Fanfic

After that, Kel headed with the Wildcat to where the Yamani glaive practice was held and found people she expected to be there, Shinko, Yuki and Lady Haname, the princess� other handmaiden whom Kel had yet to introduced to.
When Shinko challenged Kel to a sparring match, Kel and she moved to an empty space and brought their glaives into position. As the pole arms whirled and flashed, Kel made sure to check her strength so as not to hurt the princess. Kel thought fleetingly that it was nice to fight without an audience, however, four others arrived. Lady Ilane of Mindelan, Commander Tourakom ;and the final pairing, Lady Alanna and Queen Thayet.
As the two finished, Kel found herself paired with the Queen. �I hope you�ll go easy on me, I�ve only been training with this thing for a year.�
Shinko hurriedly assured her future mother in law that she was doing well, considering, and that she was a better shot than her anyway. Unnerved by the queen, Kel found herself in the dirt more often than she would have liked.
After glaive practice, Kel and Shinko walked around the palace, Kel to learn her way and Shinko to introduce herself to all the inhabitants, noble or servant, man or animal. This was soon a morning ritual, a time of calm reminiscent to the morning hush of the Islands, where mornings were as busy as noon, only much quieter.

Leaving the princess, Kel went to the yards to teach, and then to lunch. Returning to the yards, she became the pupil, either under Hakuin or Eda, sometimes both.
Many days this brought an audience of the King�s Own, regularly including Domitan and Sir Raoul, unless the Own were called away.
Often Kel found herself thinking on those afternoons of how her students would have reacted to seeing their teacher go sailing through the air from a throw or end up eating dust from a sweeping kick, things she drilled into them as toughly as old Nariko ever did to her � however, Kel sent her pupils limping to lunch occasionally, rather than to the Healers constantly, unlike the training master of the ladies court in the Islands, who had no such consideration � as Kel well knew.

From then her time was her own. Kel spent the evenings with her mother, the Yamani ladies or the Shangs, or with assorted members of the Own. Often she would spend the time in the stables or out on a ride with Dancer, enjoying the fact that she had time to herself.

Another pleasant way to spend the evening was discovered at one of the myriad �small gatherings� � Kel had informed Queen Thayet at glaive practice this remark was to blame for her Majesty landing in a dignified heap on the ground the first time Kel had thrown her, in response to the Queen�s plaintive �What�ve I ever done to you?� � when Lord Raoul was found hiding in a small room full of charts and maps, discussing campaigns with Commander Buri.

Kel saw this as an opportunity and got Neal involved. Neal had become a firm friend, the two bonding over herbs (the Shangs were famous for the herbal remedies they knew, in order to be prepared for any injury, even without the presence of a healer), his bad poetry to Yukimi, and philosophy - a subject Neal waxed lyrically about, Kel only listened when she was too exhausted to throw something at him. Kel, in turn, forced him to eat his vegetables at least some of the time, with varying success. She had discovered this was easier in the morning when he was less alert and often mistook a carrot for a piece of bacon.

The so-called �eat your greens� campaign (blame Raoul) was a source of immense entertainment to the others of their morning group who often sat in the pages mess with them; Dom, Yukimi, Shinko, Roald, the glaive ladies � often including the queen and Ilane, Raoul and Buri.
This last couple were comical to see together. Always bickering and arriving together in the morning, the K�miri woman barely reaching Raoul�s shoulder, they fooled no one as to what was really going on.

Neal immediately enlisted Yuki, who was more than happy to help. Both her and Kel had noticed the strain Shinko was under, and how painfully shy the royal couple were around each other. Eventually, Dom came over to demand what was going on, and suggested they get Raoul and Buri involved. �At the least he�ll have a good excuse if their Majesties want to know why he isn�t enjoying the �festivities�.�

Dom was someone else Kel now counted as a friend. Kel, Dom, Neal and Yuki would often find themselves seated together at social events, what with Neal and Yuki�s not so hidden relationship. The love struck couple constantly ignored everyone else, the ever-graceful Yuki tended to bump into people when Neal was around, and gazed into each other�s eyes � they would be in the middle of a sentence and forget they were talking.
Kel and the others found this incredibly funny, especially as the couple themselves were oblivious to the fact that it was happening. This left Kel in Dom�s company most of the time at formal banquets, something she didn�t really mind, Dom was funny, especially when he did a parody of Neal � the Meathead according to Dom. When she teased Neal about Yuki, he would often retort that she and Dom were just as bad.

Soon many people had gathered in the side room, and Shinko lost her shyness to inquire of the generals, knights and commanders present intelligent questions about supply, battle and the like. Roald was shocked and delighted to discover Skinko had a keen grasp of tactics and strategy, and soon the two were debating heatedly the advantages of pole arms.

When the king entered the room looking decidedly frosty and asked for a �word� with Raoul, he swaggered out with not a hint of fear, and came back with a cowed King and a smug grin. Soon the Queen and King were regular members of the group, whenever a function was exceedingly boring, or cornered by conservatives.

Kel soon warmed to the queen, but she was confused over King Jonathon. He was a pleasant enough man to talk to, but Kel suspected he was more complex. Then there was the fact that he had bargained with his daughter until Princess Kalasin had pulled out of becoming the first female page. No one knew the arrangements that had gone into it, and none of the royals would say. Queen Thayet had only ever remarked that it was a negotiation as tricky as any battle with the conservatives. Kel felt indignation on behalf of the princess, but what truly enraged her was the probation the first two female pages had had to undergo. Fianola and her younger sister Epona of Wellbrook had started in the same year, and for their first year, Lord Wyldon had insisted that he would decide if they were fit to remain.

Kel�s parents and the Lioness had written her to tell her about the incident in the Yamani Isles. She still remembered the waves of fury that had come from those letters. Alanna had used terms more common to a barracks than a ball, and Kel did not think words such as those her mother used were even in the restrained and reserved Yamani language. Nariko and the court ladies, for all their Yamani manners, were utterly furious on behalf of their Eastern cousin�s in arms.
Both girls were now first year squires, Epona with Conal, Fianola with Geoffrey of Meron, who had been in the famed Lioness� year in the Ordeal. Anders had written Kel about Epona, that she seemed to be getting on well with Conal, something Kel had not believed until she saw them training in the practice yards. The younger sister was full of fire and determination, and was also able to reply to anything Conal said to her. This made Kel respect her more than anything else.

The King had not suggested it, but he had consented to it, which was � to Kel � just as bad. Her father had also written her, knowing she would be livid at the slur to female warriors and at the injustice in general. In his calmly diplomatic way, he simply wrote her �Good rulers are not always good people. Everything they do hurts someone.�

Kel�s days followed this routine and her days melted into each other, until Kel found herself waking up on the first day of midwinter. However, hostilities were growing more serious to the North, with Scanran raids increasing in number, ferocity and scale, so Kel cautioned her contented self not to get too comfortable, especially with the progress of the realm due to begin.