It was a cool, cloudless day. The sun shone but gave hardly any warmth. The chilly wind rustled the leaves in the trees and whipped Kel's sun-streaked mouse-brown hair into her eyes. Unconsciously she reached up, tucked it behind her ear and shifted in her saddle. Hoshi flicked her ears in annoyance.
Kel was edgy. She'd been like this since she woke up early this morning. Her hands shook through breakfast, earning her more than a few concerned glances from Tobe, Neal was still waking up and was oblivious to the world around him. At first she didn't know why she felt so nervous and shaky, she didn't feel sick. Then she'd realised. Today was the last stretch of the journey to Fort Steadfast. He would be there.
Ever since coming back from Scanra Dom had invaded her thoughts. The longer they'd been apart, the more she thought of him.
She looked down. Her hands gripped the reins so tight the knuckles showed white. She gritted her teeth and attempted to relax. How did just the thought of seeing him again make her go all giddy like some fickle – she struggled to find the right word – girl?
It wasn't like she was in love. She couldn't be. She was Keladry of Mindelan, Lady Knight and now Protector of the Small. She was too busy to be in love. The war with the Scanrans wasn't over and Lord Wyldon had hinted in his letter that there was some important news she needed to hear. Bad news from the sound of it. Besides, when she chose the life of a knight she accepted that she wouldn't have much of a love life.
Looking up she caught her good friend Neal giving her a puzzled look. She'd fallen some way behind him, lost in thought.
"It's not like we've got all day to get there, Kel," he said impatiently. He'd been anxious to get to the Fort to see Yuki and had complained about the pace all day.
Kel laughed; a short bark of a laugh. She clapped a hand over her mouth. Neal raised an eyebrow. Tobe gave her an odd look. What was wrong with her?
They paused for a moment at the top of a hill and looked over Fort Steadfast. Once again Kel felt stirrings of jealousy at Steadfast's defences, which were so much better than New Hope's. Banners snapped in the breeze and she could make out the small forms of sentries on the walls. He would be in there somewhere, joking with his men or practicing with his weapons. She shook herself. She was doing it again. Shoving him to the back of her mind she resolved to think about him less. There were more important things that needed her undivided attention.
Neal, with a flash of a grin over his shoulder, urged his horse into a trot. Kel hesitated, steeling herself, and followed him, Tobe a second behind. Horn calls signalled their approach. The gates swung open as they got closer.
The men on the wall closest to the gate grinned down at them. "Welcome back, Lady," one of them she recognised called. He was from the King's Own.
Kel waved back with a quick smile. He was definitely here, then. She turned to the front. It was still early in the morning so only a small crowd was arriving to greet the newcomers. Sure enough there was Dom, striding across the yard, his mouth curved into his familiar smile and his blue eyes twinkling.
Note: My first fanfic. So R&R, you know what to do.