So...what happens next?
In a moment of true realisation, a second can stretch into eternity. Her breath hitched in her chest, her stomach seemed to be doing some variation of a Midwinter quickstep, and there was a persistent tingling in her fingers. But that was nothing compared with the sense of freefall; of falling in slow motion, not a terrifying plunge, but lightly, softly as if on a cloud. The rush was followed by something warmer, something that she realised had in fact been there all along, maybe even forever, and it was only now that she recognised it and gave the emotion purpose. Love. Kel hadn't really considered it before. She was a Knight, a champion of the weak, a symbol to others who strived to achieve their dream. Kel wasn't going to perform great deeds or heroic acts, she was just going to be a Knight. The first official Lady Knight in over two centuries, granted, but still, just a Knight. A defender of the realm, a credit to her training, to her family and herself. That was just the way it was going to be. Kel didn't want marriage or babies, she didn't want to tie others to a path she, and she alone, had picked. The life of a Knight was not a glamorous one.
Love had not been a factor in Kel's plans. She knew it existed; her parents had enjoyed a happy loving marriage and brought their children up to expect nothing less. She had thought herself in love with her sweetheart Cleon. Even those in her extended circle, Alanna and George, Daine and Numair, the King and Queen; it was clear to her their marriages were built on a foundation of trust, love and equality. She recognised that and respected it. Love was all around her, in the air, Prince Roald and Princess Shinkokami, Raoul and Buri, even her best friend Neal and her childhood Yamani friend Yukimi. It was always the way after a war, at least that's what some of the older members of the New Hope community had told her over a meal in the mess hall – the feeling that there isn't another moment to lose combined with the collective sense of relief makes for a good year for the priests. Still, that was nothing to do with Kel. She had her shield, her command and her animals to think of.
So in that one second, that sheer moment of unbridled realisation, Kel's brain buzzed and she felt more alive, and more scared, than she ever had before in her entire life.
She felt more than heard him exhale. Pulling away, she drowned in bright blue eyes that were frantically searching her own. Dom stared back at her mirroring what she only imagined was her own desperate expression. Gently, he squeezed her hand, caught in one of his, and a tiny smile lit up his face. She smiled back.
"So...what happens next...?"