A Wistful Love

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters in this story. They all belong to Tamora Pierce.

Chapter 1

Afternoon in the Palace

Five Years After the Scanran War...

Kel stared out her window, watching as the sparrows dipped and weaved through the thin branches of the trees. Sighing, she propped her chin on the palm of her hand. It was spring and everyone was feeling playful, especially the animals. She laughed as two of the young sparrows squabbled over some missed seeds from earlier that morning. A soft wind ruffled the leaves and Kel closed her eyes as the cool fingers of air brushed her cheeks and face. This was her favorite season. It wasn't so hot and sticky that even crossing a room produced a sweat, but neither was it freezing cold so that each morning you woke up shivering. It was perfect. An abrupt knocking disturbed Kel's musings. Turning, she called out to her visitor.

"Come in."

The door opened and Nealan of Queenscove stepped through the entrance. Over the last few years, Neal had settled down some. He was happily married to Yuki, who was even now pregnant with their first child. The responsibility of his upcoming fatherhood had settled whatever restlessness Neal had still harbored. Now he was the epitome of a responsible adult and more apt to hold his tongue, for the most part.

"Hey Kel." Neal smiled easily. "Yuki wanted to know if you'd like to go riding with her this afternoon. She's feeling cooped up in the palace and decided that a ride through the Royal Forest would do her good."

Kel smiled. "Are you the messenger then? I see she's trained you well. I don't suppose you're going with us."

Neal gave her a mock glare, mildly affronted at the messenger quip, but let the insult pass. "No, I have work to do today. We've had a sudden influx of broken bones. I think it has something to do with the pages starting their riding lessons. I've heard we just got a new string of horses from Galla and that there are some real nasty ones. To this day, I'm still thanking Mithros that I survived my page years. I don't think I could endure the torture of it ever again."

Kel shook her head. "We did have some memorable times though, didn't we? I can still remember each and every one. Especially your dreadful poems. You would write these terrible verses describing some court lady or another. I'm just glad that someone finally decided to put up with you. Elsewise, you may have still been writing them today. I think when Yuki and me go riding, we'll have a grand discussion on it."

Neal blew out a disgusted breath and turned back towards the door. "I'll tell Yuki you said, yes. Remember, two o'clock."

When Neal had gone, Kel stared wistfully after him. They were so happy, him and Yuki. She was almost twenty-four and had yet to find someone to love her. She knew it was silly to dwell on such things, but seeing her best friend living happily married to someone who loved him made her feel lonely. Oh, she had many friends and her family, but a small part of her yearned for the love of a man. Kel sometimes wondered if the gods had meant for her to be a lone knight, serving her country faithfully to the end.

Shaking off her melancholy mood, Kel reached for her glaive. A good bit of practice would take her mind off things and besides, she was getting lazy these days with no battles to fight. If she didn't keep her wits sharp, she'd be caught unawares if a war ever did happen. She laughed softly to herself at an inner image of a clumsy Kel, sliced to pieces because she was too slow to keep up with her enemy. That would certainly ruin her title as the Protector of the Small. A dead knight could do no one any good. Hefting the lead-filled weapon, Kel left her rooms and headed for the practice courts. It was time to do some real work.

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Kel spun and turned as she worked her way through a complex pattern dance. Sweat covered her body in a fine, glistening sheen. Her hair, which she'd let grow out, was now past her shoulders and so tied back to keep from whipping into in her eyes. Her muscles sang from the breathless exertion of wielding the heavy weapon. The firm muscles that she'd developed to keep up with the boys during her page and squire years were as fit as ever and Kel took a quiet joy in the fact that she was still in shape. Finishing the dance with a flourish, Kel came to a panting stop, her blade inches from the ground.

"I see you're as deadly as ever. That glaive of yours is a dangerous weapon. I know that I'd not want to be on the receiving end of it."

Startled, Kel glanced up and into the twinkling blue eyes of Domitan of Masbolle. He was standing casually against the wall, leaning easily, arms folded. His dark blue King's Own tunic was wrinkled and his form-fitting breeches were covered in a fine layer of dust. Dark hair, which spilled in waves to his shoulders, was windblown and at the corner of his eyes were small crow's feet. Now near thirty, Dom was every bit a man in his prime. His muscled physique and handsome good looks added to his already charismatic personality. With his blinding, good-natured grin and easy humor, he could have had any lady at his beck and call. Kel was just as affected as any one of the court's beauties.

"Hullo Dom. When did you get back? I thought the king had Third Company patrolling the kingdom for lack of something better to do."

Dom grinned and stepped away from the wall. His stride was easy as he approached her. "He did, but I guess he finally decided that it wasn't worth the trouble of both Buri and my lord Raoul grouching at him for wasting everyone's time. You know how Raoul gets when he's away from his lady-love for a while. He's downright grumpy and you can guess who he takes it out on." Dom held out his arms, his face down turned in a pathetic expression. "The poor, helpless men of the King's Own."

Kel felt a smile tug at her lips. It was hard not to laugh at Dom's theatrical expressions.

"And of course you and your men were the perfect obedient soldiers, following his every order and never playing pranks on their commanding officer."

Dom gave up his pitiful image and grinned outright. "You know me too well, Lady Kel. But what's a man to do, with no battles to fight and hours on end of monotonous marching? A body has to find some means of entertainment and Lord Raoul is the perfect candidate. He bellows so well."

Kel lost her battle with laughter and finally gave in to Dom's carefree attitude. It was nice to just joke with him sometimes. His silly antics never failed to bring her spirits up.

Dom surprised her with a firm hug. Caught off guard, Kel simply stood there for a moment before returning the favor. Her hands slid over the hard muscles of his shoulders and down his back for a few precious seconds. Then he released her and held her at arm's length, his smile unwavering.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving. What say you to a warm meal and good conversation? I'm an expert at the latter." Dom wiggled his eyebrows at her invitingly.

Kel smiled in return. She knew that his flirting was harmless, but it still continued to make her heart beat faster. Determined to ignore her body's reaction to Dom, Kel tucked her loneliness away for the afternoon. Dwelling on such things never helped anyone. And Dom was correct in his assumption that he was an expert at conversation. That was just what she needed.

Author's Note: Hello everyone! I've finished the first chapter of my new story, A Wistful Love. To anyone who is a fan of my first story, Unexpected Love, welcome back. To any new readers, I hope you enjoy this one. I told my fans before that my next story would most likely be a K/D and that is exactly what I wrote. This chapter was easy to write and filled with fun bits of humor. I hope my readers find it enjoyable and I hope to post chapter two soon. Please review and tell me what you think. --Lupus17