No Good Dead

She hugged him tightly, burying her head in his tunic. "You have to leave? You're sure that I can't ride with you?"

The Knight Commander sighed and hugged his wife back. "Kel is, Buri. Don't worry."

She cast worried black eyes up at him. "No, she's not."

"Yes, she is."

"No, he's not," repeated the small woman. "She told me yesterday that she can't."

Raoul was mystified. "Why ever not?" Buri shook her head, and let it drop forwards. "Yuki just had her baby yesterday. Kel's been named the godsmother- she has to stay for a while."

"Oh," says her husband. "Well, don't worry. I'll try not to get myself killed. It' just bandits, you know."

"Good," she retorts. "After all, you're no good to me dead."

I Believe in a Thing Called Love

Jon laughed at his friend. "So what? Why won't you kiss Lady Roxanne? She's pretty enough, Gary. Besides, it's for ten gold nobles. You can't turn up your nose at that, not when you can go to Corus again."

The big squire shrugged. "Still, Jon. I'd rather not." The Prince looked at his cousin.

"You're joking, right?" Gary shook his head.

"No. You kiss her, if you think she's all that." Jonathan sighed, exasperated.

"I can't. Father will murder me- I'm the heir, I have to be responsible, all that. Uncle won't murder you. You're not royal."

"Just the cousin of it," said Gary, ducking a swipe at his head. Jon laughed, and sat back down.

"Why won't you take the bet? Are you in love with Raoul or something like that which would prevent you from kissing Lady Roxanne, who, by the way, is perfectly good looking?"

Jon noted the immediate flush on Gary's cheeks at the mention of Raoul, but decided not to push it and promptly forgot.

"Fine," said his cousin. "I'll do it. Tonight, and those gold nobles better be in my hands by tomorrow."

Jon agreed, and the two cousins walked out of the room.

Every Rose Has it's Thorns

Queen Thayet the Peerless was very good at more than one thing, Raoul found out. He had known that she was quite skilled in weapons such as archery, but he hadn't known that she was so good at jousting.

As a sport, they had recently taken up the habit of occasionally going at each other in the practice courts, with Raoul always winning. It was private, of course- neither of them wanted people to gawk at the Queen of Tortall and that Knight Commander "running at each other on big horses with long sticks and trying to whack each other off the big horses," as a King's Own recruit from the Bazhir had so eloquently put it.

Still, it was a good thing that the practice court was a private one, because on the day that the Knight Commander was helping up the Queen from the ground that she had fallen on and some force had pulled them together, well, some things shouldn't been seen by others.

Especially the married Queen and married knight sharing a kiss.

Knowing Me, Knowing You

Squire Alan, Raoul observed, was quite a mystery. The small redhead had always been slightly odd, but it just seemed so much more now. The others just kind of accepted it, but Raoul really, really wanted to know the truth.

So he did the only sensible thing that he could think of- he cornered Alan just as he was coming back from dinner.

"Okay," said the larger boy. "What is up with you?"

Alan blinked those odd purple eyes at him. "What do you mean, Raoul?"

Raoul rolled his eyes. "You know precisely what I mean, Alan."

Alan slumped.

"So… you know, then?"

He decided to go along with what Alan was saying.

"Of course I know. I just want your confirmation."

Alan shook his head. "You want confirmation that I'm a girl?"

Alan(na?) started cursing under his (her?) breath. "Promise you won't tell, alright?" Raoul blinked, seeing how he could use this to his advantage. Alan as a girl was actually fairly attractive, he realized.

So he said just one thing.

"How will you convince me, then?"

Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Buri hadn't known how she'd felt when she caught her husband and Gary is bed together. Confused, angry, betrayed… the emotions just went on and on.

Clutching her belly where the child of her (lying, cheating) husband lay, she cried to herself once again.

But a few months later, after the child was born (she named him Pathom after her long dead brother- Raoul had no say, she was done with him) when Gary and her (slightly better) husband introduced her to how wonderful both of them could be…

She considered that maybe she could forgive Gary and Raoul after all.