-1STORM
He was wet, cold and tired. It was a terrible storm outside. No snow yet, but he was wishing there had been. Nothing was worse to him than rain and hail. Heavy rain and hail. And hard winds. The warmth of the Inn was welcome on his icy cold skin. Looking around he saw a few familiar faces. Merric of Hollyrose looked toward the door and waved, Owen of Jesslaw looking also to see who he was waving at. Cleon of Kennan waved back and turned to the woman who had rushed up to him.
"Good evening, Sir Knight, are you looking for a room?" she said quickly.
"If you have one spare," he replied. She smiled and accepted his coin.
"Right this way, please," she said smiling at him. She led him upstairs and stopped outside a door. As she was unlocking it a door further down the hall burst open and two woman came tumbling out laughing. The women stifled their laughs to giggles as they closed and locked the door behind them. He recognized them suddenly as Alanna the Lioness and Keladry of Mindelan. They straigtened up and tried to look serious. Which worked til they looked at each other, then burst out laughing again. He kept his eyes on Kel. Her hair. It was longer now, just past her shoulders. She was wearing a dress. She looked up and saw him.
"Cleon, hello", she said with a big smile. He smiled back. His door opened he entered. He tried to take no notice of the two women as they passed, but he couldn't help but look back. Which is when he saw Kel slightly turn her head towards his open door, then turn it away. His heart thudded to a quick stop, and he held his breath. Then he walked over and closed the door, and threw his bags on the bed. 'How can she still do this to me?' he asked himself silently.
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Keladry of Mindelan was regretting her bet. She had been in a foul mood from the weather and Merric had pushed her just a little too far. Why had she done it? She thought hazily through the effects of the alcohol on her mind. She felt herself smiling. All thoughts of why floated away, just the way her arms felt like they had. She felt someone sit next to her. Three hours, six ales, and two brandys and Kel was starting to fell tired. She instinctively leaned her head on the shoulder of whoever had sat next to her.
"Oi, Kel! He's a married man now!" Merric lchocked out between laughs.
"Huh? Who is?" she asked raising her head and turning it to look at who had sat next to her. Cleon.
He was looking at her with a funny look. Kel blushed. "Oh, oops. Sorry," she said giggling.
"Can't leave you alone for a second, can I?" Merric said to her laughing again.
"Yeah, what with me being the biggest whore in Tortall and everything," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes, "Shhh!" she shd loudly in Cleon's ear. "I'll steal your honor and currupt you with my breeches," she whispered and laughed, leaning the other way to land on Owen's shoulder. Owen who had heard laughed as well.
"Yeah, gotta watch those breeches, especially those brown ones with mud all over them," he said taking a drink from his mug. Merric laughed as well.
"Could be worse. She could be doing a Heldrick and swinging her naked body while screaming drunkenly 'This is why we're called No Balls!'" he said. At that the three of them just collapsed in laughter. Kel had her head down on the table, and Owen leaned back to far on his chair and fell. This only made the three of them laugh harder. Owen got up and sat on the chair again, very carefully.
"Hey, Owen!" Merric called. "How you going, big boy?" he asked, winking and making the most grotesque face Cleon had ever seen.
"Stop it!" Kel yelled lifting her head. "I can't breath!" she gasped through laughs. Her eye lashes were all wet and matted from crying so much. "he just left the poor woman there," Kel told Cleon. And laughed again.
"What?" Cleon asked smiling.
"This woman, last week, came up to Owen, did and said just what I did, then leaned in and fell off her stool," Merric told him laughing
"And all Owen said," continued Kel, "was 'Gods, I hope she's alright', then continued to drink", Kel again laughed. "She was so drunk!"
"You had to have been there, I guess," Merric said, then laughed. Cleon shook his head. Talk about being the odd one out.
"Oh, well, you have to have your priorities in the right order," he said, and took a drink of his ale.
"Thankyou!", Owen said. "That's what I said," with that he downed the last of his ale and banged the mug down.
Cleon looked at Kel whose eyes had a slight glaize to them. She turned to him and smiled. Then looked at her mug and wrinkled that delicate nose of hers.
"I lose," she sighed to Merric, and pulled out her purse. She removed 12 gold nobles and handed them to him.
"Are you sure, Kel?" he asked holding out his hand.
"I can't feel my face or arms or legs. So yes, I'm sure," she told him. Then waved down a passing maid and ordered something to eat. "May be food will make me feel a bit better," she said and again leaned her head on Cleon's shoulder. The warmth slowly spread from his shoulder, down his arm . . . . He took a deep breath and tried to ignore it.
"So, how have things been for you in the north?" Cleon asked.
"Cold," Kel whispered.
"Wet," Owen added.
"The usual," Merric said. "You?"
"Pretty busy. But I'm glad to be going home," he said. "I actually miss my wife a little," he said, though at that very moment it wasn't completely trueful. A plate of roast lamb was put down in front of him and he nudged Kel.
"What?" she asked, her head flying up.
"Your foods here Sleeping Beauty," he told her with a laugh. Kel looked down at it.
"Food?" she asked. "Oh yeah, that," she said and picked up her utensils and started to very slowly eat.
The night turned to morning and everyone could hear the storm picking up momentum, get louder and windier. Owen, Cleon and Merric had helped Kel finish off her meal, and Merric had talked her into a few more drinks. The common room had only them and a few other patrons and the keeper left. All together six people.
"I think I should go to bed," Kel said quietly. She slowly and unsteadily stood up, and braced herself for a moment against the table.
"Need some help?" Cleon instinctively asked. Kel nodded and put a hand on his shoulder.
"I shouldn't have drunk so much. This is all our fault Merric," she said to the other redhead. Who just gave her a salute and smile and went back to his drink. Kel shook her head and leaned on Cleon as he led her upstairs.
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Kel fumbled to unlock her door. She was leaning on it, and though Cleon didn't want to admit it, so was he a little. Which is why they both gasped when the door opened and they both fell to the floor. Kel giggled madly as Cleon tried to get up. That was when he felt her hands go behind his head, and her lips press against his. Cleon's head was screaming at him to pull back NOW! But he didn't. instead he kissed her back.
"Gods I missed your kisses," she whispered, then let her head fall back against the floor with a bang. "Ow," she said then giggled again. Cleon stood up, ignoring the thumping of his heart. He reached down and pulled Kel up by her arms.
"Come on, binge alky, time for bed," he said, drawing her close to his body and half dragging half carrying her over to her bed. She flopped down with a laugh, her arms above her head.
"Undress me," she said. Cleon looked at her a moment.
"Excuse me?" he said shocked.
"I can't sleep in my clothes," she said sitting up and unlacing the bodice of her dress. Then she looked up at him and smiled. "Undress me."
Cleon's mind screamed at him NO while his hands reached forward and finished unlacing her bodice. Then he stopped and turned to look. The door was still wide open, so he got up and closed it, then came back.
"I never took you for one to get so carried away drinking," he murmered.
"I'm not. But Merric bet me and called me out so there you go. Stupid Kel gets drunk," she said then laughed. "There's a song for the bards," she said, as she slippedd the bodice off. Then undid her skirt and pulled it off. Cleon looked away.
"What's wrong?" Kell asked, lifting her shift over her head and removing her breastband, before reaching over and grabbing her nightshirt.
"I should leave," he said quietly.
"Why?" Kel asked, standing up and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Do you want to leave?" she whispered in his ear.
"I really should," he said pulling away from her. He heard her sigh.
"That's your problem, Cleon. You always do what you should, not what you want," she told him then flopped facedown on her bed. "A little selfishness can be a good thing, you know," her muffled voice told him. Cleon looked back at her. Was she being serious?
"What do you mean?" he asked. Kel turned her face towards him.
"What do you mean?" she mimicked. "Yesh. I mean, Cleon, if there's one thing I learned through all this is that sometimes you need to be a little selfish. You can't always please everyone all the time. And if you do you'll only end up unhappy," she said. She sat up. "Are you leaving because you should or because you want to?" she asked him. "Because, I'll never tell," she said, smiling like an angel. Cleon stood there, looking at her, but not seeing her. He was married. She wasn't. she didn't know what it was like to want something knowing you couldn't have it. Before he realised it, again she had her lips and body pressed against his. He gave in. why not?
Kel said she'd never tell, and his wife wasn't here . . .
(I'll leave the rest to everyone else's imagination . . . )