Heart's Desire
Prologue- Lady Kelsie of the Convent

Author's Note-
I'm back, and so soon! This is an A/J fic, probably, even if neither Alanna or Jonathan is the main character. This takes place directly after Lioness Rampant- meaning that George and Alanna are betrothed, as are Thayet and Jonathan.

Disclaimer-
I don't own Alanna or Jon, or any other of the genious character's invented by Tamora Pierce. I do own Lady Kelsie of Tirragen, but Tamora Pierce owns Tirragen.



The convent was home to many unusual ladies from all around Tortall. There were those that wanted to be the best lady she could be, hoping to win over the best of what the palace had to offer when it came her time to go in search of a husband. Then there were those who had no interest in finding a husband or getting married, or even in being a lady at all. And then, there was Lady Kelsie of Tirragen.
Kelsie was a 16 year old girl with long brown hair. There were blond streaks in her hair, as if she had been exposed to too much sun, which was incredibly unusual for a girl of the convent. She had tan skin, and she had the most incredible brown-green eyes anyone at the convent had ever seen. She was short and thin, and she had a very good figure. She was beautiful in a way that no other lady at the convent was, and she had learned everything that the ladies had to teach. She was the perfect example of a lady- or so she was to sight. But once one got to know Kelsie of Tirragen, there was no doubt about it- being the perfect lady did not matter at all, and the only reason Kelsie had bothered to pay attention to her training was so that she could reach the palace. She didn't want to reach the palace so that she could find a husband and show off to everyone at court, no, Kelsie of Tirragen had a mission.
Long ago, when Kelsie had first departed from the convent, she had come across a very strange stranger. Of course, all strangers seem strange, after all, they aren't called strangers for no reason, but this one was particularly peculiar. He had watched Kelsie to the point of him being frightening. Finally, the girl had gone up to the man and demanded an explanation of why he was following her. He apologized for frightening the girl, saying that he had a knack for picking the best of people to befriend, and Kelsie had caught his eye.
"I have the Sight," the strange man had said.
"And what does that have to do with me?" Kelsie had demanded. The man had then introduced himself as George Cooper, the Rogue. She had asked what exactly that meant, and the odd man had explained that he was Tortall's King of Thieves. George had caught the frightened look in Kelsie's eye when he said this, because he had said, "Don't worry yerself, lass, I'm right friendly. I won't hurt ye, I simply want to help ye." Kelsie had accepted the fact that she probably wouldn't be able to rid herself of the thief, so she chose to accept his friendship.
During her years at the convent, Kelsie had been given time to travel along with a leader of the convent because of good behavior (she was only granted this privilege once she was twelve). Often times she went into Corus to visit George, who told her fascinating stories about a lady who had disguised herself as a boy and trained to be a knight. Of course, George only told Kelsie this once the woman's secret had been revealed to the whole kingdom. This woman very much interested Kelsie, and one day she was determined to meet Alanna of Trebond.
Other times, George told the girl stories about the prince of the realm, Prince Jonathan. He also fascinated Kelsie. Kelsie was quite interested in things the prince had done, like how he and Alanna had defeated the Ysandir of the Black City. Kelsie had heard stories about the Black City from a girl at the convent who had lived in Persepolis for several years.
Once George ran out of stories about the prince and Alanna, Kelsie tired of always visiting him in her vacation time. Instead of returning to Corus on her next vacation, she traveled to the desert where the Bazhir tribe Bloody Hawk lived. Prince Jonathan was the Voice of all the Bazhir tribes, and at one point Alanna had been the shaman of this particular tribe. Kelsie decided that she wanted to meet the Bazhir by the name of Kara and Kourrem, who Alanna had trained to be the first female shaman. When Kelsie told the girls that she was a friend of George Cooper, they seemed interested.
"You are a friend of Alanna's lover, George?" Kara had asked Kelsie.
"Lover!" Kelsie had exclaimed, "George never mentioned that small detail." Kara and Kourrem seemed amused, and they told her another thing that George had neglected to mention- Jonathan and Alanna had been lovers before. This took Kelsie by suprise, and she was curious about why things hadn't worked out. She had seen pictures of the handsome prince, and of the beautiful lady knight, and she thought that the pair would have been a good one. Kelsie wondered if the failed relationship couldn't be fixed. By all that she had heard, the prince and the Lioness were a perfect match.
Of course, all that had been a year ago. Now the time had come for six of the girls in Kelsie's age group to be sent to the palace. This was her chance. Kelsie had no interest in a husband or anything of the sort, but Kelsie was interested in finally meeting the newly crowned king and the Lioness. Kelsie had been thinking a lot about what Kara and Kourrem had told her just last year, and she thought that there might just be a way to reunite the estranged King with the lady knight. Of course, it was nearly impossible. Everyone at the convent knew that the king had announced he was to marry a woman named Thayet, and as for Alanna, George had sent a letter saying that they were betrothed. Kelsie knew it was a stupid idea, and she knew she was just one sixteen year old girl, but could she do it? Was it possible to reunite the lady knight and the king? One thing was sure- Kelsie would try.
However, Kelsie couldn't try if she wasn't selected. She was on even better behavior than usual, and she tried particularly hard to make a good impression, and most importantly, to stay out of trouble. The day finally came when the six were to be selected. Each lady lined up, dressed in their finest attire, each made up and looking as lovely as it was possible for them to look. Kelsie began to get nervous- what if she wasn't selected after all that work?
The mistress of the convent looked each girl over. She gave them instructions. Each girl curtsied, served tea, and danced. Finally, she instructed them to line up again. Then she began to call out names.
"I have chosen the six that will travel with me to Corus. Lady Amelia. Lady Jennifer. Lady Melissa. Lady Jessamyn. Lady Penelope. And lastly......." Kelsie crossed her fingers- "Lady Kelsie." Kelsie did not show her relief or her joy. But once she was safely inside her bedroom, packing, she rejoiced.
"I'm going to Corus! There's a chance after all!"

Author's Note-
I hoped you liked it. Please review. In the next chapter, Kelsie and the others set out for the palace, where she will finally meet Jon and Alanna and start about her plan to get them back together.