Disclaimer: All characters and places that you recognize are not owned by me.

- What a Lady? NEVER -

By theoriginalmeathead

Keladry of Mindelan sighed as she ran the rest of the way back to her room. She sat, lost in her thoughts as she waited for her maid, Lalasa to bring her bathwater.

Why me? She thought. Great Goddess, first I decide to pick a fight with Joren of Stone Mountain…and then…she sighed…I start to like my best friend as well, more than a friend…

Kel's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, "Come in" she called.

Lalasa timidly opened the door and came in, carefully carrying Kel's bathwater.

"I hope My Lord Wyldon wasn't too tough on you today Lady Kel, after all it is only your first day back at training."

Kel scowled at Lalasa and said, "It's Kel, you should know that by now…"

"Ok…Kel," she smiled, "So tell me how are your friends?"

"Oh, they're all pretty good," Kel frowned, "but Merric wasn't here today, according to My Lord he was off visiting a sick grandparent and should be back some time after dinner…"

"Yes, L-" Lalasa stopped herself in just time, "Yes, Kel. You should get ready, your bathwater will be getting cold…"

Lalasa scurried quickly into the dressing room followed closely by Kel. Kel had within moments lost her clothes and was sinking gratefully down into the luke-warm water. She closed her eyes and motioned for Lalasa to stay and chat with her. After a few moments silence Lalasa said,

"How is Page Nealen?"

Kel, inwardly panicking that she hadn't hidden her feelings for him well enough, cracked an eye open and looked at Lalasa curiously, then suspiciously said, "Any particular reason why you would want to know that? Hmmm?"

Lalasa looked at the floor, blushed a deep red and said, in an almost whisper, "I'll tell you if you promise not to tell anyone else."

Lalasa looked up as Kel nodded reassuringly. "Ok…I'll admit…" she trailed off.

Kel gestured for her to continue.

Her blush deepened, "I think…" suddenly her eyes went all dreamy "I think I'm falling in love with him…"

She quickly looked at Kel to see her reaction. Kel kept her face impassive but didn't quite have her Yamani mask on. She opened her mouth to reply but was saved answering by a knock on the door. Kel could have sighed with relief.

"Could you see who is at the door please?"

Lalasa got swiftly out of her chair and gracefully moved towards the door.

"Tell them that I will be out in a few minutes."

Lalasa nodded and carefully closed the door of the dressing room behind her. Kel quickly got out of her bath and got dressed.

As she was getting dressed she couldn't help but think bitterly that at least Lalasa would have better chance than her at getting Neal's attention. Neal would probably never see her as a, well, girl. Not, at least the way he saw the ladies that attended court. Kel shook her head to clear her mind. Stop it Kel, you shouldn't be even thinking such thoughts, she mentally scolded herself.

As soon as she had finished dressing, Kel stepped out of the dressing room and was greeted by her best friend and crush, Nealen of Queenscove. He was dressed in dark brown breeches, white shirt and a startling green tunic that matched the colour of his eyes.

Neal smiled at Kel and said, "Come on Kel, we'll be late to dinner. You don't want the Stump angry with us on the first day back do you?"

He grinned. Kel smiled sweetly at him and said,

"What's this? You've turned over a new leaf? I thought you liked getting punishment work…"

Kel struggled to get her fluttering heart and emotions under control as Neal sighed, grabbed her hand and with a quick goodbye to Lalasa dragged Kel in the direction of the Mess hall. Kel struggled to hide her smile when she heard Lalasa sigh dreamily behind her. Just like a court lady, should have known.

Kel no longer wore dresses to dinner because Lord Wyldon had asked her to stop wearing them a few weeks after she had become a proper page. According to him in future years when Kel would have acquired her "womanly" figure, she would become a distraction, as such, and he would rather if she stopped wearing them now, rather than later.

Kel didn't mind not wearing dresses to dinner; it saved her from having to get changed into other clothes afterwards so she could be comfortable while she studied and did her homework. The only problem was that she constantly had to think of things that would remind her friends that she was, in fact, a girl.

Kel honestly thought that Wyldon was crazy, no sane male would want to court her, after all, according to her older sisters and her older-sisters-in-law she had the figure of a cow and she would be lucky if she had had her first real kiss before the age of 30.

But none of them had seen her over the five-week holiday period; in fact she hadn't seen any of her Tortallan friends. She had been in the Yamani Islands with her parents and Kel had noticed quite a few changes in her body.

For starters as she was growing taller she was getting slimmer and her hair had grown quite a bit, it was now nearly two inches below her shoulder and it pulled-back into a decent length horsetail and, as Lalasa had so gleefully pointed out on her first day back, "My Lady, My Lady your chest has grown! Now we're going to have to buy you bigger breastbands!" Kel had just started at her horrified. Lalasa had explained to her later that most normal girls were excited when they had to change their breastband size. Kel had just shaken her head mystified.

It had taken Kel a month of dedicated work with the head trainer at the Emperors palace to regain her skill with her favourite long weapon, the glaive. She now practiced with it every morning after she woke up and before she got ready for breakfast.

Kel and Neal breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the mess hall, slightly out of breath but relieved that Lord Wyldon wasn't there yet. They quickly dropped hands and joined the food line.

Kel made sure that she piled her plate high with vegetables and that Neal had a decent amount of good food on his plate. Not just pastries, sugarcoated blueberries and chocolate-dipped strawberries.

They quickly joined Roald, Cleon, Seaver and Esmond, their friends, at their usual table in the back-right hand corner of the mess hall. Kel and Neal sat in the only spare seats, right at opposite ends of the table to Kel's disappointment.

"Where's Faleron?" asked Neal.

"He serving tonight," replied Cleon gloomily.

They all sat silently waiting for Lord Wyldon to come and say the evening prayers. They didn't have to wait long.

A few minutes after everyone else had arrived Lord Wyldon strode through the door followed by none other than King Jonathan of Conte, Alanna the Lioness and for some strange reason Queen Thayet as well. Kel and Neal exchanged looks of surprise. Usually it was only King Jonathan who attended their start of term meal.

King Jonathan led Queen Thayet to the table at the front of the hall that was reserved for Lord Wyldon and his dinner guests, sat her down opposite Lord Wyldon and waited for Alanna to take her seat. There were many raised eyebrows as Alanna sat down next to Thayet.

Apparently Alanna still had some hard feelings towards King Jonathan and Lord Wyldon despite the court gossips saying that she had forgiven them. King Jonathan gave her a small smile before standing up on the dais behind him. The pages, squires and Knights that were present hurried to stand so that he could start the evening prayer.

He raised his arms and said, "Oh, Great Mother Goddess," he and Alanna shared a secret smile as a frowning Thayet watched the display, "please guide these young warriors, so that they have wisdom and knowledge to help them on their life's path."

"So mote it be," murmured the hall.

King Jonathon stepped down from the dais and took his seat next to Lord Wyldon. The page that had been assigned to serve Lord Wyldon that night rushed towards the table carrying the first course and hoping not to spill it. When he reached the table he seemed unsure of whom to serve first.

"Haven't been paying attention in etiquette class now have we, Kings Reach?" said Lord Wyldon in a cheerful tone.

"Poor Faleron," Kel murmured watching the scene with wide-eyes.

Roald, who was sitting next to her, nodded his agreement. Everyone else was too busy eating to listen.

"Oh leave the poor boy alone." Alanna snapped. She smiled kindly at Faleron and said, "Name and fief please."

Faleron looked at her with eyes filled with gratitude and awe before saying in a clear voice, "Faleron of Kings Reach, Lady Alanna."

"Well Faleron, do you know who to serve first?"

"N-no Lady Alanna."

She sighed but smiled slightly as she took hold of Faleron's elbow and pulled him in the direction of Queen Thayet.

"First of all you serve the most important Lady at the table and tonight that would be…" she trailed off. "Her Majesty Queen Thayet," answered Faleron in a confident voice.

"Yes that's right." Faleron placed a dish in front of Queen Thayet.

"Now who do you serve next?"

Faleron faltered.

Alanna looked at him and said, "Well?" "I'm not sure Lady Alanna."

A muscle twitched on the left side of Alanna's face and Thayet and Jon tried to hide their smiles behind their hands.

"Really, Faleron, Alanna is fine, I don't deserve the title of a Lady," said Alanna in a clipped voice.

Faleron nodded his head hoping that the Lioness wasn't angry with him. He had heard many stories from Roald and Neal about the Lioness's fierce temper. Alanna's expression softened.

"Well, next you would look at King Jonathon who," she paused with a significant look at Jon, "if he was a gentleman, would gesture to me and say that I, being the other," she paused, "female, present at this table should be served before him, but if he makes no gesture or eye contact, you should serve him first as he is, of course, the King. Got it?"

"Yes Alanna," Faleron answered before following her instructions to complete a show a perfect service.

Just before he left to return to the kitchens, he turned to Alanna and gave her a bow, an inch lower than what protocol demanded and said, "Thank-you very much Alanna."

A faint blush rose in her cheeks and she said in a curt voice, "Don't worry about it boy, now go to the kitchens, I'm sure your being deeply missed."

"Yes Alanna," Faleron responded before turning and hurrying in the direction of the kitchens.

Lord Wyldon who had watched her carefully through out the whole thing said in a gruff voice, "You'd be a good teacher you know, maybe you should…"

Kel pulled herself away from the conversation. She and Roald exchanged grins. Neal who had just looked up and seen their last display said, "What? What's so funny?" he demanded.

Kel and Roald's grins grew wider.

Kel then said in the direction of Roald, "You can tell them."

"No, you can tell them." He replied.

Kel laid her hand on Roald's forearm and said in a sugary sweet voice that she had heard the court ladies use, "No, I insist!"

Roald looked from Kel's face to her hand on his arm and back to her face before raising his eyebrows. After a few seconds Kel and Roald burst out laughing. The rest of the table looked on amused.

Unknown to either of them they had attracted the attention of Roald's father, King Jonathan. He was watching them intently.

"They are good friends, are they not?"

His question directed at Lord Wyldon. Everyone followed his gaze to the laughing Kel and Roald.

"Yes they are good friends, but Mindelan is better friends with Nealen of Queenscove, as, is His Highness with Cleon of Kennan. The older looking boys towards the back of the table."

He replied to Alanna's unanswered questions. When everyone else had turned back to their meals Alanna kept watching Keladry with a fiery interest.

"So that is her is it?" murmured Alanna when Roald and Kel had gotten control of themselves, "She's a very pretty young thing isn't she?"

"She grown into her looks since I last saw her, which was two months ago…just before the holidays…" said Jon thoughtfully.

When Kel and Roald had finally stopped laughing helplessly, Kel folded her arms across her chest and said, "I'm not telling them so you can."

She met him eye to eye then gave him a grin that got Neal's heart practically bursting with jealously. He mentally regarded himself with surprise but pushed it away for thought later that night.

After a few seconds he sighed and said, "Fine then, have it your way…" he then proceeded to tell the rest of the table what had happened between Alanna and Faleron. By the time he was finished the rest of the table was howling with laughter.

Kel had just smiled and started eating quickly when she realized that her food was getting cold and she had yet to start. After a couple of minutes Kel began to feel someone's gaze on her, she suddenly looked up and found herself looking into a set of purple eyes.

Her eyes widened as she realized who they belonged to. She quickly slipped her Yamani blank face on. I am stone. I am stone. Why would the Lioness be staring at me? She thought, It's not like she's wanted anything to do with me for the past two, nearly three years so why would she start now? I am stone. Maybe she didn't think I could last this long? I am stone. I am stone. Maybe she didn't want another female Knight stealing her glory. Kel mentally shook her head. No, that couldn't be it…why is she still staring at me? I think she's testing me, to see how long I last…

Roald looked at Kel out of the corner of his eye, she had been awfully quiet since she had started eating. He saw her staring at something, so he turned and followed her gaze. It led him straight to the Lioness. His eyebrows raised, it was a competition to see who the first one to look away would be.

Kel reached out and lightly tapped him on the shoulder.

"Could you tell Neal to eat his vegetables please? I'm kind of busy right now…"

"Yeh, I noticed." He said dryly.

Kel let a small smile grace her lips. She watched as King Jon tried to get Alanna's attention but failed when she just slapped the hand that was moving in front of her face away.

He followed her gaze and when he found Kel at the end he looked from one to the other quite a few times before looking questioningly at Roald.

Kel saw Roald shrug out of the corner of her eye then saw his hand and his fathers hand light up with a soft blue light. Alanna, who noticed this too scowled, and mouthed to Kel,

"One...two…three."

They both dropped their gazes at exactly the same time and sighed simultaneously.

As the bell rang to end of supper Lord Wyldon called out over the noise, "Keladry of Mindelan please come to my office as soon as possible," he paused, "and that's before you do any of your class work."