Thanks go to the Great Kezza for the ending idea and to the usual peeps: Kerm, and you guys!
Midwinter FireworksDomitan of Masbolle locked the door to his personal chamber behind him and, humming a verse of a drinking song under his breath, he made his way out of the Own's barracks. In the courtyard below, his men were already getting out their weapons for the morning's practice session. If the men of the King's Own didn't practice daily- commanders included- they would be in no fit condition to fight anyone under any circumstances. It was the same for any warrior really.
Corporal Wolset offered his commander a wooden staff. With a slight groan, Dom took the weapon- he ached from a battle yesterday. A group of Immortals had attacked a small community just outside of Corus in the afternoon during a thick blizzard of snow. The spidrens had not cared for the weather and a few squads had been sent out to deal with the unruly creatures, Dom's included. Dom had managed to get the side of his chest cut slightly by a spidren in the scuffle and although a healer had said it would be fine, it still hurt.
But nevertheless, he took a place against one of his men and started a gentle exercise, building more strength and speed into the movements as it progressed. High block, low block, medium block, low strike, high strike, medium strike. More exercises followed; the men swapped partners. Soon Dom felt little beads of sweat dripping down between his shoulder blades and running over his forehead. He and his men had kicked up a cloud of dust too and he was already beginning to long for the warm bath that would not only clean him, but also soothe his aching muscles.
Finally, the men stopped and Dom gratefully took a damp cloth from one of the palace servants nearby and wiped his face and neck. He gave the cloth back and realised that the throbbing in his side had increased. He needed to have another look at that cut of his. Dom made a face- damn Immortals!
'Not weary are we, Sergeant? And only after a little practice bout too. Tut tut, you'll have to get in better shape than this, won't you?'
Dom didn't even turn around; instead, he started walking towards the male baths. 'Like you can really talk, Meathead. Oh, I'm sorry, I mean Sir Meathead.'
Neal followed his cousin. 'As you so kindly pointed out I am a knight, so of course, I am in a fit condition.'
'I will remember that Sir Meathead. Whenever I find a damsel in distress because she has no courtier to dance with and admire her beauty, I will call you.' Dom grinned at Neal, who glared back.
'Then I will leave all the twenty-foot tall giants to you, my dear cousin.'
Dom opened his mouth to continue to tease and annoy his relative but Neal frowned and spoke before Dom could. 'You're injured.'
Dom raised his eyebrows. 'Well well, aren't we quite the healer?' Neal scowled; Dom sighed. 'It's nothing, Neal- I've already had it checked. Just a little scratch.'
'Humph.' Neal was not satisfied.
Dom rolled his eyes. 'Look, I'm going for a bath. Unless you want to join me and inspect my o-so terrible wound there, I'm sure- as a knight- you have plenty of chivalrous knightly things to be doing.' Dom was certain Neal had never glared so fiercely as he did then. Dom laughed and clapped his cousin on the shoulder. 'Loosen up, Sir Meathead- I'm only teasing you.'
'Yeah, whatever Dom.' Neal shook Dom's hand off. 'Get nice and clean now so you'll smell all pretty when fighting the big ugly giants.' He began to walk away and Dom chuckled to himself. Silly old Meathead. The sergeant turned and started to walk up the steps into the front of the baths.
'Oh, and Dom!' yelled Neal. Dom turned back. 'Don't forget to be home from your battles in time for tonight.'
Dom frowned. What was Meathead on about now? Tonight? What was happening tonight? Neal, seeing he had found something which his cousin could not claim to be better at than him, grinned.
'Oh, Domitan, surely you haven't forgotten?' teased Neal, an evil grin spreading across his face.
'Forgotten what, Nealan?'
'Tut tut, how could you forget? Of all the things to overlook. Oh, what will everybody say? What would your men say if they knew that their sergeant-'
'Okay Neal, enough's enough. Put me out of my misery and just tell me what it is that I have tragically failed to remember. Then you can gloat over me to your heart's content,' said Dom, arms crossed over his chest, trying hard (and for the most part succeeding) not to let his cousin's antics get to him.
'But where is the fun in putting you out of your misery?'
'Neal for Gods' sake just tell him whatever it is you won't.' Neal jumped at the calm voice of his best friend; Dom smiled.
'Kel!' exclaimed Neal. 'What are you doing here?'
'Looking for you. Yuki wants to speak to you.' Turning to Dom she added, 'You know, I still fail to see what it is Yuki sees in him. She's my best friend and usually I trust her judgement, but I think she's a bit off this time.' Neal swung at Kel and she ducked, laughing.
'Now Neal, tell Dom whatever he wants to know and I'll take you to Yuki.'
'I can find her myself,' said Neal determinedly.
'I doubt that,' said Kel. 'Now tell him, or I'll make you eat double helpings of vegetables for a week.'
Neal's eyes widened ever so slightly and, knowing Kel would keep her word, slowly turned to Dom. 'I don't know how you could have forgotten. There's that big festivity on tonight to celebrate the end of the war with Scanra-' Neal ticked the reasons off on his fingers- 'the victory of Tortall, the recent Royal marriage, what looks like the beginnings of a peace treaty with the Copper Isles, the fact that it's midwinter and of course, the new knights.'
'There is?' exclaimed Kel, looking surprised. She swore colourfully. 'I'd forgotten about that.'
'Gods help me, am I to be surrounded by idiots all my life?!' Neal inquired of the sky as Dom laughed heartily. Kel grinned at the Sergeant.
'I'd better go and see if I've got a clean kimono then. Come on, Meathead.' Kel grabbed the back of Neal's shirt and, waving to Dom, dragged the lithe youth off as he moaned about everyone calling him that "insufferable name".
A few minutes later, Dom sank gratefully into the warm, slightly scented water. Letting out a sigh, he closed his eyes and cleared his mind, thinking of nothing at all. The cut on his side stung a little, especially when he began to cover his whole body with foaming soapsuds. He winced as he gingerly rubbed over the wound and moved on to less sore parts of his body.
Finally, Dom got out of the rapidly cooling water, draping a soft towel around his muscled body. He crossed the small private chamber of the public baths to the mirror and examined his side wound. It didn't look any worse than yesterday, but then he was no healer. After prodding it a bit, Dom decided that if it was still really bad in two days or so he would get it checked out again. He was no fool- he knew that some Immortal wounds could be fatal.
With a sigh, the sergeant moved away from the plain mirror and began to dry and dress himself. He hadn't brought a change of clothes with him and he wasn't putting his sweat-soaked practice clothes back on, so he had to be content with the plain shirt and breeches one of the maids handed him.
'Thank you,' said Dom with a smile as he took the offered clothes. Pretty little thing, he thought of the maid. Small but dainty, reddish shoulder length hair, dark eyes-
'Nice wound, Sergeant,' she teased, interrupting Dom's thoughts. He glanced at his side and coloured ever so slightly. 'You want me to bind it for you?'
'Uh, no- I'll be fine thanks,' replied Dom, letting the corners of his mouth turn up slightly.
She shrugged and headed for the door. 'As you please. If there's anything else you want... just call.'
Dom grinned. 'I will.' She left. Yeah, thought Dom again. Pretty little thing. But nothing compared to Kel. Dom froze. Shit. He thought he had told that little voice the other day not to ever, ever, ever mention Kel that way again. It obviously hadn't listened.
Look, he told himself (feeling more than just a little foolish). I do not like Kel that way. She's just my friend.
Liar.
Fine. Even if I did like Kel like that, why would it make any difference?
You saw that maid- girls like warriors.
Kel's my friend. And she's a warrior herself. She won't fall for a man with a charming smile and a well-muscled body.
She might do.
Ok, she might. But the lucky man would have to have other things as well.
Like what?
Like- like intelligence. And wit. Yes, she would want a husband that could be serious but had a sense of humour. Someone who could help her with her people and her duty but also make her smile.
So someone just like you.
What?! Look, I am not in the mood to argue with myself about my feelings for Kel. I don't like her.
An image flashed into his mind of Kel on Raoul's wedding day. Dressed in a simple kimono with none of the fripperies that court ladies adorned themselves with, she had struck him as the most dazzling of the women there, even though he knew she was not the most beautiful by far.
Dom groaned. Ok, I do like her. Now leave me alone. The little, treacherous voice retreated into the corner of Dom's mind, ready to spring again later. Dom was left to his own thoughts. Which ended up being of Kel. No, thought Dom. I will not allow myself to think of Kel like this anymore.
He had forgotten when exactly he had starting thinking of Kel as more than a friend. He had decided it must have come over a period of time and now it would not go- it would not leave him be. Like a wolf, he thought. A wolf sneaking up on its prey and then once it pounces and gets its teeth stuck in, it won't let go. Dom shook his head to rid himself of such stupid, philosophical thoughts. As he did so, he realised his hair was still wet. It didn't matter, it would undoubtedly dry soon enough and he wanted to get to work to quench these thoughts and images.
Dom exited the baths, ticking off in his head his list of jobs for today. He was going to have to make arrangements for tonight- he was supposed to be on guard duty and there was no way he'd be getting out of this court party.
Shaking his head again, Dom went about his duties as a light drizzle began to fall.
~*~
Humming slightly to himself, Dom pulled his best tunic over his head. He strapped his sergeant's badge around his biceps and, stepping in front of his full-length mirror, combed his hair back from his face.
'Now where did I put those new boots?' he absently asked of himself. The orange-grey cat looked up briefly from the bed, yawned and went back to sleep. Dom opened up the chest at the end of his bed and rummaged through the clothes, linen and other objects. His strong fingers clasped the leather of a pair of boots and with a triumphant "a-ha!", Dom drew the objects out of the chest.
He screwed up his face in disgust. 'The wrong ones,' Dom muttered to himself and dropped them to the floor. He pursed his lips together and sat back on his heels, deep in thought. He couldn't have lost those boots. Where else would he have put them?
Jumping to his feet, Dom went into the small dressing room off his bedchamber. He pulled back a curtain that divided the room in two and looked at his clothes hanging there.
'Now would be the time that you jump out and hit me boots,' he said, arms akimbo. Nothing happened. So with a sigh, Dom began to search through his possessions. Finally he came across the boots he wanted. They were relatively new; made of soft black deerskin but strong enough for short intervals of outside use. They were also lined to help keep the midwinter cold out. Dom sighed (so much trouble for footwear!) and slipped the boots onto his feet.
Returning to his mirror, he made a face at his slightly dishevelled reflection. Dom brushed down his clothes, straightened his tunic and re-combed his hair. After all, he wanted to look his best since he knew Kel was going to be there. That was why he had picked out his best tunic- royal blue hemmed in silver- a paler blue shirt and soft black breeches.
Satisfied with his appearance, Dom left his rooms. Passing some of his men, they jokingly wished him a "happy evening dancing with the courtiers wives". Dom just grinned back and wished them a happy evening with the passing peasant girls. They laughed enthusiastically until one, taking in Dom's outfit and grinning evilly, said, 'Hey Dom, isn't that your best outfit?'
'And what if it is?' replied Dom smoothly. The men laughed and again wished him luck with the ladies. Shaking his head, Dom left them and headed to the ballroom.
~*~
Dom bowed to the smiling lady as the dance finished. Once he had led her back to her husband, he headed off to find a cool drink and a bit of peace. These courtiers were driving him insane: the men with their droning one-sided conversations about politics, and the women with their twittering and the fluttering of their eyelids and their talk of fashion and music and gossip. Dom shuddered and found the other King's Own sergeants and commanders that had been invited.
Dom soon joined in with their bawdy jokes and their playful arguments. As he did so, he relaxed until he found himself leaning against the wall, sipping his wine and studying the crowds. Just as he had expected, there was a group of women watching the men of the King's Own. Dom rolled his eyes. All they saw was the glory and the honour and the muscles. They didn't really understand what it meant to be a warrior.
As if continuing the line of his thoughts, Dom's eyes sought out Keladry. There she was, with her friends, oblivious that he was watching her. Cleon of Kennan said something and Kel rolled her eyes at him; Neal commented on Cleon's remark and Kel burst out laughing. Once she had stopped laughing, Kel took a gulp of her drink and as she drunk, her eyes met Dom's over the rim of her goblet. Kel took the cup away from her mouth and smiled at the sergeant; he returned the gesture.
Then one of the other men elbowed Dom and asked him something. Dom broke the eye contact with Kel and turned to the man.
'What?' he demanded.
'I said, what do you think?'
'About what?' inquired Dom.
'About- oh, never mind I can't be bothered to explain. You can go back to your thoughts.' Dom grunted and did so. When he looked for Kel again to try and catch her eye once more, she had disappeared along with all her friends. Typical, thought Dom.
The next time Dom saw Kel she was again with all her friends, including Prince Roald. Three women joined the crowd: Shinko, Yuki and Ermelian of Kennan. The ladies took their husbands (or fiancés in Neal's case) and led them onto the dance floor. The other men of the group disappeared to find their wives, fiancées or sweetheart's, leaving Kel by herself. Coming to a rapid decision, Dom left the men of the Own and wound his way through the crowds.
'Hey Kel,' he said quietly in her ear.
She jumped and turned to him. 'Dom, you fool! Don't sneak up on me like that again!'
'Yes Mother.' He grinned; he was feeling better already.
Kel sighed, exasperated. 'I should hit you for that.'
'Then go ahead,' said Dom, spreading his arms wide. 'I give you my permission.'
Kel rolled her eyes. 'You know, sometimes you are incredibly like Meathead.'
'Please, no! What an insult!' Kel laughed. 'But,' continued Dom, grinning. 'You must admit that he is never as charming as me.'
Dom took her hand and bowed over it, ever so gently brushing his lips across her fingers. Kel smiled, the faintest hint of colour touching her cheeks. Dom straightened and let her hand drop back down to her side.
'I see they have all deserted you. And they call themselves friends.'
Kel laughed. 'And you are here the minute they leave. Are you supposed to be my knight in shining armour, or is this all some big conspiracy not to leave me by myself at all tonight?'
'Neither, I'm afraid. First of all, I'm no knight and I must admit my armour is in sore need of a clean. And second, I would never even dream of entering some agreement with that cousin of mine. We have found that we can only agree to disagree.' Kel laughed. 'But,' Dom carried on. 'If you should be so kind as to honour me with a dance, I would be very happy indeed.'
Again Kel laughed. 'You do realise you're still talking like him don't you? But yes, I will dance with you.'
Dom led Kel onto the dance floor and they picked up the current dance, Dom's arm circling her waist, her one hand alighting on his shoulder. 'Isn't it actually that he talks like me not vice versa, since I'm the elder?'
Kel grinned. 'I suppose so. It just seems more fitting for Neal to talk like that than you.'
'Fine,' Dom replied. 'I shall talk like some rude, manner-less, drunken commoner.' He proceeded to do so until he had to stop because the two of them were laughing so much they were in fear of falling over as they tried to dance at the same time. For the rest of the dance and the next, they either made small talk or said nothing at all. Both were quite content in the other's company.
After a couple of dances, the pair retired to an empty balcony. Kel sat on the cushioned bench while Dom lent against the railings.
'Thank you for my midwinter gift this morning, Dom,' said Kel softly after some time.
He smiled. 'Thanks for mine.'
She shrugged. 'It is ok, isn't it?'
He chuckled. 'Of course it is, Kel. It's wonderful.' He sat down next to her and took her hand in his. She smiled at him and then looked to the sky.
'Not many stars out tonight,' she commented.
Dom followed her gaze. 'No. It seems pretty cloudy. Maybe it'll snow again.'
'Hmmm.'
'I like your kimono, Kel. Is it new?' he asked, trying desperately to make conversation.
She looked at him, startled. 'Thank you. Yes, it is new. Shinko and Yuki had it made specially in the Yamani Isles and sent over for midwinter.'
Dom raised his eyebrows. 'Really? That was nice of them.'
Kel grinned. 'Yuki said her part of it was as thanks for taking care of Neal up on the border and keeping him alive when we went across into Scanra.'
Dom put on a look of mock disgust. 'And how come I don't get anything? I did help keep him alive too.'
Kel laughed. 'If you really want, I'll ask Shinko to have a kimono made for you.'
'Thanks, but no thanks,' he replied, smiling. 'I think I'll survive without it.'
'Good- I'd hate to see Raoul's face when he saw his top commander in a kimono.'
Dom chuckled. 'That would be a good joke actually.'
Silence followed but it was comfortable. After a bit, Kel yawned and lent her head on Dom's shoulder impulsively. 'I'm sorry- I'm just so very tired at the moment.'
'It's all right Kel. You shouldn't wear yourself out so.' Tentatively, Dom put his arm around her shoulders. She lent against him more and sighed, closing her eyes.
Ok, thought Dom. Just breathe... breathe.
Suddenly the music stopped from inside and they could just make out the King's muffled voice- Dom had shut the balcony door behind them. Kel took her head off Dom's chest and looked at him to see if he knew what was going on. By his puzzled frown, she knew he didn't.
Dom stood up and opened the door just enough to hear what was going on. Smiling in remembrance, he closed it again and went back to Kel. 'They're announcing and explaining the fireworks.'
'Fireworks?' Kel said, amazed. 'I didn't know King Jon let fireworks anywhere near his palace. I haven't seen fireworks since I was a child!'
'Exactly- when you where in the Yamani Islands. The King didn't know about fireworks until Shinko's mage mentioned them. Just another little trick we've learnt from the Yamani's.' Dom smiled as Kel's face lit up even more. As the people in the ballroom began to move towards the balconies and the terrace underneath them, Dom moved to the doors and drew the curtains across them.
'Maybe this way, we'll get some privacy and won't be squashed by all the crowding courtiers,' he explained to Kel. She nodded and stood to lean against the side of the balcony. Dom joined her and within seconds the fireworks had started. First came simple ones- different coloured lights shooting up into the air, some whizzing, some popping- to get the Tortallans accustomed to the new pyrotechnics. Slowly the fireworks developed- they burst into fountains of shimmering lights mid-air, or exploded with a big bang and left sparkling stars floating in the night. Every firework was accompanied by "ooh" and "aah" from the crowd.
Dom enjoyed the fireworks but he found even more pleasure in watching Kel's happy face as she stared at the brightly lit sky. The fireworks- operated by top mages and reflecting the colour of the mages' Gifts- obviously reminded Kel of her childhood. She looked so peaceful, that Dom momentarily forgot that the two of them were warriors, only recently home from war.
Suddenly she sensed his eyes on her and snapped her head round.
'You're watching me,' she accused, blushing.
'I couldn't help it,' whispered Dom in reply, then quickly diverting his attention once more to the skies.
He nearly jumped as high as the fireworks when Kel sidled up to him and put his arm around her shoulders. He thought his heart would leap out of his chest! And yet, she felt so right there, so wonderfully perfect, that he knew nothing would spoil the memory of this moment.
That was how they stayed, gazing contentedly at the sky until the firework display ended in a grand finale of lights and noise. Slowly the courtiers diffused back into the ballroom. Kel turned in Dom's embrace, placing both her hands upon his chest.
'Do you want to dance?' she asked softly, looking straight into his pure blue eyes.
'I'd love to Kel,' he murmured, his gaze darting to her mouth. Slowly, his lips came closer to hers. Her fingers tightened on his tunic slightly, as she felt him come closer to her...
Then, at the last possible moment, with no real reason why, Kel turned her head. Dom's kiss fell tenderly upon her cheek. She was horrified at what she had done, and in a desperate attempt to brush lightly over her actions, she took his hand and dragged him back into the hall and onto the dance floor.
They danced together, talking and laughing quietly as if nothing had happened. They didn't realise they were being watched by a number of people. It wasn't really that surprising; after all, they were acting like no-one else existed.
They danced until they tired of dancing and decided to take a stroll in the gardens, where they would once again be alone. It was Kel's suggestion; she was still deeply shaken at what she had stopped earlier and hoped to recreate the atmosphere.
Servants waited by the doors with piles of fur-lined cloaks in a range of colours to compliment the wearer's evening attire. Dom placed a cloak around Kel's shoulders, and took one for himself. Once outside, they were glad of them- it was bitterly cold!
They hadn't walked for long before it began to snow again.
'Your prediction was right, Dom,' said Kel.
He frowned. 'What?'
'Earlier- before the fireworks started- we were talking and you said you thought it might snow again.'
Dom smiled. 'So I did.'
Suddenly filled with unexplainable bubbly happiness, Kel sighed and spun around, her head held high to the heavens. Dom laughed at the blissful image of her. 'What a beautiful evening this has been,' she said when she stopped spinning. 'The fireworks were wonderful fun and the way the snow sparkles is always really beautiful.'
'You're more beautiful than fireworks or snow,' Dom commented quietly.
Kel caught his eye, and blushed. She didn't know how to react to him when he flirted with her like so! Suddenly having a flash of her childhood, she scooped a handful of snow from the ground and moulded it in her hands.
'Don't jest so!' she accused and threw the snowball directly at him. The cold snow burst all over his face.
Dom gasped and spluttered. 'That was fuckin freezing, Kel! Right, I'm going to get you for that...' Grinning evilly, the Sergeant gathered his own snow and prepared to throw it-- but he was too slow. Another of Kel's snowballs hit him on the side of his face, his ear taking the full brunt. He gasped again. 'Kel!'
She laughed and disappeared around the corner. Grinning, he chased after her, snowball at the ready. As he rounded the bend, she hit him in the chest.
'You're far too slow at this, Sergeant! Give up! I win!' teased Kel.
'Never!' He threw his own snowball; feebly it caught her shoulder. She laughed at his attempt.
Frowning with determination, he quickly scooped up more snow and launched it at her while she laughed. This time he was lucky, and got Kel right in the mouth.
Coughing, she spat out the snow.
'You!' she cried with a broad smile, and leapt down the path. What followed was inevitable: a snowball fight, running around the Royal gardens. Soon both Kel and Dom were ice-cold, their hair and clothes dishevelled. Their cries and laughter rang through the plants and down the paths. Eventually they began to tire.
Kel had one last snowball and she wanted it to be the best one yet. Peering round a corner, she saw Dom standing in the middle of the path, his back to her. She grinned: this would be good! Creeping silently, she came up right behind Dom. She was poised- ready to tap him on the shoulder and then clap the snow straight into his face- when he abruptly rounded on her.
'Kel,' he said, grinning. She jumped from the shock and before she had recovered, she felt wet, cold snow trickle all over her face.
'Thanks,' she said dryly, dropping her own ammunition and wiping Dom's snowball from her face. He was standing right before her, grinning wildly, his eyes sparkling.
With a sudden unexpected impulse, Kel threw her arms around Dom and kissed him. At first, he was so shocked he just stood there. Then he came to his senses and kissed her back...
~
From a balcony off the ballroom, Neal put his arm around Yuki and she snuggled closer against him. They watched Dom and Kel kiss, the snow falling delicately around them.
'Aah,' Neal said. 'Together at last.'
~
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!
~Fyre Thief.