recognised as such by other people.
Moments later the herald called out "Elinah Strongarm" and Kel walked forward. Everyone's eyes were suddenly on Kel and it had gone strangely quiet. Feeling that this was because she was a stranger and a young girl at that, Kel followed Alex's advice and ignored the crowd. Breathing deeply, she let all other thoughts of Midwinter clear from her head and concentrated solely on the feel of her sword in her hand, an extension of her arm.
Her opponent, like so many Scanrans was huge, muscular and blonde. He hefted a much larger sword as though it were made of straw and clearly looked disconcerted at the sight of his opponent. He opened his mouth as though to question the herald but thinking that it might be an insult to Kel, he shut it.
The herald rang a bell and the fight began. Kel and the large Scanran circled each other. The Scanran was clearly unwilling to make the first move. I've got to be careful thought Kel, I have to prove to him that I can fight so that he will actually engage in proper combat with me.
Lunging forward, as quick as lightning Kel attacked his left side, which the man hurriedly blocked. Kel didn't press him and continued to circle. The man attacked, but it was slow and easily blockable, perhaps he is still believes that I can't fight? Kel exhaled and drawing a great breath she attacked in earnest, her arms repeating some of the simpler drills that Alex had taught her. In doing so, she was forcing the Scanran to take a more active role in the duel.
After a minute it seemed to reach the man's brain that Kel knew what she was doing and he began to launch his own attacks. Kel stepped up the intensity, dodging, weaving, lunging and blocking at such a speed that soon the Scanran was breathing heavily.
With a huge effort, Kel changed the direction of her attack mid-swing and directed it at the Scanran's sword, twisting her own sword around the blade and yanking it out of his hand. Before his sword even hit the ground, her blade was resting on the tip of his nose.
'I yield,' he said thickly.
Kel sheathed her sword and bowed deeply. It was only as she turned away did she realise that people were cheering. I won! She thought suddenly and catching Alex's eye she smiled, quite embarrassed at the people who were trying to shake her hand as she passed.
Alex's duel followed soon after and he managed to beat his opponent, the duel lasting no longer than three minutes. However those three minutes had been the most exciting duel of the evening. People couldn't believe how the balding Scanran man had stayed in so long against Alex whose whirlwind attacks were precise, strong and relentless.
As Alex rejoined Kel many eyes were on the two of them.
'Is it wise to draw so much attention to ourselves?' whispered Kel.
'Yes, this is exactly what I had hoped would happen. If anyone comes looking for me, no one will remember that a blonde-haired hazel eyed man came through. They'll remember Hans Strongarm and his sister who were good at fencing. I would arouse far more interest if I remained "the mysterious stranger". There is also another reason, but I hope that things won't come to-'
Alex broke off as someone grabbed his shoulder roughly. He leapt up and seeing who it was, hauled Kel up too, dragging her off after someone who had all but disappeared into the milling crowd.
(-a/n- I hope you liked this, as it's super long and took me several days to write. I know that it's a little bitty but as always the plot has to move on and I have to lay down small pieces of information that will be very important later on. I hope you'll forgive the delayed update –I had no internet in our Caravan :P)
Please review as always,
Confusedknight xxx