Disclaimer: I don't own Protector of the Small. That series belongs to Tamora Pierce. Any original characters and cities I do own however.

Protector of the Small: The Power Within Us All

Chapter One:

The cold, forbidding landscape of Garath Pass, the only route through the otherwise impassible Kyran mountain range, was almost impossible to traverse in any time of year. But on this September day, the only thing that a person trying to cross the mountains could get was a slow, painful death. But one lone figure challenged fate, attempting to do what few have done before her. She truged up the rocky, snow covered path through the pass, the icy wind biting into her face, the knee high snow impeding her progress. The clothing she wore was barely keeping her from freezing to death: a pair of leather boots lined with wool, a cotten shirt, tunic and leather leggings and wool cloak were the only things protetcting her from the wrath of the near blizzard conditions that prevailed almost all year in the pass. She barely had the strength to keep the backpack she had on from sliding off.

Keladry, formerly of the fief Mindelan, wondered what she was thinking when she decided to try and cross the pass, even though she had heard about the inhospitible weather that constantly previaled in that area from the townspeople living near the eastern Maren border. She moved through the snow, one step at a time, the flakes sticking in her hair and stinging her eyes, she could barely see what was in front of her anymore. It was becoming harder to breathe, every breath was labored, her lungs felt like they were on fire, and every movement sent waves of pain throughout her entire body.

"Come on...keep going. If I stop...now...I'll die here, in I can't...fail. I...won't!" Kel said through chattering teeth. Her skin had taken on a light shade of blue, and she couldn't feel her toes or fingers. She hugged herself tightly, trying to conserve what little body heat she had left. Violent coughs wracked her body. Suddenly the wind gusted even harder, and Kel shuddered as the piercing cold made her muscles feel as they were lead. Then without warning, something struck Kel in the head, tearing a inch long gash near her hairline, knocking her out instantly. She cried out as she hit the ground, the blood from her wound coloring the snow red.

As the white powder began to cover her body, Kel had a vision. It was a dream of the past, only a few months ago, when her dream of becoming a knight had been shattered, and her life had changed forever.

It was the last day of her first year of page training, and hopefully her last day on probation as well. Kel and her group of friends were sitting at their usual table with the other pages in the mess hall. King Jonathon had just congratulated them on thier excellent performance during the spidren hunt a few days before. After the king had left, Lord Wyldon of Cavell, the training master, had excused the pages for the summer and had asked Keladry to come to his office. She bid her friends farewell and went back to her room to say good bye to her sparrows. She did a pattern dance with her glaive to pass the time until the next bell tolled. Finally the damned bell rang, and she headed to Lord Wyldon's office, feeling a sense of anticipation and a mixture of dread as she walked down the stone hallways. The servingman bowed to Kel, then opened the door and announced her. She entered, and listened to the door creak as it closed behind her.

"You sent for me, my lord," she said.

Lord Wyldon sighed and turned. "Sit down, girl."

She hesitated, and sat down as he asked.

He massaged his right arm, which had been raked by hurroks during the Immortals War.

"Keladry of Mindelan, I have watched your performance this past year, and I must admit you have done exceptionally well. You have both a natural talent for combat and leadership potential," Wyldon explained. Kel had to keep herself from beaming in pride, she was being allowed to stay! But what the training master said next shocked her to her core.

"However, I cannot, in my better judgement, allow you to continue your training as a page. I am still not convinced that women belong in combat, so I hearby dismiss you. Go home. Mindlean's steward should be here in the morning to escort you back to your fief. Perhaps when you grow older you can join the Riders. I'm sorry."

Kel sucked in her breath, this not what she expected at all! Her Yamani mask broke, and she felt an intense anger rise and fill her entire body, a rage she hadn't felt before. How dare he deny her like this! She knew she had done just as well, maybe even better than the boys, and yet he sends her away none the less. Not this time! I won't let it end like this! Trembling, she got to her feet and looked Wyldon dead in his eyes. He flinched inwardly. Never had he seen this look on the girl's face, even on her worst day. When she spoke, her voice was low, and seethed with hatred.

"I'm sorry if you can't accept me for what I am, Lord Wyldon. I know I did better than the boys out there. You just can't get past your old fashioned views you SEXIST BASTARD!"

Wyldon rose out of his chair, leaning on his desk, his eyebrows showing his infuriation.

"How dare you, you insolent wench! I should have you thrown--" Kel pushed her former training master back into his seat.

"I'm not finished. So sit down and shut up! I'm sick of the fact that the only thing noble girls have to look forward to is marriage and babies. I thought that maybe you would find it in your heart to let me stay after you seen what I could do. I guess I was wrong."

"Does this tirade have a point Mindelan?!" Wyldon seethed.

Keladry sighed, "I can't become a proper noble lady, in fact the entire noble system makes me want to throw up. So I renounce my nobility, and my loyalty to the crown. I can't serve a king who would allow such blatent discrimination to continue amongst his own subjects."

Wyldon gasped in suprise and indignation at Keladry's words, "How dare you insult our king?! Do you understand what you're saying...nevermind! Get out of my sight! I'll pretend that your statements were exaggerated in your anger and you didn't mean what you said. Now go before I change my mind."

Kel flipped Lord Wyldon a rude gesture and exited his office, slaming the door behind her. Only then did she allow the tears she had been holding back to slide down her face. She rushed back to her room, ignoring the stares the palace servants gave her, and locked the door behind her, throwing herself on her bed, sobbing into her pillow. She couldn't take back the words she had spoken to Wyldon. Keladry of Mindelan was no more. She was just a lowly commoner now. She knew she couldn't stay in Tortall, she felt profound betrayal at a system that would deny her her dream. She couldn't go home either. Mindelan wasn't her home anymore, besides, her sisters would never let her hear the end of it. And what would her parents think, what would they say?

She didn't know how long she had been crying for, but she could see the sun start to go down through the shutters in her room. She felt several pairs of tiny feet land on her, and when she looked up, she saw that Crown and Freckle preening themselves with thier beaks. The sparrows had been her constant companions during the past year, and it broke her heart to part with them.

"Hey Crown, Freckle. Trying to cheer me up?" she asked the birds. Soon the entire flock of fifty or so birds sat on her bed, staring at her with their black eyes. A couple flew onto her shoulders, and one landed on her head. With a gentle finger she petted them, enjoying the feel of thier feathers, knowing that this would be the last time she would ever lay eyes on them.

"Thank you. You've always been there for me, and I'm going to miss every one of you," she said, kissing Crown on the top of the sparrow's head. She got up, the sparrows flying off her to land on any flat spots in the room, Kel going to her desk. She took out some parchment and ink, and began to pen letters to her family and friends, explaining exactly why she was leaving, and letting them know that she loved them, and always would. Her parents, Neal, Roald, Seaver, Owen, Faleron, and her other friends amongst the pages each got one. She also gave away most of her possessions, the ones she wasn't taking with her. She wouldn't give the letters to her friends in person, she hated goodbyes, and time was of the essence if she wanted to leave before morning. She worked through the last bell of the night, when everyone was expected to extinguish all light in thier rooms and go to bed.

She finished a couple hours later, and sealed each parchment in an envelop, and wrote each person's name on the front of the envelope that held their letter. She left them on her desk, and went to her closet. She grabbed a leather backpack and rummaged through her clothes, throwing several shirts, loincloths, a pair of breeches, and a spare pair of boots inside. She also added a small cosmetics kit and her the prized magiked bruise balm in one of the internal compartments, also adding a flint and steel. Finally, she tied a bedroll on top of the backpack, and headed over to her weapons rack. The belt knife she had gotten from her mysterious benefactor was attached to her belt already, she grabbed her glaive off the wall. Using a thin strand of silk rope, she tied one end just below the place where the glaive's blade met the pole, and the other end a foot and a half away from the first knot.

She slung the glaive on her back, and tightened the rope to make sure it fit snugly, the flat of the blade resting on her right shoulder blade. Kel grabbed her light wool cloak and a belt purse that had most of her spending money in it. She tied the purse to her belt, and fastened the cloak around her shoulders, leaving the right one uncovered in case she needed to go for her glaive, the fabric reaching down to her ankles. She slipped the backpack on, and took one last look at the home she had resided in for almost a year.

Kel felt a tear slide down her cheek as she said silent goodbyes to her sparrows, tasting the saltyness as it reached her lips. She blew out her candle and headed for the door, opening it carefully to avoid alerting any guards outside. She peered into the darkened hallway, no one in sight. She wanted the leave the palace right away, but there was someone she needed to visit first. What she would do after she left, she didn't really know. I might be able to settle down in one of the villages near the Gallan border, Kel thought as she made her way towards the teacher's quarters, but mom and dad would spare no expense to find her, and they would eventually. She would have to cross the Tuisane border, maybe even make her way to Maren. Kel knew it would be rough going, especially now since summer was starting. Raiding season would reach it's peak in about a month, and one girl with a glaive, no matter now skilled, wouldn't last long against a bandit group.

She crept quietly through the palace, heading for the teacher's quarters. As she was rounding a corner she saw movement up ahead. Reacting, she pulled her hood over her head and ducked behind a pillar, and held her breath as a palace guard walked by a few seconds later, completely oblivious to her presence. She peeked out from behind the pillar, and let go the breath she was holding when she saw the guard walk away, going about his business. She waited until he was a good distance away before leaving her hiding place and hurried down the rest of the hall and down a set of stairs. Soon she came to the door she was looking for. The names engraved on the bronze plate showed who lived there:

Numair Salmalin

Veralidaine Sarrasi

Gathering her courage, she knocked on the door, her knuckles tapping on the wood several times. Within moments, a young woman answered the door, her face framed by brown curls, her blue-grey eyes staring at Kel through the darkness. Daine gave a quiet gasp of surprise seeing who stood outside her door.

"Keladry, hello, what are you doing up at this time of night?" she said with a smile, but then she noticed what the younger girl had on. Something must be wrong, Kel was dressed for traveling, and had her glaive strapped to her back. The lost look in Kel's eyes scared Daine the most.

"I'm sorry I woke you, but I need your help. A favor actually," Kel said, her voice a whisper, "Can I come inside?"

"Oh, of course!" Daine repiled, and ushered Kel into her and Numair's rooms, which were quite spacious, given Numair's postion as the realm's most powerful mage, and her being the Wildmage. They both held highly respected postions within the king's inner circle.

"Keladry, what's going on? Why are you dressed for travel?" she asked, but the expression on the young girl's face told most of the story already. Kel figeted, for some reason she couldn't look Daine in the eye.

"Lord Wyldon dismissed me from my page training this afternoon," she explained, and didn't react to Daine's shocked gasp. The Wildmage folded Kel into a comforting hug, careful not to injure herself on the glaive.

"That ignorant fool. It should be apparent to anyone with eyes that you were good enough to continue your training. I'm so sorry Kel," Daine said sadly, she was close to tears, "But that doesn't explain...no...Kel...you're not..."

Kel nodded sadly, "l can't stay in Tortall, Daine. No matter where I go I'll always be known as 'the girl who wasn't good enough'. I...I just wouldn't be able to live with the shame."

"But where would you go? Kel...you're only eleven!"

"Honestly, I don't really know. But I probably won't be coming back, so could you take care of Peachblossom and my sparrows for me? Please don't try to talk me out of my decision, Daine. I just want to go," Kel pleaded.

Daine opened her mouth and began to say something, but decided against it, and just sighed sadly.

"I can't say I do understand, Keladry, but I'll help you anyway. It's the least I can do, and don't worry about your horse and sparrows. They'll be well looked after."

Kel smiled for the first time that day, "Thanks Daine, I knew I could count on you." She turned and headed for the door, but stopped when the Wildmage put a hand on her shoulder.

"Wait. Come here for a second. I have something for you, to help on your journey," Daine said. Perplexed, Kel walked over to the older woman, and Daine lead her into her own personal quarters. She rummaged through one of her closets, the one she used for emergencies. After a few minutes Daine emerged, and held up two small bundles wrapped in leather, a triumpant grin on her face.

"Trail rations, for the road," she explained, "You don't want to die of hunger now, do you?"

Daine opened the flap of Kel's backpack and put the rations inside where she could find room. She then walked over to a bookcase and pulled a specific volume halfway out. Instantly, the bookcase slid to the side, revealing a hidden stairway behind it.

"This was built in case the palace ever got invaded," Daine explained, seeing the surprised look on Kel's face, "Numair uses it sometimes when he wants to slip out unnoticed. The tunnel goes right under the palace and ends near the river."

Kel embraced Daine, thanking her for all she did, and for agreeing to watch the animals. Kel entered the tunnel, and waved just as the bookcase slid back shut. Daine leaned against a wall and slumped to her knees, worry evident on her features, worry for a young woman forced to grow up too fast.

"Goddess and Mithros, watch over her," Daine whispered.

Daine was right, Kel realized, but then again she didn't have a reason to doubt the Wildmage. The spiral staircase descended about one hundred feet below the palace, then Kel, after grabbing a torch off the wall, headed down a long, musty tunnel. It hadn't been used recently, maybe except an occasional visit by Numair, and an half-inch thick coating of dust covered the floor. Mildew was growing on the walls, which were cut from stone, and it gave the whole place a stank odor. She noticed a couple other staircases as she walked along, they probably connected to King Jonothan and Queen Thayet's rooms, and maybe even Prince Roald's as well.

The walls changed from cut stone to a more natural look, like what you would see in a cave, and she could hear the faint trickling of water coming from somewhere, and the dampness became more noticeable. Stalagtites and stalagmites started to appear as she went deeper into the tunnel, and ducked as a few bats swooped down, flying by her making a loud screeching sound.

"After facing down spidrens with only a stick I shouldn't be afraid of a few bats," Kel thought. She dusted herself off and kept going down the tunnel. She made sure she had one hand near her glaive, just in case anything decided it could make a meal out of her. She had no idea of how far she had walked, but she knew the river was at least a half mile away from the palace, and the water from the ground was starting to seep into her boots. The light from her torch cast deep shadows on the tunnel walls, scaring some more bats from thier roosts. Finally, after an almost half-hour treading through the dampness, she came to her escape route's end. But to her surprise, there was no exit, just another wall. Kel sighed and rubbed her temples in frustration.

"Great. Now how do I get out of here? There has to be a switch or something hidden nearby," she deduced, "Or the exit is sealed by magic."

Kel slid the backpack off her shoulders, glad to be rid of the weight, even for a moment. She began to search the walls, taking off her gloves to get a better feel, and moved her hands around the rock, looking for an indentation that could indicate a hidden button. She didn't have any luck with the left side of the tunnel, nor the end, and was halfway through the right side; deciding if she should try to get up to the celing, when she found what she was looking for. A piece of stone that extended from the wall of the tunnel that didn't look natural, and moved down slightly when she gripped it firmly. Kel gave a small shout of triumph, and pulled the lever down with all her strength. She heard a loud creaking sound, and the rock wall at end of the tunnel split in two, and began to open like a set of double doors. Small pieces of rock fell from the celing, though none hit Kel. Cool air rushed in, replacing the staleness that had permeated in the tunnel before, and Kel sighed in contentment as the breeze flowed through her hair and over her skin. She looked outside, and saw the first sliver of light appear on the horizon; it was almost dawn.

She reached down for her backpack, wanting to be on her way, but tensed as she heard footsteps rapidly approaching from down the way she came. By the sound Kel guessed it was two people running side by side in chain mail. Kel threw her backpack on and sprinted for the tunnel's exit, but in her haste she failed to see the small rock in her path, and tripped. She landed flat on her face, the impact sending up a large cloud of dust from the floor.

"Halt in the name of the King!" a demanding voice shouted as Kel picked herself off the floor. She looked up to see two members of the royal guard standing only a few feet away, dressed in red tunics with chain mail underneath, both holding unsheathed swords. The one on the left had the badge of sergeant and a short beard, while his companion was only in his early twenties and had the badge of corporal wrapped around his left arm.

"Only thier Royal Highnesses, master Numair and mistress Daine can use these secret passageways. You are tresspassing on royal property. You are under arrest, come with us," the sergeant ordered, and took a couple of steps towards Kel, his right hand ready to grasp her by the shoulder, his sword ready in his other hand. He had seen the glaive strapped on the person's back and was taking no chances. The corporal gripped his blade in both hands, backing up his commander. Kel got back to her feet and swifty shed her backpack, unstrapping her glaive from her back. She dropped into a defensive stance, keeping the blade of her polearm between her and the two soldiers.

"My apologies. I did not mean to cause any trouble, but I found this to be the quickest means of getting out of the palace. However, I've come to far to let you stop me, so I ask that you turn around and walk away," Kel said, determination flashing in her hazel eyes, and gripped the staff of her glaive tighter.

"We gave you a chance, young master," the sergeant said. Kel gave a small grin. With the hood of her cloak up the soldiers couldn't see that she was a girl, "But since you won't yield to the Crown's mercy, we'll have to do this the hard way."

He gripped his sword in both hands and charged at Kel, slicing horizontally, trying to open her belly. She simply smirked and took a step back, blocking the slash with the wooden staff of her glaive. She jerked her left hand, knocking the sword away and leaving the sergeant open. She tried to butt him in the stomach with the wood end of the glaive, but the armored man was quicker, swatting away her weapon mere inches from his solar plexus. The block sent Kel into a spin, and she used the momentum to add more force into the strike she aimed at his hand, her 'broom sweeps clean' cut. In a flash of steel Kel sent the sergeant's sword flying, the blade landing at the feet of his subordiant. Even though the older man was more experienced, Kel was fresher, having toned her body through the last year, in the practice courts and during the spidren hunt during the page's summer camp.

Kel smacked the sergeant in the side of the head, sending him sprawling into the wall, knocking him out instantly. She was shocked to discover that she felt a sensation of glee as she watched the man hit the ground, a small trickle of blood appearing on his temple.

The corporal decided it would be a good idea to avenge his commander, and tried to attack Kel from behind. But she heard him coming, and put a stop to that idea, gripping her glaive with one hand, lifting it so the point rested just below his chin, stopping him in his tracks.

"Are you sure you want to press your luck?" Kel asked with a smile.

The look of fear on the man's face was priceless, "No...no...ummmm...cya!" he muttered, and then turned on his heel and ran back into the darkness.

"And by the way, I'm a GIRL!!!" Kel shouted after him. She allowed herself a small smile of victory, but it quickly left her face as she realzied she didn't have much time before reinforcements came. Suddenly the whole area began to shake, and Kel looked back in horror as the stone doors slowly began to close. Thinking quickly, Kel restrapped her glaive across her back, and grabbed her backpack as she tired to outrace whatever magic that was forcing the doors shut. She ran faster than she had ever had in her entire life, and leaped through the gap just as the exit sealed shut, landing on the dirt outside with a thud. Kel picked herself off the ground and dusted off, looking back to the now closed escape route. She saw that she had emerged from part of the rockface below a small cliff near the river. With the exit shut it appeared like a normal part of the geography, indistinguishable from the surrounding rock. She looked up and saw the palace of Corus in the distance, its towers shining in the dawn's early light.

Kel remembered all the good time she had over the past year with Neal and all her other friends amongst the pages, and she would miss them. For some odd reason, she would miss Joren and his cronies too, she had participated in some fantastic brawls against them. Maybe she would finally earn his respect if she ever comes back, though she doubted she ever would.

Kel gave one last look to the royal capital, then turned her back on it forever, her strides carrying her towards the rising sun, her cloak waving in the morning breeze. She was ready to start her new life, no matter where her travels would take her, and she was determined to become a warrior the equal of...no, better than any Totallian knight.

Her tale begins now.

But unbeknowst to Kel, one day she will return to Tortall, and her name will become legend.

Keladry, Protector of the Small

To be continued...