This is my first real fanfic so please forgive me if I err too terribly. Eventually there will be some Kel/Dom action. The rating is for future chapters. Please RandR....thnx

Chapter 1 has been revised

Disclaimer: You guys know it by now....w/ all the fanfics you've read...(.....All this wonderful stuff belongs to Tamora Pierce....the characters, the locations, etc....you get the pic.......all the other things (you know the not so good stuff) belongs to me (.....I think I'll go crawl in my dark little corner now.....for I shall be humble)...... (

This fanfic is post POTS series, pre Trickster's Choice

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H.E. 460 November 2

Kel stood by her window and looked out across the empty courtyard. It was a crisp and cold afternoon, snow fresh on the ground. She needed to get out. She felt close, cramped in her temporary quarters at the palace. All the men of the Own and a few lone knights, mostly those who had accompanied Kel into Scanra, had been given temporary quarters in the palace so they had rooms while they passed their holiday in the kingdom's capital, Corus. The king and queen had reached a truce of sorts with King Maggur and those who had been involved in the heavy fighting of the previous year had been given temporary leave.

Accustomed to the road, Kel was finding it hard to settle down away from the outdoors. Although it was literally freezing outside and the ground was thick with snow, she grabbed her Yamani longbow and headed out to the practice courts.

Stringing her longbow took great effort as her muscles protested. This is no good, Kel thought. I need to loosen up if I'm to be able to actually hit the target.

Six years in the Yamani Islands had taught her plenty of ways to loosen up and prepare. She implemented a few of these exercises now; combining a few unarmed practice moves with a glaive pattern dance. Instead of using a naginata, Kel swung with her bow. After ten minutes or so Kel felt her arms loosen, heat flowing through them. Fetching her quiver of arrows she walked over to the practice targets. Tramping down a section of snow to clear a path to the target Kel worked up a sweat. Before loosing her first arrow she sunk into her Yamani calm.

After emptying the quiver she walked to the target to retrieve her arrows. Moving back to her starting position she heard footsteps crunching in the snow behind her. Looking over her shoulder she saw Dom, a squad leader in the King's Own and one of Kel's close friends, and smiled.

"Isn't it a little cold to be doing this?" he inquired.

Looking at Dom Kel thought, it's not fair. It's not fair for someone to be so handsome and so nice when I can't have him.

"I needed to get out," she replied. "I can't remember the last time I spent so much of my day indoors."

Dom made a face, brushed snow off a fence rail, and hoisted himself onto it, seemingly finding it perfectly comfortable to be perched on a cold, hard rail.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" she asked.

"Meathead is looking for me," he said, referring to his cousin and Kel's best friend, Neal. "Besides, even you can't say no to a little company."

The smile he directed towards her made her stomach do flip-flops but Kel kept her Yamani face in place.

"Fine, fine, fine," she replied, not the barest hint of her crush coming through in her voice. "Just don't distract me."

She proceeded to empty her quiver a second time, just as the six o'clock bell rang. Kel had not realized how much time had passed. She peered at the sky were the sun's sinking position confirmed the bell's six chimes.

"Care to join me for dinner?" Dom asked elegantly as he held out his arm in the escort position.

"You were in Scanra too long," Kel replied straight faced, "You wouldn't be asking a girl like me to dinner otherwise."

"And you my dear have spent too long putting off relationships," Dom replied just as straight-faced. "If not me at least give some other chap a chance, you're depriving the world of yourself."

Shaking her head Kel jogged off to her rooms mumbling about men with too much time on their hands. After putting away her bow and quiver she trotted off to the mess to sup with her friends. If levelheaded Dom became this way when midwinter was still a month off she was almost afraid of what her other friends would act like when it actually arrived.

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Later that day Lord Raoul called Kel into his study.

"I realize that you are no longer my squire but I have a favor to ask of you," he began.

"There aren't many men I trust...at least not many whom I trust to get the job done the correct way," he said with a wink inviting her to share the joke.

Kel attempted a smile, one that ended up being rather weak. She couldn't help it. Something about the tone of Raoul's voice made Kel worry.

"Oh of course it will get done but you get these upstart blockheads who think that they always know best. They set people on edge by changing procedures and not following protocol. Variety is good; you know me, I don't frown on differences. Sometimes though, the product varies if the method the achieve it has deviated from what it should have been."

Inwardly Kel sighed. Lord Raoul had never been one for long speeches or for dancing around the point but it seemed that today he was in the mood for them. It was a mood she had become all too familiar with lately. The mood that ensued after Raoul had been conversing too much with his wife Buri.

Raoul looked at Kel's face. To many she would have seemed the picture of an attentive listener, intent on what the man before her was saying. After having her under his wing for four years Raoul knew better. He knew that inwardly she was wishing that he would hurry up and get on with things.

"Sorry Kel," he said ruefully. "There really was a point to all of this."

He smiled and walked over to his desk. From one of the many drawers he retrieved a small, worn, leather pouch. Opening it up he dumped the contents on his desk. Revealed were a handful of coins and gems of different colours. Riffling through the gems, Raoul muttered under his breath.

"This one ought to do," he said as he picked up an aquamarine coloured, many faceted gem about the size of a fingernail.

Turning to Kel he said, "Hold out your hand."

She obeyed and Raoul placed the gem in her hand. The second she touched it Kel could feel power radiating from the gem.

Handing her a leather cord Raoul said, "Put it on this cord and string it about your neck. If you are lost we need some way to be able to find you."

Questions raced through her mind Kel obeyed. As she strung the cord through a small opening she had found on the gem Kel looked at her former knight-master. They made eye contact and Kel raised an eyebrow, a habit she had picked up from Raoul himself.

Laughing he said, "Ok, ok, ok...I'll explain. About two weeks ago I received notice that a mutiny had taken place in one of the forts near the northern border and that the people the Own had stationed there had been locked in dungeons. There haven't been any spare people up north to send to the fort to have a look and I know you are on holiday, but," he dragged the word 'but' out for emphasis, "I figured here was the chance you had been looking for; a chance to get into the real action. I know you thought we were babying you when you were placed as the commander of refugee camps. We weren't and you exceeded the expectations Wyldon and I had when we positioned you at Haven and New Hope. I know you missed the action though which is why I came to you first when I heard of this. Plus Wyldon and I both agree that you have an excellent, level head on your shoulders. We need that type of head to sort out the mutiny and restore order to the fort. I'm sorry you didn't get a large piece of the action this past year. Wyldon and I were, I guess, a tad on the protective side. I know that both of us have come to take a father's interest in you."

He smiled fondly at her and continued, "I'll be sending you up there to scout and take whatever actions you deem necessary to put the fort in order. You will have one squad and a small group of knights. How bout Dom's squad?" he said with a wicked wink.

"Yes sir," Kel replied, her Yamani training keeping her from showing her extreme excitement.

"As for the knights...let's see.... how about Neal, Quinden, Owen, with the paint still wet on his shield, and oh Merric. I would really appreciate this. So close to midwinter I would go myself but the king has decided I had my share of fun this summer and need to stay close to court so I will remember just where my duties lie."

Taking a seat at his desk Raoul sighed and muttered, "As if I don't remember who is king."

Kel hid a smile. Raoul was infamous for dodging as many social events as possible and this close to midwinter Kel knew he had probably searched high and low for an opportunity to escape the social duties of the upcoming festivals. As much as he'd like to go she knew he couldn't.

Raoul picked up a piece of paper that had what looked like blue prints on them and scribbled something on it near the bottom then waved it in the air to dry the ink and handed it to Kel.

"Here is a map of the fort and some information you might find helpful," he said. "Be careful. You should be home in time for midwinter. Just remember, if you get yourself killed I will never speak to you again."

Kel smiled at the joke they shared from when she had been his squire and jousted against Lord Wyldon. She strode out of the room psyched for another adventure.

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Please, pretty please with sugar on top, R and R......PLEASE (.... Next chapter comes after the first six reviews have shown up......thanks