Disclaimer: I do *not* own any of the characters, places, or recognizable events; all of those are owned by Tamora Pierce. Do not steal what is mine, though, as I dislike having to argue with people about it all. Thanks!

Breakfast passed rather uneventfully. Raoul made a short appearance, apparently not wanting to be too far from the side of his beloved for too long the day before his wedding, as did Buri and Yuki.

Yuki was as observant as Neal, watching the man called Dom as he stole glances in her friend's direction. Sharing a knowing smile with her husband she leaned in to whisper in his ear, causing the older male to laugh a little.

"What's so funny Meathead?" Dom asked without looking at his cousin, his eyes not leaving the wall as if it were the most interesting thing in the room.

"Dog with a bone…" Neal growled a little. "You better be glad I don't challenge you on the practice courts for that."

Keladry giggled. The thought of Neal and his cousin fighting out their differences was a funny image. Neal rounded on her with all the fury he learned from Lady Alanna.

"Something funny, Kel?" His eyes narrowed, his smile mischievous.

"Yes." Kel said as she downed the cider in her cup. Standing, she grabbed her tray and leaned in. "Imagining your cousin shame you on the courts is rather funny."

Walking away Kel almost immediately winced and regretted her words when she heard someone stand behind her. The accompanying voice of her year mate told her all she needed to know about just how much ox dung she had stepped into.

"Oh Lady Kel, if you would, please meet me in the practice yard at ten. You and I have a conversation to settle."

Yuki giggled softly behind her fan, her eyes alight with mischief and hidden laughter. Kel merely bowed and continued on to take her dishes away.

Neal sat back down as Kel left the mess, his cousin looking at him with a rather strained expression on his face. Neal sighed in exasperation before finally giving into his curiosity.

"What is the face for, Domitan?" Neal lazily swirled his cup as he talked. "You look like your mother just asked you to sit at a table filled with power-hungry matchmaking mothers."

"If they were so power-hungry they wouldn't be looking at me." Dom replied as he skirted Neal's original question. "Being a younger son does have those advantages, and not being a knight doubles them."

"But being the well-known Sergeant of one of the most sought after squads in the King's Own is something that mothers will look at."

"How do you know my squad is so sought after?" Dom asked, his mask slipping for a second.

"I learned to read lips." Neal tapped his mouth as if his cousin were slow. "And My Lord Raoul is constantly being asked for your squad to help here or escort someone there. A result of our Scanran trip, no doubt."

"That wasn't officially sanctioned or even heralded. How could people know?"

"The same way people knew of Raoul's relationship to Buri, my courtship to Yuki, or Kel's short lived infatuation with Kennan." Neal laughed, waiting for a response. When he got none he continued. "People talk, Dom."

"I know that people talk…" Dom said through clenched teeth, seeming to fight with something as he wrestled his emotions back under control. Abruptly standing he nodded to his cousin. "I think I'll take a walk, see if the watch doesn't need help."

"Interesting…" Neal smiled as he emptied his cup. His soon to be wife watched Dom leave before turning to him.

"What's interesting, Nealan?" Yuki asked, her curiosity not hidden. "He seemed normal from what you've told me of him…"

"He got angry." Neal said, Yuki gave him a look that made him kiss her forehead lightly. "He got angry when I talked of Kel's relationship with Kennan… that's what is interesting, love."

"I know that look," Yuki's own eyes now danced with the thought of her friend Kel and the obvious crush she'd had on the Sergeant once, and probably still. "What's that look for?"

"I need you to talk to my cousin for me." And with that the couple leaned into each other and whispered conspiratorially, pausing only to put their dishes away and leave mess. They disappeared into a dark and unused corner of the wall to finish their plans.

Kel suited up in practice gear, unsure if she needed armor, as she stared at herself in the mirror again. She didn't know why she had felt so sad earlier when Dom had mentioned not being sure about marriage, as it was she wasn't even sure if she wanted marriage!

What right did she have to be sad?

Because she hoped. 'That's the problem with being able to think.' Cleon had once told her. 'It means you wish for things you can't have.'

"Boy had he been right…" Kel said aloud to no one in particular, forgetting there was even someone in the room with her.

"Who was right, Lady?" Tobe said as he sat on the floor polishing up a newly sharpened sword. Kel always smiled when she saw him with her sword in his lap, it was much too big for him. "Lady? You look wrong. You getting' sick? Should I go find Sir Neal?" Tobe had taken to adding 'Sir' to Neal and Merric's names at New Hope, she didn't know why.

"No, Tobe. I'm alright." Kel laughed, resting a hand on his shoulder as she went by. "Just thinking about how to properly pound Neal into the dirt on the practice court today."

"You're practicin' 'gain Lady?!" Tobe's voice was strained, as if she had told him that she was leaving and he had to stay behind.

"It's not like you can't watch, Tobe." Kel put her hands on her hips and stared at her young ward. "But you already know that, so what's the meaning of your upset?"

"You practice too much." Tobe said matter-of-factly, his eyes touching on bruises that Kel had received from practicing on their way to Steadfast.

"And you worry too much." Kel leaned down and gave her servant a kiss on the forehead, to which he looked up at her in mock horror. "I'm a girl, Tobe. Sometimes I act like it."

"You gotta warn a man!" Tobe cried, actually playing along with her joke. "We gets a little jumpy when womenfolk start doin' new things without tellin' us first."

"Alright, Tobe. I'm off to the practice yard, you can come down when you're done. Or you could go exercise Jump, or something. Mithros knows you need to be a kid." Kel called over her shoulder as she walked out of the room. A few sparrows took flight and followed her, but Jump remained with Tobe as he usually did. Kel looked at the sparrows on her shoulder and smiled. "Sometimes I think I need to order him to be a kid."

They just peeped at her. She hoped they weren't disagreeing.