War Of Hearts

part 1

Chapter 1

"Actually I'm riding to Quartz after this" Fiona said leaning back on her elbows. Killy was sitting on the edge of a cliff with his hound pups over looking a valley that went on for miles before disappearing into the morning clouds.
"What are you doing there?" Killy asked.
"Lord Marius has invited me to his Nameday Tournament" she said.
"It might be a trap" Killy suggested smirking. "You'd be better off staying here with the pups"
Fiona snorted. "With you, you mean"
"And me" he added. "I'm much better company than Marius"
"You overestimate how much I enjoy riding" Fiona said. "It's the long open road that brings me here, not thought of you"
"Which is why we're sitting here talking" Killy said. "You could be riding all the way to Quartz instead of climbing for hours to get up here"
"I like fresh air" she shrugged.
"You like Me" Killy let his pups free and they all ran after a squirrel barking and howling. Killian moved over towards Fiona.
"Will you come to the Tournament?" She asked as he sat down.
"I haven't been invited" Killy said.
"You could come as my escort" Fiona said.
Killy smirked. "Are you asking me to go with you?"
Fiona rolled her eyes. "Nevermind then" she said. "I'd rather take the dogs"
"You're welcome too" he said. "The girl pup is still yours"
Fiona sighed. "You have to name her something else, I only named her after myself as a joke"
"I did" Killy said.
"Really?" Fiona looked up at him. "What did you name her?"
"Lady"
Fiona scowled and threw a rock at him. "I should have strangled you when we were kids!" She exclaimed shoving him away. "What a bad joke!"
"It's not a joke" Killian said. "I named her Lady"
Fiona stood and began walking down the steep trail back to the Keep. "You can forget coming to the Tournament!" She shouted back. "I'd rather take San!"
Killian chuckled to himself watching her leave then stood up and tossed a stone over the edge of the cliff, it was so far to the bottom Killy couldn't hear the stone when it finally landed at the bottom of the valley. He picked up another stone but held it in his hand thinking. Killian loved Fiona, it wasn't a powerful, passionate love like girls read in books, his feelings had developed over the years that he known her. It was somewhat understood that they'd marry one day, both of them thought about it and their parents talked about it, but Killy was never sure. He doubted Fiona felt the way he did and only considered him a friend. She'd said she never wanted to marry and that troubled him, she would have too eventually, but he didn't want to be the one she chose because he was her only choice.
Killy snorted at the thought. She could have any man she wanted, I'm a long shot from her only choice. Killy had almost asked her what she thought of him many times, but he was afraid of her answer. Fiona was a puzzle without answers, she road to Ironstone to see him every chance she got, but was that because she loved him? Or because she liked him? Killy pushed these thoughts aside and whistled for his pups.
"Beast!" He shouted. Beast was the biggest of the pups and seemed to be the leader of the pack, wherever he went the others fallowed.
The dogs came running from the trees and rushed to Killian to pick them up, but Killian stepped over them intending to make them walk by themselves and started down the trail to the Keep. His dogs fallowed loyally behind him.
Brandon, the oldest of Lord Kalahari's sons, was sitting at the breakfast table reading when Fiona came back to the Keep. She glanced halfway at him before filling her plate with fruit and sitting across from him, he nodded to her without looking up and flipped the page in his book.
"I don't think I've ever seen you without a book in your hand" Fiona remarked. "I don't even know what you look like because you book always blocks your face"
Brandon smiled and lowered his book to where she could see him but he could keep reading.
"Your not half as ugly as I expected" she teased popping a grape into her mouth. "What is that?" She snatched the envelope he was using as a bookmark and examined the seal, it was of a Hawk in flight, the symbol of house Karlouis.
"Oh" Brandon said. "It came yesterday"
Fiona broke the seal and took out the letter enclosed. "It's an invention to Lord Marius Karlouis's Nameday Tournament" she said. "Why didn't you give this to uncle Barnabas?"
"He did" Fiona turned to see San and Eben coming in to the room. "Father told him to burn it" San said. San was the only Kalahari with blonde hair and green eyes, and he was just fourteen while Eben was sixteen and looked much like Killian did.
"Uncle Barnabas refused to go to a Tournament?" Fiona laughed. "What happened to him?"
"He didn't know it was a Tournament" San said sitting by Brandon. "He just doesn't want anything to do with Marius since he bested him in a joust last year"
"Oh" Fiona said biting into her bread. "Would you like to go?" She asked.
San looked up surprised and looked behind him to make sure Fiona was talking to him. "Me?" He asked.
"Yes you" Fiona said. "You could be my escort"
San's boyish face lit up and he opened his mouth to say yes before closing it and shaking his head. "Father wouldn't let me" he said.
"I could try to persuade him" Fiona said. "If you want to go that is"
"I'll escort you!" Eben said quickly. "I'll even fight in the Tournament. And I'll give you my favor of course"
"Why not?" Fiona said. "If I tell uncle Barnabas about the Tournament he might even change his mind and come along to fight Marius"
Only minutes later Barnabas Kalahari came out of the library and announced that he was going to the Tournament to: "Beat that bastered so far into the dust they'll have to dig him out!" And ordered his children to pack immediately. San then announced his "Dibs" on being Fiona's escort and ran up to his room excitedly while his father rolled his eyes.
"When are you leaving for Quartz?" Barnabas asked.
"I was going to leave today" she said. "But I'll wait if you need more time to pack"
"Nonsense!" Barnabas said. "Anyone not ready to go by noon gets left behind!" He shouted up to his children. Brandon had already begged off going.
"Go where?" Killy said closing the door behind him as he came inside.
"The Tournament!" Barnabas said. "Go get ready" Barnabas then left to order his squire to polish and pack his armor.
"You manipulative snake" Killian whispered to Fiona as he passed. She winked at him then ran up to her room and rang the bell for Elaine.
At none they left as a party and kept up a steady pace all day at Barnabas's command because he was so eager to get to Quartz immediately.