"Tamora Pierce - Protector Of The Small 3 - Squire" - читать интересную книгу автора (Pierce Tamora)

smiled at the six-foot-four-inch Knight Commander, who grinned. "But she and I should do well."
Jump crawled under the gate. He sniffed the mare's hooves, as if conducting his own inspection. The
horse turned her head, keeping the dog under observation, but she seemed to have no objection.
"Very good," Raoul said. "As your knight-master, I give her to you, as is my obligation. What will you
name her?"
Kel smiled at the mare, who lipped her new rider's arm. "I'd like to call her Hoshi," she replied. "It's
Yamani for 'star.'" She touched the white star between the mare's eyes.
"Hoshi it is. Now, why don't you settle Peachblossom there," Raoul nodded to the empty stall beside
Hoshi's, "while we discuss other details?"
Kel led Peachblossom into his new stall and unsaddled him. More than anything she wanted to run
back to the iron door of the Chamber of the Ordeal and snap her fingers at it. You see, she wanted to tell
it, not a desk knight after all!
Neal was out when Kel returned. She stood before his closed door, disappointed. None of her other
friends among the first-year squires - Seaver, Esmond, and Merric - were in their rooms either. Her news
must wait: she had to pack. Unlike her friends, she would not be returning to the squires' wing most
winters. She was to live in rooms adjoining the Knight Commander's, in a palace wing closest to the
barracks that housed the King's Own.
She was explaining things to the sparrows who had adopted her when Jump and the birds raced for
the open door. Neal walked in. He was dead white; his green eyes blazed.
"Neal, what's wrong?" Kel asked.
He actually wrung his hands. "Sit down," he told Kel. "Please."
Kel sat.
He paced for a moment. Jump looked at him .and snorted; the sparrows found positions on Kel and
the furniture to watch. Crown, the female who led the flock, lit on Neal's shoulder. She rode there for a
moment, then peeped loudly, as if telling him to speak.
Neal faced Kel. "This wasn't my idea," he said. "Remember that knight I was to see today?" Kel
nodded. "Well, the knight wants to take me," Neal continued, "and Father and the king say I should do it.
They said that you are getting a very good offer, too. I want you to know I argued. I said it should be
you. They say that's a bad idea. That people might question if you were really good."
Kel stared at her friend. What was wrong with him?
Neal took a deep breath. "Lady Alanna has asked me to be her squire. She's a healer, Kel. That's why
Father wants me with her. Maybe that's even why the king stuck in his oar. You know I wish I'd had
more training. Lady Alanna says she'll teach me. But I swear by Mithros I had no idea she was going to
ask."
Kel nodded dumbly. After all her hopes Lady Alanna had taken a squire, though she had done without
for her entire career. The problem was, that squire was not Kel. It was Kel's best friend.
"Kel, pleaseтАж" Neal began. Then he looked around. "You're packing. You're - why are you packing?
You're not leaving?"
The worry in his face made her heart ache. Yes, he had the place she wanted, beside the realm's most
legendary knight, but this was Neal. They had fought bullies, monstrous spidrens, and hill bandits. They
had studied together and joked on their gloomiest days. He'd shown her the palace ropes; she knew
about his unrequited passions for unattainable ladies. The only secret between them was Kel's crush on
him.
I can't turn on him, she thought. I can't not be his friend, even if I can't be his love. "Lord Raoul asked
me to be his squire."
Neal collapsed into a chair. "Raoul? I'll be switched," he said, awed. "Lady Alanna told me you were
looked after, but this? Gods all bless. Goldenlake the Giant Killer." He whistled. "This is very good. I
love it. Not even the conservatives will question your right to a shield if he's your master. He may be a
progressive, but he's still the most respected knight in Tortall. Even the ones who claim you're magicked
to succeed will have to shut up."