Will You Marry Me?

The first time that Kel was ever asked to marry, was in her second year of being a page at the tender age of 12. After serving at the banquet for midwinter the boys and she were walking back to their rooms and acting rather silly. Faleron decided to re-enact the proposal of a Lord to a young lady far above his reach. He took Kel's hand and went down on one knee

"Oh Fair Maiden, whose eyes doth shine like the moon, will you do me the great honor of accepting my hand in marriage?"

Kel gave a low giggle "Why my dear sir, you do me a great honor, but I am afraid I must decline. I am much too young."

Then neither she or Faleron could stand it anymore they both burst out laughing with all of their year-mates.

In fact it was so funny that the very next midwinter they did it again, but their lines were very different.

"Lady Keladry, you must take my hand in marriage, for it has been a year since I last asked and you are now a year older!"

"Dear sir, a year older I may be, but my body tells me I am about fifty years instead of 13, I am much too tired for marriage" They smiled at each other while everyone laughed since they knew the punishment work Kel had been doing this week had kept her up late trying to finish her work for the Masters.

And so a tradition began and every Midwinter Faleron would ask Kel to marry him and she would always refuse.

"Dear Sir, Today I have been jousting with Lord Raoul I am much to bruised and tired to marry at present."

Faleron once again chuckled as he led Kel out of her room and to the ball "Another refusal Kel, you really wound my poor heart."

Kel simply smiled and kissed his cheek as they entered into the ball.

Fal released her to go dancing but he did keep watching her as the night wore on. He also noted with no real pleasure how much she enjoyed the company of Neal's cousin. He sighed as he found her dancing with him on the dance floor not realizing that Neal had come up on the other side of him.

"Asked her again did you?" Neal asked quietly

Fal snorted "Well I would hate to break tradition. I just don't know how to make her see that it's finally stopped being a joke to me. I like her Neal more than anything."

Neal put a hand on Fal's shoulder "We know that war is brewing for the summer, so court her now, before we leave and maybe she'll see that you aren't just keeping up traditions."

Fal and Kel were practically inseparable in the weeks before they left, and when he left for the Coast from the small town of Queensgrace she threw her arms around him

"Be safe Fal, please" she whispered

He hugged her back and started toward his horse, but he got halfway there turned around and strode back to Kel. He returned her hug with a crushing embrace. Their faces where inches apart and he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Don't do anything risky Kel,"

And with one last look at her he mounted his horse and rode off with the rest of his knights.

And so Kel and Fal began to trade letters back and forth throughout the beginning of the War. He was one of the younger knights on the coast, and so many of his friends had traveled north to Mastiff that he was a bit lonely.

Dearest Kel,

May I offer my congratulations on your post, for you to be put in such a position speaks well of what Wyldon truly thinks of you. A refugee fort may not be what you had expected but I am sure you will take charge and handle everything with grace and dignity. It has only been a few weeks since we parted, but I have missed our walks, being able to talk to someone who is at least close to my age would be a blessing. Can you imagine, I'm still a year older than you, but everyone here treats my like I am a page who has never had battle training in my life. I yearn for yours or even (dare I say it) Neal's endless chatter. By the way I haven't asked in a while how would you feel about marriage now? Hope you are well.

Yours

Faleron

Kel received his letter with great joy, laughing at the humor she found within. She wrote back immediately

Dear Fal,

I am doing well, or at least I hope so. Each day is full of new challenges, including training and finding room for all of the civilians, most of whom think that they could be better than a knight as new and inexperienced as I am. So in many ways I understand what you are going through. You long for Neal's endless chatter? Are you sure? I'm sure I could find someway to send him down there to visit. I will ask questions that will help provide you with some conversation I am sure of it. Have you heard from your family at all? My mother writes twice a week. Who are the knights you serve with? I wonder if you have met my brother Inness who happens to be stationed there as well. Although I am sure he would be one of the ones to stick up his nose at your inexperience. Have you had any real skirmishes yet? We have not had much here as of yet. Domitan of Masbolle has been here helping to get the fort finished. His whole squad is full of pranksters, I wish you could have been here to see what they did to Neal. Oh it makes me laugh just to think about it. They took his shampoo and replaced it with a special one that is supposed to make your hair shinier, well not only does it shine they turned it the most beautiful color blue, a deep sapphire, that I have ever seen. But you can imagine Neal's fury. So far he hasn't done anything to retaliate. Oh well, I just heard a commotion in the courtyard, I'm not entirely sure I want to go see what has happened. As you can tell from my letter I am much to busy to be married at present. Keeping my chief healer intact has taken over as the number one priority on my list right now. Please continue to be safe.

Yours

Kel

Dearest Kel,

Today I met your older brother. I was out riding on patrol when we heard horns blowing in the distance our leader decided we would go and see if we could find the source. We came upon a small patrol being set on by a band of Carthaki Pirates, for the most part the group of Knights were holding their own, but we decided to join the fight and perhaps make it a little less even of a fight. We finished them in short order and our group introduced ourselves to the next. Your brother Inness was the leader of the patrol and said they had followed the Pirates into a trap. They lost five men before we had arrived. Your brother had taken a small cut to the leg, but the healers said that would heal quite nicely. Today I thought back to the hill bandits we fought together, I wish that in that one moment I had not frozen, in fact that one memory haunts me still. Sometimes in dreams you aren't there to lead us and all of us were trapped. I am sorry to burden you with such information, but I don't think you ever realized how important you were to all of us on that day. Or rather Kel, I wish I could tell you how important you are to me. I have never spoken of this before, but I feel that I cannot hold it in much longer. I love you Kel, perhaps almost as long as I have known you. You are smart, strong and funny. You are everything I want for my future. Please Kel, say that you will consent to marry me? Say yes, and you will make me the happiest man in the world.

Love ( I can finally say it!)

Fal

What Faleron didn't realize is that two days after he sent this letter Haven had been destroyed and Kel was already on her way to Scanra.

Faleron wasted no time, he went and asked his commander to transfer to one of the forts in the north, His commander agreed, and sent him to Fort Mastiff to serve under Lord Wyldon.

Upon his arrival he went into Wyldon's office. Wyldon ran through the list of duties that would be given to him to keep him occupied. As he stood to depart, Wyldon said "Kings Reach, I don't know why you decided to come up here, or rather I don't want to know, but keep in mind that you are not allowed to leave the fort to go after her"

Faleron stiffened " I beg pardon sir, but if she has gone where we think she has, I doubt I could catch up. I am here for when she returns"

Wyldon nodded and watched as the young knight left the room. He sighed a deep sigh as his thoughts turned to his only Lady Knight somewhere in the wilds of Scanra

Faleron waited and waited. It seemed like months when several of the Knights who had been with Kel returned to Fort Mastiff and with them many of the refugees who were captured. Faleron grabbed Seaver asking "Where is she?"

Seaver shook his head "We tried to make her return but she is going after the children, they have taken them to the man who creates the Killing Machines she sent us home with those that we recovered."

"Who stayed with her"

Seaver sighed "Some of the older refugees who want to fight, Dom's squad and his men and Neal"

Faleron sighed "I can't take much more of this waiting Seaver, I need to know that she is safe."

Seaver clapped Fal on the shoulder "She's got good men with her, we have to believe that she will make it out okay"

Fal nodded and they left to head back to their rooms

Lord Wyldon was getting ready to leave the fort, he had been patrolling the river ever since the refugees returned knowing that it would not be long before they returned. On this particular day Lord Raoul was with him and it was a lucky day. Before long they saw children and horses and soldiers. They looked at each other with the hope that they had kept inside for many days.

What surprised Fal most was to see Kel returning walking next to Lord Wyldon smiling at what he just said and laughing as they entered the fort.

Fal nearly jumped down off the wall to go and greet her and her look of shock and surprise to see him there was perfect. He ran to her and lifted her up off her feet and swung her around while she laughed. When he set her down he kissed her on the forehead " I'm so glad to see you in one piece and back safe" he whispered. She smiled up at him

" I thought you were supposed to be on the coast Fal, what are you doing here"

" When I heard you were gone I knew that I couldn't wait for a letter saying you had finally arrived so I came to wait it out up here" Kel and Fal both jumped when Lord Wyldon cleared his throat

"Mindelan, I would hate to break up the reunion but I will need you to come with me to my office to receive various papers that were left and to help us organize your refugees and where they will sleep for the time being" Kel nodded and gave a half-smile to Faleron and kept on walking

Fal sighed as he walked away all he wanted was time to talk with his Lady Knight. He hoped that he would get that opportunity sooner than later

"Mindelan here is all the correspondence that came for you in the days after you left us . Take some time and look those over. Then you and Queenscove need to go over the refugees placement and go reassure them that everything will go smoothly"

Kel nodded and grabbed all her letters and went to Neal's room and knocked on the door

"Come in, What are all of those papers Kel?"

"Apparently this is all the correspondence that we missed, I thought you would like to help me go through it since you are second in command after all"

Neal sighed " Just throw it here on the desk and let's get started"

The were about halfway through sorting out the piles that didn't really matter any more and the more important ones when Neal pulled out an envelope and chuckled " Here's one from Fal to you it's dated about two days before that last attack."

Kel smiled as he handed it to her "Strange he didn't mention it when I saw him a little while ago"

"What do you mean you saw him? Fal is here?"

"Yes, he greeted Lord Wyldon and me when we came in I think you were helping get everyone else settled in"

" Well why don't you open it now and see what it says" Neal watched Kel closely as she opened the letter smiling at what he wrote in some places when she got to the end she gasped and tears filled her eyes she dropped the letter and ran out the door without a word to Neal.

Neal looked from the letter to the door then went and picked it up and grinned a wide grin and whistling closed his door and walked out after Kel

Kel was looking all over the place for Fal when she walked into the mess hall he was there talking to Dom and Merric about what had happened in the north.

Kel straightened her shoulders walked up to the table sat beside him put her hand in his and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

" Yes" Faleron stopped mid sentence and turned and looked at her smiling face. His face broke out into a wide grin. He then stood up pulled her up with him and kissed her full on the lips in the middle of the hall

The entire mess went quiet and then someone started clapping. When Fal and Kel finally broke away from each other it was to massive applause and catcalls and whistles.

They were in their own little bubble completely wrapped up in each other

"I'm sorry you had to wait so long for any type of answer. I had no idea that you had sent me anything"

Fal shrugged "I think I'm glad that you didn't get it when I sent it. I'm glad that I was here to see and hear you say yes right in front of me and everyone."

Kel smiled up at him " I'm so glad you started that tradition all those years ago"

Fal cupped her face in his hands " You have no idea, my love, how happy I am that I kept it up all those years as well. Especially when I thought you were in love with Neal's cousin" Kel blushed at that point

"To be truthful at one point I was, but it's always been you Fal, and it will always be you."

He leaned in and kissed her gently then he slid to one knee and took her hand in his

" I realized my Lady that I have not proposed to you formally and correctly. My dearest Kel, I have loved you from the first time that I proposed all those years ago. And we have laughed and joked and made up silly lines of why we couldn't marry. Somewhere between all those I don'ts I fell in love with you and now I wish with all my heart to hear an I Do. Lady Knight will you do me the profound honor of becoming my wife"

" I Do"

Then he kissed her again and presented her with a small silver ring. Etched into it were to sparrows flying on either side of the words "I Do"

And as they say they lived Happily Every After

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~Kari 3