i’ve just finished reading the protector of the small series for the dozenth time, and i’m just … i can’t help but imagine how the rest of her life pans out
raoul says that giving kel all that she asks for within reason to build her new refugee town is the crown’s way of saying they’re sorry for putting her people in danger. but the crown doesn’t care about her people, can’t care about five hundred refugees when there’s a whole war being waged.
they’re not saying sorry for endangering the refugees.
they’re thanking kel for winning the war.
no one can acknowledge what she did, running from her post into enemy land to save her people was treason, and those that followed her (besides dom’s squad) committed treason too. they can’t acknowledge what she did, because then they would have to punish her for it, and they’re not going to do that. so giving her more supplies is their way of saying thanks, the only way they’ll knows she’ll accept, this painfully practical girl who always, always puts others before her own self-interest.
she killed blayce, and stopped the killing machines, the only things that stood in the way of tortall winning the war. she marched into scanra with a ragtag group and did in a couple weeks what the rest of the realm hadn’t been able to do for over a year.
the tales they must tell of the lady knight, of keladry of mindelan.
they took her people, stole them right from under her nose. so she marched into the heart of war and took them back, rather than follow orders she flung herself like an arrow into enemy territory and killed the famous mage that had stolen them, saved the adults, and then kept going and saved all the children too. she didn’t leave anyone behind. she refused to leave anyone behind.
commoners trust her, like her. they know that if they follow the lady knight she won’t abandon or abuse them. kel has this gift for making everyone around her shine a little brighter, she brings out the best in people.
her maid lalasa becomes the best seamstress in tortall and opens up her own dress shop, making dresses for the queen and other noble ladies. kel picks up an abused boy from an inn, one touched my horse magic, and he finally gets to use his gift, sharpens himself with it, and learns weapons.
she hates praise, is only trying to work and do right by those around her. but just as raoul told her when she was a squire, she’s a commander, a natural leader, and people flock to her.
i like the idea of kel accidentally becoming powerful. not with the nobles, but with the commoners. whispers travel fast, and everyone knows about kel, soon commoners she’s never met trust her with their lives, will follow her orders when they’d follow no other’s, just based on what they’ve heard, what they know she’s done for others.
kel could single handedly lead the commoners in a rebellion against the crown, if she so desired. she doesn’t. she’s loyal to the crown, and if she’s unsure how she feels about their current king and queen, she knows how she feels about roald and shinkokami.
toby eventually goes to work in the palace as a horse breeder and trainer. every time kel or her squire (she has several, over the years. after her first stunningly successful squire, the crown quietly offers her a gold purse for every squire she takes on so she can afford to outfit them. she tries to protest, but they only call it an investment – those under her tutelage always prove invaluable to the crown) need a horse, he’s the one who supplies them, and he won’t accept any payment. kel tries to argue, but toby only laughs at her. she raised him after she took him in, and he calls her mother more often than not, and refuses anything she tries to give him.
it’s like lalasa, who after all these years as a fabulously wealthy and famous designer and seamstress, still mends the holes in kel’s clothes, still fits her for everything she wears, and makes her dresses whenever she has an occasion to wear them. and still won’t take anything for her work.
they are the rule, not the exception. kel becomes the person who “knows a guy” for almost everything, and there seems like there always some sort of tradesperson or someone who knows someone who feels indebted to kel. the king jokes they could replace their spy network just with the friends kel’s made on the road, and she’s appalled.
when she’s older, and had spent decades fighting, they offer her a position – the pages’ training master.
under her, the pages are stronger, smarter, kinder. the knights who’d complained about her appointment shut up when they take her pages on as squires.
kel enjoys fighting. but she loves teaching, and it shows. as much as wyldon had disliked this position, kel loves it.
and when it all threatens to overwhelm her – her best friend, sir nealan, is just down the hall. he and yuki live at the palace, where he divides his time between teaching magic classes to those pages who have the gift, and assisting in the infirmary.
and they all live happily ever after.
