History Literature / ProtectorOfTheSmall

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** It takes a full decade since Alanna's knighthood for any noble girl to apply for training as a knight herself. The presence of a single legendary hero did not make much of a dent in the nobility's attitude towards women knights. Both the dangers involved and the inherent scandal of girls and boys in a mixed environment mean that no noble family is willing to let their girls pursue knighthood until the Mindelans--who had spent years out of Tortall as ambassadors to a country with a completely different cultural view of women and combat. There's also the fact that Alanna is a mage who had the personal attention of the Goddess, so everyone said she was a once-in-a-lifetime figure, someone a normal girl couldn't possibly emulate. Furthermore, Kel gets some comments from other women that are just as disparaging as the ones she gets from men, because women in patriarchal societies enforce those standards too.
*** Related to the above: Kel finds out that Princess Kalasin had ''wanted'' to become the first openly-female page, only for the king to talk her out of it. The rules are different for princesses; their first duty is to the realm, usually by making advantageous marriages, and the king had marriages in mind for her with men whose people would object to a queen who was a knight. Jonathan did give Kalasin more freedom with regard to her future marriage than most princesses would get, but in the end, she went along with her father's wishes the way most princesses would.
** When Kel first joins the palace as a page, the majority of the boys make it plain that they don't think she deserves to be there and they don't want her there. Kel manages to make friends and proves herself even to some of her most fervent detractors, but others don't change their minds and aren't convinced by her efforts, no matter what happens. Sometimes it doesn't matter how hard you work or how much effort you put in, many people will not be moved.
** Theoretically, anyone who undergoes page training and fulfills their term as a squire will undergo the Ordeal and become a knight, unless something happens during the Ordeal. But as Raoul points out in ''Squire'', not all the pages are strong enough or good enough to become knights, and not all are suited for it -- and in those cases, the training master discouraging them or sending them home is doing them a favor. He flat out says that if he'd been the training master, he'd never have let Joren become a squire. What happens to [[spoiler:Joren and Vinson]] during their Ordeals suggests that those who fail the Ordeals might not only be squires who weren't strong enough to succeed- at least some of them might have just been awful people.
** At one point in ''Squire'', Kel is furious about how unjust a law is and asks the king and queen to change it. They then tell her that while they agree with her and want to help, they can't just wave their hands and change the law. The royals have to constantly negotiate and compromise with different groups of people in order to get anything done, and any change they propose will offend someone. They agree to try to change the law, but tell her that it's going to take a long time and will probably be a very arduous process.

* FirstPeriodPanic: Kel, like Alanna, experiences her first period during page training and is not happy about it. Unlike Alanna, Kel had a responsible mother who informed her long ago that this was going to happen. After the initial confusion at seeing her hose bloodied, Kel realizes she's started her "monthlies" and is upset because it's going to make training that much more difficult.

* OlderAndWiser: King Jonathan is much more experienced and political here than he was during the ''Lioness'' books. Having had to walk a tightrope of instituting reforms without provoking rebellion, particularly after a costly war, he is very careful so that he can (as he puts it) be the sort of king who lives to meet his grandchildren. When dissecting the conversation Kel had with him in ''Squire'', Raoul notes that Jon probably ''wants'' her to be confused about him, never does anything for just one reason, and is much more complicated than he was when they were lads.

* PetTheDog: The first sign that Wyldon isn't as bad as he seems comes when other pages are [[PickedLast reluctant to sponsor Kel]]. Joren volunteers, and he hesitates rather than agreeing, aware of how Joren feels about a female page. Later Wyldon does this literally. He takes a liking to Jump, despite rules against pages having pets.
* PlatonicLifePartners: After losing her schoolgirl crush on him, Keladry and Neal became this.
* PoliticallyActivePrincess: Kalasin, who's mentioned even if she never appears. She wants to be a knight, but Jon persuades her that due to the current state of the country she cannot do so without causing trouble. She decides instead to compromise with her parents, allowing her considerably more freedom with who she marries if she doesn't become a page. Keep in mind she's thirteen at best during this.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Joren and co. are sexist whenever they feel they can get away with it. As a bonus, they are also extremely classist and treat commoners like dirt.

* KarmaHoudini: Garvey comes out of the Chamber of the Ordeal pale and sick, but whole and sane, able to be knighted. Some fans speculate that being away from Joren and paired with a knight-master who was friendly with Raoul and complimented Kel's jousting skills made him less foul of a person. Given that plenty of knights are jerks, it might simply be that he's a bully but not malicious or inflexible enough to earn the Chamber's particular ire.

* MaliciousSlander: Kel usually ignores it, but she is aware that being a woman in a "man's job" invites disgusting gossip and speculation about her. Her friends get into fights about it behind her back, and Raoul's NumberTwo brings it up as a problem when she first becomes his squire. (He cheerfully replies that the court gossips have had him in bed with other men for years given his long bachelorhood, so being put in bed with his squire doesn't worry him.)

** Despite never actually having children, Kel fits the mold quite well indeed. ''Do not pick on people close to her.'' There's a reason the quartet of books featuring her are collectively called the "Protector of the Small" series.

* OnlyTheChosenMayRide: There's a mundane example in Peachblossom. He's a gelding with a foul temper and generalized misanthropy after having been abused, and begrudgingly allows Kel to ride him at Stefan's insistence. She wins him over to a degree on her own, but it takes a chat with Daine to establish a better relationship, after which Kel can ride him without trouble. Kel is the only person who can do so (he'll kick or bite anyone else) until Tobe, who has horse magic and can communicate with him like Daine does, comes along.
* OnPatrolMontage: Occurs in ''First Test''. Kel goes "running in the halls" every night to fight older pages who take hazing too far (which is mostly Joren). Eventually Neal and her other friends insist on joining her, and they put a stop to it.

** Kel, a natural leader, wonders in ''Lady Knight'' if her old schoolmates resent her commanding them. She also has to refrain from greeting old friends with a hug — the leader can't drop her dignity. Plus, in order to gain the trust and respect of her command, she needs to do ''every unpleasant chore in camp'' without complaining, and she fully expects to be executed for coming to the rescue of several hundred children. She spends at least sixteen hours of every day working.

* GoodIsNotNice: This series moves away from the BlackAndWhiteMorality some with this. Prejudiced Lord Wyldon proves eventually to be good, though flawed. Raoul specifically points out to Kel, who also saw it with the emperor of the Yamani Islands, that a good king isn't necessarily a ''nice'' king.

* HeroicBSOD: When the seer-child Irnai tells Kel [[spoiler:that the refugee children are now in Blayce's possession]], she uncharacteristically breaks off conversation and kicks Peachblossom into a gallop, riding past her forward scouts to the gates of the keep to confirm the news for herself.
* HeroicSafeMode: When Kel realizes if she had [[spoiler:reported Vinson for attacking Lalasa]] in ''Page'', he might not have [[spoiler:gone on to attack and rape three girls]] the following year. She wanders the halls aimlessly until she is jumped by [[spoiler:Joren]]. She attacks him without thinking, pushing him against the wall and shoving her arm against his neck. She then pursues PercussiveTherapy.

* InstantMessengerPigeon: The sparrows, {{Justified}} because they are smart enough to recognize commands rather than relying solely on homing instinct, and they're only sent over short distances (elsewhere in a village or on a battlefield).
* InternalReveal: Readers will quickly guess that Alanna is the person sending Kel all of those practical gifts and gear, with the prologue scene demonstrating Alanna's character for those who haven't read previous books. Kel never imagines that it's her because to her, the Lioness is a distant legend whom she has never met.

* LoveableRogue: Subverted with the bandits Kel encounters. She sees nothing admirable in raiders who kill and burn defenseless villagers (who are sometimes their own kin) and doesn't understand why they're so romanticized in ballads and folktales.

* MedievalStasis: Subverted--it's breaking down. Jonathan and Thayet are working to actively reform the country through new laws for women's equality, establishing universal education, and more. Certain noble privileges have become dangerously outdated due to the rise of a large and influential middle class as another group who could rebel if pushed too far. Relations with other nations also exert an influence; when Prince Roald's betrothed arrives from the Yamani Islands, kimono-esque clothing becomes highly fashionable.

* MustLetThemGetAway: The mastermind of Lalasa's kidnapping, [[spoiler:Joren of Stone Mountain]], is only able to be fined for the loss of her working hours because she's only a commoner and he's a noble, even though the ruffians who carried out the crime get hard labor. The injustice is obvious to everyone present, but even though he agrees to pursue a change to the law, King Jonathan can't change the outcome of that specific case. He also orders Kel not to issue a private challenge since that would violate the spirit of the reform she asks him to institute.

* NonLethalWarfare: Mock battles using non lethal weapons in Kel's ''Page'' years.

* OnlyTheChosenMayRide: There's a mundane example in Peachblossom. He's a gelding with a foul temper and generalized misanthropy after having been abused, and Daine has to persuade him to let Kel ride him. Kel is the only person who can do so (he'll kick or bite anyone else) until Tobe, who has horse magic and can communicate with him like Daine does, comes along.

* PetBabyWildAnimal: The griffin, in a sense. It's much less sweet than most uses of the trope, attacking Kel and her pets and being much like a real, high-maintenance rehabilitated animal than a loving pet. Caring for it is a duty and a hassle. Despite herself Kel is still sad when its parents are found and reclaim it, though this lifts to simple relief. The griffin for its part never looks back or returns, though its parents give her some of their valuable feathers.
* PetTheDog: Wyldon does this literally. He takes a liking to Jump, despite rules against pages having pets, which is the first indication that he's not as bad as he seems.

* PoliticallyActivePrincess: Kalasin. She wants to be a knight, but due to the current state of the country she cannot do so without causing trouble. She decides instead to compromise with her parents, allowing her considerably more freedom with who she marries if she doesn't become a page. Keep in mind she's thirteen at best during this.