-a/n- Hey all! Here's quite a long chapter for you. Maybe slightly filler-ish, although most definitely necessary and hopefully enjoyable anyway. I hope you're all making the most of the last days of summer! I've been working on a dairy farm recently which has left me absolutely exhausted! I'm off to a pig farm next week which doesn't have quite such long hours and I'm hoping for some quicker updates.

After carefully reading all of your lovely book recs :D I ordered the most frequently mentioned; The City of Bones, Storm front, The deed of Paksnarrion and Graceling. The books only arrived yesterday and I've already finished the first two, finding both very enjoyable. When my limited student funds allow I shall order some more.

I should probably mention here that I have stolen one of Tamora Pierce's lines in this chapter. (Dom's comment to Neal) ...I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. It's one of my favourites and I couldn't think up a wittier alternative!

Thanks for your continued enthusiasm for Fallen. I've four weeks left before term starts. Let's see how much I can get finished, eh?

Confusedknight xx

The clash of metal blades meeting over and over was dulled and absorbed by the trampled snow blanketing the ground around the two fighters. Raoul's first squire was doing a good job at fending off the current squire's attacks. It didn't take long however before Kel used her more advanced arsenal of moves and force her sword through the solid defence to the Douglass of Veldine's neck.

'Mithros! You are good.' Said Douglass stepping back, panting.

Kel nodded her head politely at the compliment. She swung her sword arm experimentally, pulling a face slightly as she stretched out her arm.

'Mind if I join you?' asked Raoul.

Kel turned, startled. It was unusual to see Raoul outside at this time. When Kel had left him last he was fully immersed in paperwork.

'I can't bear it in there any longer,' said Raoul by way of explanation, each word causing furls of steam to appear in the still air. 'The dispatches can wait until this evening.'

'Of course they can,' said Douglass jovially. 'Some fresh air will do you good. Besides, I want you to fight Kel here. Are you sure she's not related to Alanna?'

Whilst Raoul warmed up, Kel busied herself stretching. She sheathed her sword and bent herself over backwards until her hands touched her ankles. From this position it was easier to "walk over" until she was back on her feet again. She then stretched forward, dropping her head to her knees and placing her palms flat on the floor. She bounced up and down a couple of times, deepening the stretch. Straightening up Kel shook out her legs and jogged up and down on the spot, keeping her muscles warm despite the freezing air temperature.

'Ready?' Raoul asked, unsheathing his massive sword.

Kel nodded, feeling the familiar tingle of anticipation that usually preceded a fight.

Raoul started off with a simple pass, one which Kel met easily and twisted her blade around to form her own attack. This was only a practice duel so they let the tempo increase slowly. When they were at a reasonable pace, both fighters started to use more complex sequences of moves. For now at least they were evenly matched; Raoul's massive strength and extra height compensating for Kel's rapid footwork.

Kel was the first one to nearly finish the duel, with a jab quickly reversed into a move Alex had called the grass-cutter simply because it was aimed so low. Raoul hurriedly blocked and leapt back with an agility impressive for a man of his size.

A few blows later, Raoul used one of the moves that Kel had taught him. Combined with his strength it was very effective and forced Kel to skip to the side and use a large amount of effort to swing her blade back around.

The duel continued on, and although Kel tried to push it into a faster pace, Raoul refused to be intimidated and kept the duel on his terms. Kel swung her sword, hesitated for a split second and then decided to try out a new attack sequence that she'd been practising.

Barely two moves in, Raoul's sword smacked into hers at such an angle and with such a force that Courage was smashed out of her hand; had she held on to her weapon her wrist would likely have shattered and Kel had no desire to repeat that injury.

Straightening up, Kel smiled at her knight-master. 'Well fought, my Lord.' Raoul hadn't bothered to step in to hold her at sword point.

Douglass was clapping. 'That was brilliant, both of you. Raoul, how did you know just how to judge that last shot?'

Raoul grinned sheepishly at Kel. 'You have been practising that move for the last week, and I've had the advantage of watching you from my office.' He clapped her on the shoulder, 'I don't think you need to worry unless you go and practise all of you moves for hours on end in front of the Scanrans.'

'You sly old dog!' exclaimed Douglass. 'And there was me thinking that you'd developed previously undiscovered skills with a blade.'

'Even though he knew the move it would still have taken lots of skill to place your blade like that,' said Kel fairly, speaking up for her knight-master.

Raoul clapped her on the shoulder, 'You're definitely my favourite squire,' he chuckled.

When Kel returned to the barracks, she was about to call out a greeting when she noticed the sombre expressions on every face, the heavy atmosphere. Kel walked over to her belongings, trying not to intrude.

Ros was sat on her bed, crying softly and being comforted on either side by two other Riders. Kiera, group commander of Dogs was pacing up and down.

'We told you no good would come of it,' Kiera burst out suddenly. 'We warned you.'

Ros's sobbing increased.

'Kiera,' said Dana harshly. 'That's not helping.'

'No, she's bloody too late to help,' replied Kiera, uncharacteristically angry.

'There's no use crying over what's done,' said one of the older women comforting Ros, 'And shouting about it won't help either.'

'I'm sorry,' hiccuped Ros. She lifted her face to look at Kiera and her eyes were red and swollen from crying. 'I'm so, so sorry.'

Kiera's expression softened slightly. 'Well you're not entirely to blame. And I'll be having words with Stephan, sharp words.' She sighed and ran her hands distractedly through her curly hair. 'Well we may as well get this mess sorted out as quickly and as quietly as possible. We'll have to go and see Lord Raoul.' Kiera looked around. 'Kel do you know where he is?'

'He's gone to see some of the knights soon to depart for Fraslund,' said Kel, fiddling with a loose thread on her cuff.

'Can you ask him to meet us in his office as soon as possible? It's urgent.'

'I can relay the message,' said Kel, getting to her feet.

'Thank you.' Kiera turned to Ros, 'Pull yourself together girl. Like Helan says, what's done is done, no use crying.'

Still completely clueless as to what was going on, Kel trotted off to find her knight-master.

When she and a rather baffled Raoul returned to his office, Kiera and the puffy-eyed Ros were already waiting outside. Kel hovered by the door as the others entered, her expression questioning. When she caught Raoul's eye, he gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. Kel pulled the door shut and walked slowly back to the barracks.

'What did Lord Raoul say?' The question burst from several of the riders as Kel stepped inside, stamping her boots to remove clumps of snow.

'I don't know,' Kel replied. 'They've only just gone in to speak to him.'

'She'll be sent away for sure,' commented a grey-eyed Rider.

'That's the best we can hope for,' replied someone else. 'And hopefully no disciplinary action will be taken.'

'Kel, our Lord's alright, isn't he?' asked Dana anxiously. 'He wouldn't punish her would he?'

'My Lord is a good man,' said Kel firmly. 'Whatever's happened he'll judge her fairly.'

'She's with child,' blurted out Dana.

Several hisses came from other members. 'What?' demanded Dana, 'She'd have found out soon anyway.'

Kel reeled with shock, the previous conversations suddenly making sense.

'And it's Stephen's?' Kel thought to the handsome green-eyed Rider who was second-in-command of the Royal arrows.

'That's what she says,' gabbled Dana, wringing her hands. 'We warned her to be careful getting involved with another Rider. And now she's going to be sent back to Corus, probably discharged from the Riders. She's got no family Kel, who's she going to turn to with all us up here in the north?' Dana's bright eyes were filled with worry.

Silence reigned until twenty minutes later, Kiera and Ros returned.

Sniffling, Ros addressed the eleven other Riders and Kel. 'I'm to return to Corus with one of the first dispatches and reports. My Lord says he'll write a letter to Commander Buriram explaining the...situation. He says it's up to her if I can stay in the Riders.'

Dana immediately went to Ros and embraced her tightly.

'Lord Raoul wishes to speak with you,' whispered Kiera in Kel's ear, not disturbing the others who had come together to comfort and support their comrade.

When Kel entered the study Raoul had his head in his hands. Exhaling deeply he sat up.

'What a mess.' He said simply.

'I know,' Kel agreed. 'Will she be kicked out of the Riders?'

'I'm going to draft a letter to Buri,' replied Raoul. 'She's dealt with a couple of situations like this before. Usually they can rejoin the Riders if they so wish once they've had the child. They can't be seen to be part of the Riders whilst pregnant, it would damage the Riders' reputation.'

Kel looked sharply at Raoul, 'Lady Alanna was still a knight whilst she was pregnant. Did that detract from the reputation of all the other knights?

'No, I didn't mean it like that,' said Raoul, running a massive hand through his curly hair.

'And what about the father?' asked Kel in an unusually aggressive tone, 'Is he being discharged until the babe is born?'

Raoul shook his head tiredly. 'Even if we could prove beyond all doubt who it was, I really can't spare any able fighter.'

'But you can spare a woman fighter?'

'Kel would you honestly have me sent a pregnant woman onto a battle field?' Raoul said sharply, 'And with you knowing better than anyone what we are likely to be facing this summer.'

Kel recoiled slightly from her knight-master's anger.

Hazel eyes stared at coal black ones for a few moments.

'I'm sorry, Kel' replied Raoul, 'I'm tired, tired and fed up of dealing with all of the quibbles and intricacies of running a fort. It's making me grouchy. Most days I wish it was just back to us and Third Company.'

Just before Kel left, she instructed Ros to seek out Lalasa in Corus. She also wrote a hurried letter to her seamstress friend, asking her to offer Ros a place to stay and to pay for any of the Rider's needs out of the portion of money that Lalasa insisted on saving for Kel.

On the day that Ros left, Raoul also received a new set of dispatches from both Lord Wyldon and General Vanget. Most contained detailed plans for the stationing of Steadfast's warriors. These lists had been drawn up by Raoul, sent to the General and had now been approved or altered depending on how Vanget wished to place the soldiers and knights at other forts.

Kel had just read a plan for two squads of the regular army to guard the Greenwoods camp.

'Greenwoods? Isn't that the refugee camp?' She asked.

Raoul nodded, not looking up from the lengthy report he was reading.

'Who's in command there?'

'At the moment a-,' Raoul checked on of the many bits of paper littering his desk, 'Captain Elbridge. Soon to be replaced by Douglass.'

'Sir Douglass?' said Kel, impressed. 'I didn't know he was a commander.'

'Well he's not, strictly speaking.' Raoul sighed and cricked his neck. 'Most people would consider Greenwoods a dungheap of an assignment. Most of the new first year knights are stationed there,' he tossed the list to Kel. 'But Douglass is fair and has spent many years working alongside commoners and more usefully, civilians. He's also not one of those thick-heads who long to be part of the biggest battle around. I trust him to do a good job.'

Kel ran her eyes down the list, names jumping out at her. Duke Baird and Neal were to be the healers, Sir Merric to be Douglass's second-in-command. Seaver, also now a Sir, was to be in charge of the defensive force. Kel's stomach gave a funny jolt at seeing all of her page year mates now labelled as Knights of the Realm. She had fought for so long with Alex to delay the war, to make sure that her friends were knights, trained for battle. Now that they were, she could no longer protect them. They'd be facing the same enemy that Kel had been fighting since she was twelve years old.

For a moment she allowed herself to imagine that she hadn't been kicked out, that she was newly-knighted too and was travelling up to the border to receive her first assignment. She wondered what it would've been...After about thirty seconds of this folly, Kel dragged herself back to the present and continued to draw up the lists she'd been working on.

Several minutes later, Kel could feel Raoul's eyes upon her and she looked up, gaze querying.

'What is it, my Lord?'

Raoul was a few seconds in answering. 'Would you like to accompany Douglass to the Greenwoods camp?'

'I thought you couldn't leave the fort?' asked Kel, confused.

'I can't, but you might be able to. It's a bit unorthodox, but you could travel there with him, I'm sending a squad of Third Company too. You wouldn't be there for more than six weeks.'

'I'd like to go, Sir,' said Kel earnestly, 'But surely I shouldn't leave you because there's so little to do?'

'The thing is, Kel. That refugee camp could benefit a lot from you. Doug could benefit a lot from your help. You're good with people Kel, commoners in particular. You know the Goastrack lot. You also know the first year knights. You need to help them see that if this camp is to work then they've got to work together. There's not more than thirty properly trained men assigned to protect this camp. They'll be convicts, farmers and other civilians that have never picked up a weapon before in their life. You obviously learnt the sword incredibly quickly-' Raoul smiled, 'Not that I'm expecting you to turn them all in to matchless warriors in six weeks, but a basic, thorough knowledge of the blade can save lives.'

Kel let this information wash over her. Raoul was right; she could be a help to this newly built camp.

Kel swung herself up onto Prince's familiar back and leaned down, reins in one hand, to tighten up the girth.

'Ready?' asked Douglass, appearing alongside Kel.

'Yes, sir.'

'Good,' the knight hand-signalled the rest of Dom's squad to fall into line. 'Onwards to new adventures, eh?' And with a brisk chop of his hand down, they rode out.

'If you get yourselves killed, I'll never speak to you again!' Raoul called after them.

'Goodbye, my Lord,' said Kel, surprised to find that she was going to miss the large man who'd become almost a father to her.

'Always full of helpful advice,' muttered Sir Douglass, nodding to the sergeants at the gate as they passed.

Dom was waving to his brother who was up on the wall of the fortress to see them off.

'It's been nice to see Greg,' he told Kel. 'Haven't seen him since I joined the Own. One of my favourite brothers.'

'How many do you have?' asked Douglass.

'Four older ones, three of whom are knights and one younger one. And an older sister,' he added as an afterthought.

'Gods, I imagine your house was chaotic as you all grew up.'

Dom grinned, 'We used to steal the wooden practise swords from the armoury and stage epic battles in the entrance hall and up the staircase. It was even better when our cousins were visiting. Sometimes our Grandfather would recount some of his greatest battles and then we'd re-enact them. Once we even kidnapped our older sister and held her hostage for my older brothers to rescue.' He smiled, leaning back in his saddle. 'Oh those were the days.'

'What about you Kel?' inquired the knight, 'Did you have a big family.'

'Oh yes,' said Kel, sighing. 'I've four older sisters and four older brothers. I'm the baby of the family. Most of them are quite a bit older than me.'

'Yes, I've met a couple of your brothers. I served alongside Anders in the Immortals war, and I met, Conal is it, the other day.'

'One of your brothers was at the fort?' asked Dom, surprised that Kel hadn't mentioned it.

'Mmm,' said Kel, her expression suddenly becoming fixed. 'Conal and I don't get on very well.'

'Why not?'

'Conal's always liked pushing people around,' explained Kel. 'He used to do it to the village boys, people who couldn't retaliate. Then one day he dangled me over the balcony of one of our towers because I wouldn't do what he said. Papa was so angry when he found out that he threatened to disown Conal.' Kel sighed. 'He's hated me ever since.'

'Well, he seems to have found himself a bunch of conservative friends to replace your company,' said Douglass disapprovingly.

Kel shrugged, wishing they'd change the conversation. In her eyes she had one real, true, brother and he was currently fighting for the freedom of an enslaved nation. She realised, with a jolt, that it was approaching nearly five years since she'd last seen Alex.

The ride to the Greenwoods camp took the better part of a day. Kel's first glimpse of the camp showed her a log palisade, only two thirds the height of Steadfast's walls and placed on a slight rise, amongst snow-laden pine trees. At the base of the high grown was the Greenwoods river, it's ice beginning to crack so that the sound of rushing water could be heard beneath it.

'Home sweet home,' sighed Douglass, raising a small horn to call out the signal for "friends".

The band of twelve made their way over the single, stout wooden bridge, Kel observing the mage blasts positioned on it's underside. They trotted briskly up the sloping, slightly winding road and through gates, pitifully thin compared to Steadfast's iron-enforced ones and into the expanse of churned mud and ice that constituted the Greenwoods camp.

Unlike the tidy, organised forts that Kel had stayed in previously, this place was a mess of woodwork; half-completed buildings, a shack that served for a guard house and hastily-constructed pens containing livestock. At the far end there were a couple of completed buildings, their rooves heavily-laden with snow. Kel presumed that the one to her right was stables and that others were simply barracks. Men were attempting to dig more latrines out of the rock-hard soil, their faces pink and chapped with cold.

'These northern woodworks work fast,' commented Douglass as they all dismounted. 'When I stopped by here last autumn, the wall wasn't even half built.' He looked around. 'It was also a lot smaller if I recall.'

'That would be the mage Salmalin, Sir,' said a gruff voice. 'Said but a few words he did, and the ground it rose up. Unnatural like.'

'Captain Elbridge?' Douglass and the whiskery captain shook hands.

'This is Sergeant Domitan of Masbolle and his squad, from Third Company of the King's Own,' introduced Douglass, 'And this is Squire Keladry of Mindelan, whose service has been loaned to me by Lord Raoul of Goldenlake.'

Captain Elbridge shook hands with Dom and nodded shortly to Kel. He evidently didn't think much of squires-on-loan, or more specifically lady squires.

'How many are currently in residence?' Asked the knight as they led their horses over to some of the empty stables.

The Captain thought for a moment. 'About forty soldiers, half of them convicts from the mines. And mayhap fifty refugees, fifteen other woodworkers and craftsmen under the employ of the crown. Once these snows melt though, they'll come pouring in. Plenty are at Giantkiller and even more sheltering in neighbouring fiefs who'll kick them out come spring.'

Once their horses were carefully seen to, the men picked up their packs and were shown to their sleeping quarters. Kel's presence complicated matters. At the moment there were only three completed barracks; one for the refugees, another which currently housed the soldiers, and a smaller, guard house which the men of the Own were to sleep in. This meant that all three housed men.

'You could sleep with the refugees in that mixed barrack, or just lump in with us,' suggested Douglass apologetically.

Kel chose to sleep in the guard house, not caring for her reputation and knowing that no one in Dom's squad would behave inappropriately.

Kel spent the evening helping Douglass, Dom and Captain Elbridge to draw up more plans. Douglass wanted the mess hall finished as a priority, seconded by the creation of more latrines and the beginnings of a headquarters. He also wanted to begin regular evening drills, not only for the soldiers, but also all able-bodied civilians.

With twelve extra pairs of hands, all willing to aid construction, and with a spell of slightly warmer weather the mess hall was soon completed. Kel, although her carpentry skills left much to be desired, was set to helping some of the refugees to saw and nail together beds, and to cut blankets for their hard wooden beds.

In the evening, whilst he drew up rotas and surveilled the area, Douglass planned to have Kel, aided by Dom's squad to set up the drills. The soldiers had weapons of their own, but the twenty or so civilian volunteers turned up armed with stout wooden staffs and swords.

'You want her to teach us?' one grizzled soldier cried in outrage, 'How are we to learn anything from a lass young enough to be me granddaughter!'

'Who's the finest swordsman among you?' asked Douglass in a ringing voice.

Eventually a man, about thirty-years-old was pushed forward. His face was dark with stubble and his arms bulged unpleasantly.

Douglass set them up in a duel which Kel won easily after only three minutes of medium-paced fighting. She didn't even break a sweat.

'In the future I'd ask you to trust my judgement,' said the camp's commander coolly. He addressed the gathered men as a whole, 'I will swear to you now, by Mithros himself, that I will do everything within my power to keep this camp safe, to protect those who've lost their homes. To do this I need your unwavering loyalty. We have strong walls-' he gestured to the barricade that enveloped the camp, 'Built by the finest of woodworkers. And stout hearts to defend them. Together we will resist the Scanrans.'

Several men nodded in agreement, approving whispers running through the gathered crowd. Douglass nodded to Kel.

'I think the easiest way to do this will be to split you into groups of ten and have you each practise at separate times,' Kel spoke confidently, not letting her voice display her nerves.

And so began weeks where Kel rose with the sun, snuck out of the barracks she was sharing with Dom and his squad and practised on her own in the still, frosty air. She would then eat, and begin a morning labouring, helping to make crude wooden furniture. In usually spent the afternoons with Douglass, mostly helping with supplies because the friendly knight hated mathematics. Occasionally they would go for rides through the woodland, surveying the area around the fort. With every passing day the landscape was becoming ever browner, the snow melting and trickling down into the churning Greenwoods river.

She would then spend late afternoon and evening running sword drills and instructing until her voice was hoarse. She pushed her men hard, in the same fashion that she had been taught. It took a couple of weeks for the improvements to really start to surface but as the men realised just how much they had learnt they brought a whole new level of enthusiasm to the training and practised even when Kel didn't have time to supervise them.

As enjoyable as Kel found teaching, it was draining work. She would often have to demonstrate or fight against individuals until they understood a particular move. The rest of the time was spent calling out instructions or correcting technique's verbally. She had to have eyes for, and make time for, everyone.

They had one night a week off from training and it was during this time that often a giant fire would be lit, and stories would be told and songs would be sung. Kel enjoyed the camaraderie that accompanied these weekly events and could often be persuaded into leading a song or two.

In early April, as Kel was giving the women a midday staff lesson she heard a trumpet call. Her heart leapt even though she recognised the signal for a friend. Abandoning her pupils, she jogged over to the wall and climbed monkey-like up the ladder and onto the wall. She could see a train of mounted people and wagons making it's steady way up the road towards them. It was rare that Greenwoods had visitors and Kel wondered if this was a batch of refugees being shunted over to their camp.

Kel squinted against the late morning sun, those were knights riding at the head of the train. She could make out different coloured shields. The guards at the gate were shouting, bolts were being lifted and the gates opened, welcoming the newcomers.

When they were twenty metres away Kel began to recognise the riders and her face broke into a true grin. Lanky, even though he was seated on a large horse, Neal was there in front of her, as plain as day. To his left rode the red-headed Merric of Hollyrose and to his right, a greying Duke Baird and Seaver of Tasride. Lord Wyldon and his squire Owen, who was looking a lot less chubby these days -a mark of the hardship of a winter spent in the North, also formed part of the band.

She waved from the wall and was spotted first by Merric who returned the wave enthusiastically. He nudged Neal, who looked up from his conversation. Neal's face broke into a handsome grin and in that moment Kel saw clearer than ever the similarities between Dom and Neal.

As the party filed through Greenwood's gates, Kel half climbed, half jumped down from the wall. Fresh mud spattered up her already filthy breeches as she did so. The inside of the camp resembled a vast pit of churned mud. Calve-high boots protected most people from the worst of the muck, but all the same most people had given up trying to remain clean and dry.

'Welcome,' she cried, hurrying over to the party.

Neal dismounted and immediately sank several inches into the bog. Kel stopped in front of him, suddenly hesitant about how she should great her old friend. Neal had no such qualms and pulled her into a tight hug, thumping her back delightedly. 'We didn't know you were posted here!' he exclaimed.

'Only temporarily,' explained Kel as Neal released her. 'There wasn't much for me to do at Steadfast.'

'Raoul kindly loaned her to me,' said a voice that Kel recognised as Douglass's. 'Welcome to our humble abode.' He bowed to the newcomers.

Kel made the introductions but let Douglass lead them on a tour of the camp; she needed to get back to her trainees. When she saw them leaving the last building, she wrapped up her lesson, extremely pleased at how even some of the older women were progressing.

'Think you can find your way around?' she grinned cheekily at her friends.

'Find my way around, yes,' replied Seaver. 'Lead a defending force...I feel about as ready for this as a page on his first day at the palace.'

Kel smiled, and was just about to reply when a voice proclaimed; 'Mithros save us, they'll allow just any freak of nature up here, won't they?' Dom and his squad had evidently returned from their tree-felling expedition.

Dom was covered in even more mud than Kel; so much so that she could barely see the uniform that declared him part of the King's Own. Despite being mud-splattered his face was split in a broad grin. He dismounted from Thief easily and handed the reins to Wolset so he could come over and greet his cousin.

They hugged, Neal protesting slightly as his taller cousin shared some of the muck from his clothes. Dom then stuck out his hand to meet Merric and Seaver.

'Have they sent you here to make sure Meathead doesn't hurt himself?' joked Dom, shaking their hands.

'Something like that,' replied Seaver, dodging out of the way of Neal's elbow.

'You wound me!' declared Neal dramatically. 'Anyway, it's Sir Meathead now, you mud-covered barbarian.'

'Some of us have been hard at work whilst you spent Midwinter cozied up in the Palace,' retorted Dom, slinging an arm around Kel. 'Come on fellow savage, real work to be done.'

They walked together for a dozen metres, Kel tingling at Dom's touch before she escaped his embrace, not wanting them to appear overly friendly. She spent the next couple of hours unloading the logs alongside Dom's squad and some civilian helpers. By the time the last log was stored away, even Kel's well-muscled arms were aching. She then had struggle through four hours of swordplay coaching before she was allowed to stagger to the mess hall for some food.

When she entered she was torn as to who to sit with. She usually supped with her civilian friends or Dom's squad but tonight all of her old friends, together with Douglass and Duke Baird were sat at a table separate from the other soldiers and civilians. When she noticed that Dom was seated next to Neal she supposed she ought to join the nobles at their table, even just for one night.

Douglass nodded at her as she sat down on the bench next to Seaver.

'Where've you been?' demanded Neal.

'Training,' replied Kel shortly, helping herself to a large plate of potato and stew.

'Kel's been training our defensive forces in swordplay,' Douglass explained to the table as a whole.

Suddenly everyone was looking at her and Kel fought not to blush. She shrugged, pouring herself some juice, 'I know a fair bit about swordplay.'

The conversation turned to what was happening in the south; Douglass keen to hear any news other than what was going on the border. Kel was surprised and disappointed to hear that Roald and Shinko's wedding had been postponed; the couple had been getting on so well and it would've increased the Realm's moral to have a new princess.

'How's life been up here?' asked Seaver, slightly nervously.

'Recently, cold and muddy,' replied Kel through a mouthful of potato. 'Haven't seen the enemy since October.'

'What were they like last summer?' asked Merric interestedly. He had been serving on the Eastern border with his knight-master and hadn't faced any Scanrans yet. Kel looked up to see three sets of eyes upon her.

'They're tough,' said Owen uncharacteristically seriously. He's grown up thought Kel suddenly, the war has changed him. 'We've seen a couple of these metal devices, killing machines,' he shuddered. 'We'd best pray they haven't got many of them.'

'There was one at the silver mines wasn't there?' Dom asked Kel. She glared at him, but it was too late, the others were suddenly looking at her questioningly.

'Didn't you get shot at the silver mines?' interrupted Neal, screwing up his eyes slightly as he tried to remember.

'Yep,' said Dom, scooping up a particularly large potato, 'But the machine attacked at Kel's end.'

'End?'

'We were protecting a gully,' he explained. 'Raoul and most of the company were up one end facing a good number of Scanrans and a couple of giants whilst Kel and the one squad she was commanding held back about forty armed barbarians and this huge metal monster.'

The green knights were now looking at her with a slightly awed expression.

'Dom neglects to mention that it was only through sheer luck that we weren't all chopped to pieces,' snapped Kel.

The atmosphere had turned heavy so suddenly that a few minutes later Kel forced herself to say; 'But that was the worst of it, most of the time it's just hit-and-run raids on villages, or fighting back small bands at several points along the border.'

Wyldon and Owen rode on to fort Mastiff in the morning, leaving the three new knights and the Duke under the command of Douglass. Neal and Duke Baird got swiftly to work in the infirmary and Seaver and Merric entered into discussions with Douglass about the general defence and battle plans.

As they did so Kel felt slightly left out. It was silly, she knew, but now Douglass had his second-in-command and a defence captain he no longer needed Kel's opinion every afternoon. Both healers were up to their eyes in work, checking over all of the soldiers, convicts and civilians, lost in tasks Kel couldn't help them with. She found herself spending increasing amounts of time with Dom and his squad. Although Kel was still sleeping in their barracks no one made a fuss over it anymore. She enjoyed the late evenings propped up on her bed, listening and occasionally joining in with the men's banter.

Couriers came on a weekly basis now, bringing reports for Douglass from all the other forts and commonly a quick message for Kel from Raoul. Although he never said as much, he hinted that she would be returning to Steadfast before too long. Secretly, Kel was looking forward to it. She felt her usefulness at the camp was decreasing daily. And she missed her large, cheery knight-master.

One afternoon, she was grooming Prince when she heard shouts from the walls. Sword drawn she sprinted up a narrow staircase and up onto the walkway. Heart thumping, she watched as a line of wagons, lead by a large man atop a piebald horse, drew closer.

'I want a mage up 'ere now,' bellowed the watch-sergeant. 'It could be an illusion.'

Callum, a mage from Dom's squad quickly verified the identity of the rider. His eyes watering from the power of the magic, he told the watch-sergeant, 'It's no illusion. And judging by the magnitude of those protective enchantments that'd be Master Numair Salmalin.'

The group was granted entry to the camp and Kel watched with interest as the refugees began to unload their wagons. She could see several Goatstrack villagers milling about and presumed that these refugees had just come from Giantkiller. Maybe she'd find Fanche later.

'Kel,' Douglass beckoned her down.

She sheathed her sword and climbed carefully down from her vantage point.

'Will you take these dispatches to my office, please?' requested Douglass. 'The top one is from Raoul. He wants you and Sergeant Domitan back to Steadfast within the week. They received an attack from a two-hundred strong band of warriors a couple of days ago, with reports that Maggur's moving armies down to besiege all the forts.' Kel swallowed hard and nodded. She knew the kind of armies Maggur was capable of amassing.

Trotting off she placed the reports and messages on Douglass's desk so that he could read them later, in peace.

They were still unloading wagons an hour or so later when a trumpeted alarm came from the ramparts. Kel knew almost immediately that this was the real thing. Reacting without pause, she dropped the pile of blankets she was holding back onto the cart and dashed to the stable. Her armour was positioned on a shelf in Prince's stall, ready for immediate use. It took under two minutes to slip into the mail, buckle on her breastplate, strap up the wristguards and fit the helmet snugly onto her head.

All around men were running into the stables. Expertly Kel fitted the saddle and bridle. Prince, sensing the urgency stood stock still and let Kel work quickly. She swung into the saddle, and kicked Prince forward, ducking as they exited the stable.

The rest of Dom's squad were equally quick off the mark and the eleven of them gathered at the gate, their war horses all stamping impatiently. The regular army soldiers were assembled on foot. Douglass came hurrying over, armed and ready, but without his mount.

Kel could see the first year knights all still struggling to get into their armour and ready their horses; she doubted whether they'd ever had to scramble in quite the same way as the Own was used to.

'Dom take the lead out there, I'll command from the wall. Don't get too involved until we know what we're dealing with. Sir Merric and Sir Seaver are on their way.'

'Right boys, let's go,' said Dom, his face set.

The gate was open and Kel felt the adrenalin kick in as they galloped down the road into the oncoming enemy. Courage was a whirl of tempered steel, snaking past Scanran defences and plunging into flesh over and over. The enemy were coming thick and fast until, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Merric leading foot-soldiers to their aid. She could hear arrows whizzing over her head, the work of archers stationed on the ramparts.

Dom called for a regroup and Kel whirled Prince around so fast that he half-reared before charging back up the road with the other horses.

There was evidence of a magical battle going on as well; strange grey fog which had started to creep across the battlefield was quickly blasted away and several Scanrans dropped dead, seemingly without cause.

Piercing screams alerted Kel to the presence of a giant metal monster climbing Greenwoods' walls. Her blood ran cold. How on earth were they going to deal with that? The answer appeared when the horrendous beast suddenly froze, immobile. Numair Salmalin's black gift sparked and darted across the metal frame, restraining it.

'Kel,' a sudden soft voice in her ear made her jump, looking for the source. 'It's Numair, I've been told you've fought one of these things before. I won't be able to hold it much longer,' Kel could hear the strain in his voice. 'How did you finish off the last one?'

'Punch...' Kel hesitated feeling stupid talking to herself. 'Punch a hole in it's shell, and a sort of white vapour escapes.'

'Thank you...' the tired voice faded away into the noise of the battlefield.

Feeling disconcerted, Kel tightened her reins, ready for their next charge. As they sped back to the battle once again, the men around Kel were hollering 'Tortall,' as a frenzied battle-cry. Adding her own voice to the clamour, she sought out her next victims. The eleven riders spread out, hitting the attacking force as a single wave. Kel found herself on the end of the wave, and made it her task to try and clear the ground between the riders and Merric's group of foot-soldiers, who were gradually becoming cut off from the rest of the defensive force.

'Good work,' shouted Merric, his voice only just audible above the tumult. 'Keep the way back open,' he said desperately.

Ten sweaty, bloody minutes later, it was all over. Dom's squad regrouped and trotted back to the fort, all patting and praising their mounts. Apart from Fulcher whose thigh was bleeding heavily the rest had only sustained minor injuries. As they re-entered the fort it was to the cheering of the refugees. Grinning wearily at each other they dismounted. Kel followed suit, finding, as she usually did after a battle, that her legs had turned to jelly with relief. She removed her helmet and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

'Impressive,' drawled Neal, as he passed Kel on his way to assess Fulcher. She blinked. She understood the awed looks on the civilian faces; this was likely to have been their first glimpse of combat done by trained warriors. What unnerved her was the impressed expressions of Merric, Seaver and the other soldiers.

There was a reason that the King's Own was separate from the regular army, she thought, slightly annoyed. It was an elite fighting force, what else did they expect? The Own were trained to be mobilised quickly, fight efficiently and carry on afterwards.

The first and foremost task now was to cool down and rub off their horses. Good mounts were invaluable and had to be taken care of. Once Prince was seen too and had been given a bucket of oats as a reward, she joined the burial crews, offering up prayers for the fallen, be they Tortallan or Scanran.

Seaver was overseeing this task and although he looked slightly ill at the sight of all the bodies being piled up, he stood it out resolutely.

Seaver was not the only person looking ill; Master Numair was slumped against the guardhouse, his face grey and sweaty.

'Are you alright?' Kel inquired, handing the mage a canteen of water which he drained gratefully.

'Holding those machines took a lot out of me,' he explained with a sigh. 'That was powerful necromancy, very strong, very evil.'

'Necromancy?' asked Kel, not familiar with the magical term.

'Enslavement of dead spirits,' Numair replied with a shudder. 'Mages are forbidden from experimenting in certain areas of magic; the results are often terrible and extremely difficult to overcome. About six years ago now, a student named Blayce was expelled from the City of Gods, charged with Necromancy. We've reports that it's his work we're coming to witness.'

Something jolted in Kel's mind; she was sure she'd heard talk of a Gallan sorcerer when she'd been in Scanra.

He looked at Kel, dark eyes filled with worry. 'I can't remain here much longer. What will they do without a mage able to restrain those machines?'

Kel bit her lip; she had been wondering the same thing. 'Nets, reinforced nets,' she suggested. 'Maybe make the walls harder to breach... If we could pile up loose rocks around the bases of the walls...their metal feet would struggle to find purchase...'

The mage gave her an unfathomable look.'I think I can help there,' he mused. 'Yes, but it must wait until tomorrow.' With an enormous effort he pushed himself to his feet. The tall man swayed quite alarmingly.

'Do you need assistance?' asked Kel delicately.

He sent a wry smile her way. 'I think there are more who need your help, Squire Keladry,' he said gesturing to a middle aged woman who was making her way towards Kel.

Kel turned and met Fanche warily. The woman strode forward and hugged Kel tightly.

'You've improved since I last saw you,' she murmured, and added, with just a hint of amusement, 'Not bad...for a noble.'

Any thoughts would be very, very much appreciated! Go on...it won't take you long! (Certainly not as long as it took me to write this rather extended chapter!)

Confusedknight xxx