DISCLAIMER: Don't own it. Don't like it? Don't read it.

Has anyone seen the movie 'Serenity' or watched the show 'Firefly'? I was just introduced to it by my cousin, I had never heard of either before and now I absolutely love the show (even though it only ran for one season) and the film. Just a little quirk of mine.

Here's two chapters at once to make you lot happy. Nothing more to say here, too damn lazy to think of something more to tell you lot.

Song of the Chapter: A Little Less Sixteen Candles a Little More 'Touch Me' by Fall Out Boy

Peace out

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Sixteen year old Keladry of Mindelan wandered the corridors of the Convent aimlessly. A faint smile graced her lips at the knowledge that she would be leaving soon for Corus. She wondered what had happened to all of her old friends. Were they still squires or had some dropped out? Would they remember her when she saw them? All of these thoughts were running through her mind over and over again.

Her year of ladies in training had significantly diminished since she had first arrived. When she first came to the Convent, there were at least ten eligible ladies in her year; now as they prepared to leave in a few months, there were only five. Marriage had taken the others as early as at fourteen years old.

Kel shuddered when she remembered Ophelia of Naxen who had been betrothed since the time she was born and was married off two years before just after her fourteenth birthday. Ophelia had only just come into her monthlies and her breasts were not fully grown yet. Her uncle, Sir Gareth of Naxen, had arranged the betrothal and her parents had waited only long enough that Ophelia could bear children before sending her off. It was a common strategy of parents who had sickly daughters. They married them off as soon as possible so as to produce an heir quickly. In the event that the girl died, at least they would have a family tie to the other house and a grandchild to inherit. Ophelia had been a pale, fragile girl who often fell ill and was weakened. She was still a pale fragile woman but now was married and had borne two children by the age of sixteen.

Kel could not imagine herself at her age already having mothered two children. She doubted whether any man would want to marry her at all. Her name and reputation preceded her, and she had no title or wealth to inherit. She had nothing to offer a potential suitor.

She continued her stroll through the corridors stiffly, in slight discomfort from the tight-waisted dress that she was wearing. At the end of their training, the older ladies were made to wear rich elegant dresses on a daily basis to prepare themselves for palace life. In their first years of training, which began officially at the age of ten, the girls wore a uniform every day of a plain blue dress. For evening meals, they wore colourful rich dresses of their choice. The middle aged girls, third year to seventh year wore with their uniform a surcoat in different colours to indicate their year. Third years were green, fourth midnight blue, fifth brown, sixth yellow and seventh white. in the final months of training, the ladies wore palace dresses every day for lessons and meals. These dresses were stiff and hot: tight waists long full skirts, low necks and heavily embroidered fabrics.

Kel found herself at the door to the stables, thinking that she might want to take a ride that afternoon. The Daughters had given the ladies an entire day off and this would be the first time in weeks that she had no punishments during her days off. She removed the pins from her hair and let it stream down her back. It was awkward for her to ride side-saddle with her hair in a heavy plait. Entering the stables, however, her eyes met a sight that surprised her.

Standing together in one of the stalls was a man she did not know, a noble by his clothing with long blonde hair and blue eyes, and Lady Brianna of Mountain's Peak: a girl from her own year. They were gazing into each other's eyes with their hands tightly clasped. He said something to her softly then leaned towards her and kissed her lightly on the mouth. Brianna blushed and turned away, whispering something to him. He gently and lovingly took her chin in his hand and turned her face to his and kissed her again on the lips. Kel blushed at having witnessed such a scene and turned to leave. In doing so, she stepped on some straw, which crackled beneath her shoes. Quickly Brianna snatched her hands away and they both turned to face the intruder. Kel stood, rooted to the spot. Brianna's expression went from surprise, to fear, to anger.

"You will tell no one of this." she said fiercely to Kel, walking over to her. Kel nodded.

"Why is it such a fuss if the Daughters know about this?" The man asked her. "I was planning on requesting your hand from your father soon. Why should it matter, it's not as though we were caught in an indiscretion. Do you not love me as I love you?"

Brianna turned back to him, ignoring Kel, "I love you dearly, but the Daughters of the Convent only see a man who is taking my innocence away without being my husband or betrothed. Their rule is that a lady is kissed on the cheek only by her betrothed and on the mouth only by her husband. They do not understand that you were not planning anything more than a small kiss." she took one of his hands in hers. "I do love you and I am waiting for my father to give his consent, but I do not wish to anger the Daughters or give up my innocence so lightly."

She smiled at him and he smiled back, though Kel saw that his eyes had become harder and colder from her comment. He stroked her cheek with his thumb and gave her a swift kiss on the cheek. "Then I will not give you reason to do either." His voice was kind, but Kel heard a tight edge to it. "i love you Brianna and I will wait for our wedding night to touch you." He nodded to Kel and left the stables.

Brianna gave Kel a cold look and stalked from the stables, brushing past the other girl roughly. Kel turned to leave, but from the corner of her eye saw the blonde hair of Tanwyn of Sebell flash from the stable loft. She had seen the entire affair. Tanwyn knew that the encounter had not been anything of significance: nothing grossly wrong, but Kel knew that Tanwyn would twist everything to the Daughters to get Brianna in trouble. The blonde girl was vicious and competitive when it came to finding men, and knew that she could not compete with Brianna's warm red brown curls, porcelain skin, and deep blue eyes. Kel hurried from the stables and caught up with Brianna.

"He doesn't love you." It was strange to hear her own voice. She spoke so rarely, and never to the other ladies that the sound of her own voice had become a foreign sound to her.

"What?" Brianna said, looking coldly sideways at Kel, "Of course he loves me, we will be married."

"He doesn't." Kel insisted, "I saw in his eyes when you swore not to lose your innocence to him. He was angry. And he was lying when he said that he would give you no reason to. All he wants from you is a pretty face."

"You're wrong Lady Mindelan. You're wrong." Tears were threatening to fall from her glistening eyes and she was all but shouting at Kel. "You don't know what you're talking about. You've never had someone to love you, and just because you haven't does not mean that you have he right to devalue the love of others around you."

Kel shrugged. She had learned communication tactics from her father while they lived in the Yamani Islands and she knew how to deal with a stubborn emotional person like Brianna. She only had to place doubt in the girl's head and she would not be hurt.

"If you're right, then he goes straight to your father now and demands your hand in marriage. You marry and live contentedly for the rest of your life. If I'm right, which I believe I am, then he will profess his love for you until you fall for him and give yourself to him. Then after he's satisfied, he makes an excuse about how he cannot marry you and leaves for ever. We will wait to find out who is right." She said lightly, as though talking about the weather.

Brianna looked thoughtful for a moment then turned away from Kel. "Please don't tell anyone what you saw." Her voice was cold, but softer than before.

"I won't." Kel sped up her pace and began to walk away from Brianna, "But Tanwyn might." Brianna froze and Kel continued to the Convent, not looking back at the shocked girl standing still in the middle of the grounds.

oooooooooooooooooooo

It took only two weeks for Kel to find out what had happened with Brianna. In the days following their encounter, Brianna had avoided her, and sent her contemptuous looks during lessons. Kel inwardly sighed. She only wanted Brianna to not get hurt by the man.

One day she was walking back from her etiquette lesson, a lesson which Brianna had not attended, when Tanwyn almost knocked her over, hurrying in the other direction. She heard a shout, a scream and a man's voice speaking loudly. Quickly, Kel ran toward the sound. It was coming from Brianna's room.

When she arrived, she looked in and froze in shock. The Second and Third Daughters were in the room shouting incoherently at an unclothed Brianna, hastily clutching a blanket to her chest and the man whom Kel had seen previously, also unclothed. They were both shouting back at the Daughters, creating a loud senseless crash of voices. Hastily the man found his clothes and dressed. He threw a shift to Brianna, who donned it and stood up. The Daughters calmed down, seeing them both with clothes on and not naked.

The First Daughter came into the room behind Kel and a handful of other girls who were watching. "What is the meaning of this?" her voice thundered, "Lady Brianna please clothe yourself adequately and sir I ask you to leave now." The man needed no further encouragement to sprint eagerly from the room. He ran down the hallway and out of sight. The First Daughter turned to the audience of girls. "Please would you ladies go to your lessons and do not ask Lady Brianna of this." She phrased this as a request, but all of the girls knew that the Fist Daughter was ordering them.

Before the door to the room was closed, Kel caught Brianna's eye. She looked at her sympathetically; the other girl blushed and looked at her feet. Kel smiled and left for her embroidery lesson.

The next day, Kel was once again walking aimlessly around the convent when she ran into Brianna at the gates. The girl was in her travelling dress and a servant was carrying her trunk beside her. Kel smiled sympathetically. Instead of turning away haughtily like Kel expected her to, Brianna smiled back and walked over to her.

"You were right, Lady Mindelan." she said softly.

"About what?"

"He told me today that my father had refused to grant him my hand in marriage. He said that he had to leave on a mission for the Crown and that he would not be returning. When my father arrived to take me home I confronted him." Brianna's voice quavered. "he had not asked for my hand at all. My father told me that had he requested it, we would have been married. You were right, he lied to me just to take my body for himself and leave it afterwards. Now I will be sent home in disgrace. Thank you for the warning even if I did not heed it. You are a wise woman Lady Mindelan." she curtsied to Kel and bowed her head. "Now I must take my leave. Good luck with your studies, and may you find a good husband." she then turned to leave.

"Wait," Kel said, "What was his name, this man?" Brianna paused.

"Joren." she sighed, "His name was Joren of Stone Mountain." With a last curtsy, Brianna left the Convent.

Kel's ears rang with the sound of the name she had just heard. She was so shocked that it never crossed her mind that for once a lady from the Convent had treated her with anything other than cold disdain. Joren, she thought, How did I not recognize him when I saw him? She wondered for a moment at her own memory. How could she fail to recognize the boy who had made her life as a page miserable?

It hit her then how long a time she had been away from the palace. Things change and people change in six years. She wondered whether she would even recognize her friends when she saw them again. After another minute in thought, Kel returned to the Convent.

ooooooooooooooooooo

Kel was jerked back to the present from her musings as she saw the door to the Chamber of the Ordeal fly open and Neal's half ragged form tumble into the Chapel. Many people around her stood up to see how the young heir fared.

Kel stood up, not noticing that she held her breath.

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TO ALL MY REVIEWERS:

Not a very long chapter, but I felt that I wasn't giving enough flashbacks. I mean the whole point of the story is that Kel is still affected by the memories of the Convent, but I wasn't giving her any memories. I find also that I'm sorta running out of ideas for things to happen to her at the Convent. I don't want to repeat myself, and there is no significant event in either Page or Squire that she needs to escape in order to do. If anyone has any ideas for stuff that could have happened to her at the Convent, then that would really be very helpful to me.

I don't know if I ever asked this question, but no one answered me. I've seen in quite a few Kel fanfictions that she has an eldest sister named Patricine (?). I don't remember this character from the books, but she's recurred in enough different stories that I'm wondering. Is she fictitious or an actual character?

Thanks a lot all of my reviewers. I'll get this posted soon as I get back.