Dishonourable Joust?
By: Marina StormFire

Protector of the Small Quartet- "Squire"
Summary: Raoul's POV on the joust with his squire, Keladry of Mindelan and Sir Voelden of Tirrsmont.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything, they all belong to author Tamora Pierce.

A/N: I was reading Squire not so long ago, and as I was reading this particular part, I wondered about Raoul's reaction when Voelden tried to run Kel through. Here are his thoughts and reactions on the joust between Kel and Voelden.

"Deliberately trying to kill an opponent unannounced was dishonourable."
- Squire Keladry of Mindelan, page 237 of "Squire" by Tamora Pierce.

The Day of the Joust
Squire Keladry of Mindelan vs. Sir Voelden of Tirrsmont

/Raoul's POV/
I sat in the stands surrounding the jousting field, and kept my eyes on my squire, a remarkable, level-headed girl with her head on straight—no matter what the conservatives said.

The monitors were clearing the field for the next joust, and one glance at my squire told me that she had sent her friends away and was settling her gauntlets.

/Normal POV/
Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak watched a herald run over to Kel's end of the jousting field to give her her instructions; and as soon as he'd gone, and Kel was in the high-backed tilting saddle, did something ungainly and orange fly over him from behind and glide down to Kel's end of the tilting lane, just as she'd arrived, and perched on the lane divider.

The knight-master couldn't tell what she was saying to the little monster, but whatever it was—the griffin reared back on its hind legs, spread its wings, and let out a resounding and piercing screech that echoed throughout the entirety of the tournament grounds. Gooseflesh rose as Raoul shuddered. The cry of a griffin—even this infant griffin, was always eerie.

He focused his attention back on his squire and the conservative knight on the field. The trumpet sounded. Raoul was hard pressed into watching both jousters carefully. It seemed that Voelden was more sure than Ansil had been, but looked to be heavier and slower. Both hit their opponent's shield squarely, before turning their warhorses to their original places on the field.

The eerie shriek of the griffin sounded once more as he watched his squire pass the little beast. The griffin's cry carried and echoed in the air. 'People are so quiet, you could hear a giant crash through a forest several miles away with very little effort.' Raoul thought to himself rather ruefully, and further heard the jays and crows alarm calls. As the Knight Commander watched, he saw Voelden's stallion rear, while a quick glance at his squire's end of the field, saw Peachblossom… blowing? at the immortal.

As soon as the two jousters were once more in position, the trumpet sounded once more. Raoul saw Kel rise in her saddle, as she aimed for her opponent's shield, barely saw her shift ever so slightly to put more force behind her lance… a trick he just knew he had taught her, and a sense of pride washed over him. He continued to watch, as Voelden's shield was wretched and sent flying away… and was awash with dread when he saw the knight's lance aim for the general area where her heart lay behind her plate armour. Someone called out "Foul!" and people in the surrounding stands shouted, yelled, and roared disapproval at the knight's dishonourable action. Raoul frowned when he saw Peachblossom lunge at the knight over the wooden barricade. It seemed that Kel was having a bit of a rough spot in controlling her "charmer" he once called her mean-spirited strawberry roan gelding.

Finally, managing to turn her warhorse—Raoul breathed a sigh of relief. She was alright, but then he frowned again. By now, he realized that Kel would know that her opponent had tried to run her through. Silently, he wondered how his girl-squire would answer. He watched a monitor pass Kel a fresh lance, and turned her stallion-mean gelding into her tilting lane and waited for the trumpet to sound a third and final time.

For the third and final time, the trumpet sounded, and both jousters were off. The Commander of the King's Own watched anxiously, as his squire rose and prepared herself for Voelden's hit, and struck at the dishonourable knight's shield. Both lances shattered. But Kel had quickly rammed her shield forward and hooked it behind her opponent's—slamming her body sideways behind the locked shields, and heaved. Raoul smiled grimly, as Voelden of Tirrsmont popped from his saddle to hit the ground hard.

The crowd, including Raoul, came to its feet, roaring approval. Continuing to watch his squire, he saw her dismount and walk over to the downed and dishonourable knight, drawing her sword, and ducking under the wooden lane divider.

The crowd eventually quieted slightly, as many eyes were trained on the sole girl-squire. Voelden hadn't moved from where he'd fallen, when Kel stood over him. Every eye watched, including her knight-master's as she flipped up the visor of his helmet with her sword-point, and pointed the very tip at his nose.

Straining his hearing, he barely heard her even tones over the noise of the crowd, "Yield, or I carve my initial right there." It was impossible, from where Raoul stood, to tell if the fallen knight had said anything in reply, but raised his gauntleted hands in surrender. The knight-master to Mindelan's youngest girl, folded his arms across his chest, grinning like a loon (and broadly with pride) at his squire's next and final words to the downed knight, as she smiled, a chill to her smile but her eyes showing no emotion at all. "And they say conservatives can't learn."

He couldn't imagine how hurt she was as she ducked under the divider back to Peachblossom, to walk him back down the field rather than ride… until his ears picked up the chant at about the same time Kel did, as she raised her head. Raoul looked around at the groups of people in the stands on their feet, chanting and crying, "Mindelan! Mindelan! Mindelan!"

Turning back to his squire, he smiled proudly at her. 'I'll make a knight of her yet.' Raoul thought proudly, as he watched her exit the field and bundled away by her mother—Ilane of Mindelan, Dain the Wildmage, and Queen Thayet, to see a healer.

Later, when he learned that the only injury Kel had sustained was some bruising and a cracked rib, he quietly caught his favorite sergeant—Domitan of Masbolle, Dom for short, and select few others of Third Company, to play a rather humiliating prank on the fallen conservative knight, one that would require the Wildmage's help. "And for the love of Mithros and the Great Mother Goddess, don't get caught!" he'd warned, when they had found Kel in her tent, sleeping off the Healer's healing effects.

The conservative was going to have a very bad wake-up call come morning and a couple days after before the entire caravan packed up and made their way to the next location for the Grand Progress.

A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed this particular piece! I look forward to any and all reviews. I would also like to remind all my readers, constructive criticism is appreciated and flamers will be ignored. Plz R&R!

L8rz!
~'Mari-Chan~