When the Unexpected Happens

By an anonymous geek

disclaimer- I don't own nothin'

A/N: this is what would happen if Joren never really died

Chapter One

Joren of Stone Mountain paced the floors outside the Chamber. He looked to his side and saw his knight master already asleep and snoring loudly. The boy sighed. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, he was frightened. Now that the time was near for his Ordeal, he wasn't sure he really wanted to go through with it.

An idea came to him. He walked over to the Chamber and briefly touched the door.

He saw the door of the Chamber open and many faces looking at it with expectation. In the shadows of the Chamber lay a young man. The boy's face was pale, and his white blond hair was scattered around on his face. He seemed to have been dead for quite some time. It took a few moments for Joren to realize that the boy in the Chamber was himself.

Quickly, he took his hand off the door, and realized that he was sweating. He couldn't go through with this. He had to get away. After checking once again to make sure that his knight master was asleep, he walked out of the doors of the sanctuary and then out of the palace, only to ride away quickly into the distance.

~ * ~

[Many years later]

As she rode toward Corus, Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan remembered the words that the young seer girl had spoken before Kel and the army with her had left the Scanran border. "Ahead of you I see many surprises. One will return to you who is unexpected, and in some ways, unwanted."

These words ran through her head. Who could it be? Who could return to her unexpected? This perplexed her greatly. She decided to try to forget it. A headache was already starting to form, and she rubbed her head to stop the pain. Beside her, she saw Neal looking around and he seemed to be in deep thought, occasionally murmuring something to himself. Things that rhymed. "Probably composing poems about Yuki," she mumbled under her breath. It was going to be a long ride.

"Neal, really. Could you please stop that gibberish? I don't think Yuki would appreciate it anyway."

Neal looked at her in disbelief. "Why would she not? Just because you don't like it doesn't mean she won't like it." After seeing the incredulous look on Kel's face, he continued, "It is possible that she would like it, even if no one has."

"Don't count on it," was Kel's only reply.

After a few moments of silence, Kel realized that the pain in her head was getting worse and worse. "Neal, could you do something about this headache I have? It is really bothersome." Immediately she saw green magic come out of hand and head toward her. She felt the throbbing reduce and in a few moments the pain had stopped altogether.

"Thanks, Neal."

"It's not a problem at all."

Kel looked at her friend and smiled.

~ * ~

[One year later]

As she rubbed her hands by the fire, the young woman who worked at the inn served her dinner. Greedily, she ate the food. She had been traveling all day, and had not stopped to eat. After thanking the woman, she glanced at her surroundings. The inn's diner was filled with people from many different cultures. There was one man with darkly tanned skin. His hair and beard were black, and he looked around the room suspiciously, as if distrusting everyone around him. Another man with red hair laughed in mirth about something a man seated at his table had said. There was a man with dark hair and brown eyes, one with light brown hair and hazel eyes, one with very light blond hair and ice blue eyes and pale face, one with blond hair and . . .

Kel jerked her head back toward the man with light blond hair and ice blue eyes. He was seated at an empty table, drinking from a large mug. He didn't seem to be paying attention to the things around him, but there was no way you could miss the arrogant look on his face. This man could only be one person: Kel's former enemy, Joren of Stone Mountain.

'How can he be here? After all these years, everyone believed him to be dead,' Kel thought. She picked her way the through a group of men who blocked her way. One very drunk man looked at her, swayed a little, and then mumbled about how she should watch where she was going. After nodding toward him in apology, she slid in a seat across from Joren.

"Where have you been? Nobody has seen you in years," she said to him.

His head jerked up, and he didn't seem to recognize her for a moment. After a moment, though, he was well aware of whom she was. A scowl appeared on his face. "Mindelan." It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

"You didn't answer my question."

He ignored what she said. "So, you survived. I thought for sure you would die in the Chamber." Suddenly, her Yamani face appeared, which aggravated him anymore.

Before she could stop it, she said the first thing that came to mind. "If I had, at least I wouldn't have run away." This caused him to get even angrier. She sensed his anger, and decided it would be best to quickly end this conversation. "You should return to your parents. They think you are dead." Then she walked away.

In truth, he was actually headed toward Corus, where his parents were for midwinter, to make amends for his wrongs. He needed the help of his father to get him out of the debt he was in. At the same time he could fix things between himself and some of his old friends and enemies. Maybe the alliance of a few others could help him through a couple more of his predicaments. And he could get away from the men who were chasing him. The good thing was that they did not know his real name, since he had changed his name after leaving the palace. They only knew him as Walt, who was from the Yamani Islands.

He laughed inwardly as he thought of how they were probably now in the Yamani Islands, searching for him. It was good to know that they were finally away from him.

~ * ~

Kel sat up in bed as she thought about Joren. He didn't seem to have changed. The anger and arrogance were still apparent in his face. And he was still rude toward her. He still hated her.

'There is still time for him to change,' she thought. She didn't really want him to be the way he was. She didn't want him hurting other people the way he had before. Or using them to get what he wanted.

The lady knight sighed. At least she wouldn't see him for a long while. He was probably heading in the opposite direction of her. There was no way that he could be heading for Corus. No one would accept him back. It would be suicide for him to return to the place where everyone but the silly palace girls hated him.

She laid back in bed and sleep soon consumed her.

~ * ~

Okay, I know that wasn't long at all, but I'm working on getting my chapters longer. This is going to be a major K/J fic, and you can probably see where this is headed. Please click that little button down there and review, and then I might be kind and read and review your stories, if you have them. Okay, I won't be able to update this for two weeks, since I'm going to be on vacation, and will have no internet access. But when I get back, I promise I will update it as soon as possible. Please email me with suggestions or comments, and review as well.

Email address: [email protected].

Thanks for reading!