Disclaimer: All characters and recognized events/places belong to the lovely Tamora Pierce!
AN: This fic has been in my head for a week or so and will not leave me alone, so I had to write it before I was able to continue with Out of the Pot and into the Fire. I hope you enjoy!
Dom was enjoying his night. After all, it had been quite some time since his…needs had been satisfied. He had first discovered the simple pleasures that could be gained from the fairer sex when he was 15. He had gone out to the village outside of Masbolle and ended up finding the then girl of his dreams. By the end of the week she had showed him various forms of activities that could be enjoyed between a man and a woman. He had thought he was in love. But by the end of the second week he found himself bored with all she had to offer, and on top of that he had found that another village girl held his fancy.
The cycle continued for a while, he would find a girl either in the village or one of the castle's maids would catch his eye and within a fortnight he would move on. Every time he visited his relatives he would find some female company for the duration of his trip. Sometimes he went through multiple girls during one stay. His knowledge grew by leaps and bounds. He quickly became a flirt.
The cycle finally began to slow down when he joined the Own. His training and long missions had made sure of that. Not that Dom complained, after all, he loved his job and it wasn't exactly like he was obsessed with Canoodling. But that didn't mean that he didn't find company while they were back in Corus, or staying in one place with women around for long periods of time.
But he was careful. He made sure that none of his lovers were of noble birth. He would flirt with them, he would dance and kiss them, but he would never bed one. Well the younger ones fresh from the convent that was, after all, there were still plenty of widows who desired his form of distraction from their grief. And by that time he had definitely learned more than enough to keep their thoughts on his work and not on morning their loss. And he never got into bed with a woman who did not have a charm.
Now he was 23 years old. He had been enjoying his trysts for 8 years and he felt as if he had grown to be quite the lover. But even he knew that something was missing. He was not anywhere near wanting to settle down and marry. But he was beginning to wonder what it would be like to find the one girl he would fall in love with after courting her properly. He had no plans on falling before he turned 25, but he was sure his mother would insist that he be married by the age of 30, after all, she wasn't getting any younger and she wished to see all of her children married and raising families.
But tonight he was not even worrying about such things. They had been told about their long stop in Blue Harbor and Dom wasted no time to scout the new area and get a feel for which flavor he would want.
Currently he found his lips teasing those of a busty maid as his fingers made quick work of her lacings. While the Progress did make frequent stops, it had been months since Dom had enjoyed his time with a lovely woman. He removed his lips long enough to whisper something into her ear, causing her to giggle as he gently pushed her towards the cot in his tent. After insuring that she in fact had a charm as he finished the last of the lacings on her bodice he started to trail kisses down her neck, loving the moans she gave off. Yes, it had been far too long since Dom had enjoyed himself.
It did not usually take so long for the undressing process, but wanting to enjoy their time together, they had really been prolonging the moment to gain the most amount of satisfaction. By now Dom was more than slightly crazed. He had a truly beautiful woman in his cot wearing nothing but a very see through shift and he still had his loincloth on. It was definitely time for the final removal of clothing. As if sensing the change in the atmosphere, the woman quickly removed her shift and was reaching for Dom's loincloth when they were rudely interrupted.
"Domitan, can you believe them? I thought that we were all friends and made an agreement that she was off limits! And now he…they…she actually…gah!"
Dom took the time to glare at the intruder as the woman quickly covered herself, gathering her clothing while trying to keep her body hidden from the new man in the tent. "Wonderful timing Meathead! Didn't even occur to you that I might just have company? No, you just waltz right into my tent as if you own it!" Dom stated more coolly than he intended. When he looked for his current fling he almost sighed in frustration as he noticed that she was almost fully dressed. Not catching his eye, she mumbled something incoherent before giving him a steamy kiss promising more at a later date. As she was leaving the tent she sent a death glare towards Neal, who still did not seem to realize that he had ruined his cousin's night.
"I can't believe him, I mean we all thought that he was just being playful with all of those sickening names! 'Oh Pearl of my Heart!' Ha! What, just because she's now 16 it's ok to go after her like that? Mithros, he's been chasing her longer than that! I should have had that talk with him when we were at the palace for Midwinter. I know that's when he first kissed her, for Midwinter's luck. After all, she had been avoiding him since then. And now with them running all through the Progress kissing in dark allies it doesn't take a genius such as myself to know what is going to happen!"
Deciding that Neal would not stop his rant anytime soon he decided that he might as well get dressed. "Nealan what in Mithros's name are you on about this time?"
Neal seemed to notice his cousin for the first time, watching as he pulled on his breeches. With his brow frowned he looked towards the rumpled cot before raising his eyebrow. "Did I interrupt something?" He looked around not seeing a woman he shrugged.
"No, no interruption Meathead." Dom stated sarcastically. "I just had a hankering to lay in my cot all night in my loincloth." He continued in the same tone. "The first time in months that I finally get a girl to myself you just had to come in rambling about who knows what!" Dom turned around and grabbed his water jug, taking a big swig. He wished he hadn't for at that moment Neal finally got to the point.
"Kel's wearing an anti-pregnancy charm." Neal said flatly as he watched Dom cough and sputter on the water he had just took a drink of. "Cleon is engaged for Mithros's sake, has been for years and yet he has been stringing Kel along. And now she's wearing a charm that can only mean one thing! I'll kill him."
Dom had finally got his breath back. "It's her choice Neal." He managed to croak out. He had known that Kel and Kennan were courting, all of the Progress knew about it. "She's 16 after all, almost 17; Goddess knows that we," he pointed between Neal and himself, "started much younger than that."
"But…" Neal started.
Dom shook his head, his voice almost sad, "Meathead, think. Kennan knows the situation he is in. Do you honestly think that he would bed Kel knowing he will marry another? Even if he truly believes he can talk his mother around, he's not stupid." Dom watched as Neal started to calm down.
"You're right. He knows that sleeping with Kel is out of the question. But that doesn't mean he won't get carried away." Neal muttered the last part darkly.
"It's better that she has it if that were to happen than not to cousin." Both men stood in silence thinking their own thoughts on the situation. For Dom he finally reflected on what a young lady Kel had become, even if he had only known her a very short amount of time compared to his cousin. He just knew that she would make a wonder knight; he had known that just by reading the letters that Neal had sent him. But now, here was a woman, for all that she was just 16, who could gain the respect of some of the most conservative knights. Ok, maybe just a select few, but still not every woman could do that. As she had ridden with the Own, Dom got to see her grow in more ways than one. Her skills grew by leaps and bounds, so did her knowledge of military action.
But almost unnoticed to him until now was how she had gone from the gangly young teen into the tall muscular yet beautiful woman. He blinked. Did I just call Kel beautiful? Dom was snapped out of his thoughts when Neal spoke.
"I'm leaving tomorrow. Alanna is getting sea sick just listening to the ocean." Neal gave Dom an evil smile. "I still find it funny, her home castle is on the coast, and yet she has no problems living there, yet here she's green."
Dom laughed as he slapped his younger cousin on the back. "Careful with that sharp tongue of yours Meathead, else that knight mistress of yours will eat it off."
Neal swatted at his cousin in mock anger, "I'll have you know dear cousin, my knight mistress has no problems with my tongue. I save it all for you."
Dom made a gagging sound as he turned his face into one of mock disgust. "Nealan, I have no wish to know the finer points of your relationship with the Lioness, and I have no wish for your tongue thank you very much, that is why I have the ladies." He gave a triumphant smile when he saw Neal's look of horror as he registered what had just been said.
Before Dom could gloat, Neal turned on his heel and stocked out of the tent. Dom chuckled; he missed his Meathead of a cousin sometimes. Then he recalled how he was rudely interrupted early by said cousin and scowled. Maybe it was for the best that he would be gone. Pulling on his short Dom decided that he would go and try to find the maid from earlier; after all, there would be no more interruptions that night.
Smiling to himself as he thought about all the activities he planned to partake in that night Dom headed in the direction he hoped to find his maid. He stopped short as he recognized the two people kissing in front of the lists. His heart leapt as he watched Kel and Kennan continue their kiss, oblivious to those around them. When they finally parted he couldn't help but notice that he had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. All thoughts of finding the maid left his mind as he watched the couple part. Walking towards the lists he decided to see what had the private couple showing such a public display. He nearly laughed when he saw it, Keladry of Mindelan vs. Lord Wyldon of Cavall. At least he now knew how much Kennan respected Kel; for if he had Kel as his girl, there would be no way that he would let her go without a night full of extracurricular activities.
Dom stopped himself there. What was happening to him? He had never had any thought of Kel like that. As he was walking back towards his tent without any company but his thoughts he finally came to terms with things he had known in his heart for a while but he had been hiding them from himself. He didn't just flirt with Kel because it was in his personality, no, it was because he had fallen for the Own's Squire. The first known female squire in over a century had found her way into his heart, and it was no longer as a wonderful warrior or the best friend of his Meathead cousin. It was simply Kel.