---------------PLAGUE---------------
THREE: Believe Me

Kel scanned the room, searching for an empty seat. There's a space beside Dom, she noted absently. Oh - but... She stopped that thought, furious with herself. No matter how much she tried to eliminate the doubt caused by Lerant the night before, it just kept coming back. She'd used every possible argument to convince herself his words were lies, but they wouldn't stick to the point where she could believe them. It just didn't add up - why would Lerant say something like that, whether it was true or not?

Subconsciously she was checking the room, looking for that floppy hair of his. Oh, stop it! It's none of his business anyway - I can like whoever I want! And even if what he said is true - which it isn't - why should I care anyway? It's not like Dom knows I like him. It's not like Dom has ever kissed me. It's not like I was going to try and kiss him... Dom's allowed to kiss people if he wants, just like I'm allowed to have a shine on him without irritating standardbearers poking their noses in. Mind made up, Kel marched over to Dom's table and firmly set down her bowl beside him.

"Hey, Kel! I was wondering when you'd get here." Dom patted the bench beside him. "Sit down and eat. I figured you would've said if it bothered you yesterday, so I put our names up for the next shift of scout duty - and a late shift, too."

"Great!" Kel said, fixing a cheery grin on her face. When he looked away, she set her gaze on her porridge and sighed. This would be harder than she'd first thought. To forget Lerant's words was like trying to forget she was attracted to Dom - near impossible.

Half an hour later, though, she settled into his company without any further thought of anything Lerant had said. They joked and discussed all sorts with other members of the Own. During one particular debate over which immortal was the deadliest, Qasim held up a hand, signalling for silence, and looked pointedly over Wolset's shoulder. Confused, Kel squinted. Then she recognised the person her Bazhir friend was staring at.

Lerant strolled past with his porridge. Looking at Kel, and then letting his gaze briefly flicker to Dom, he raised a single eyebrow so high it disappeared beneath the lock of hair that fell sloppily over his forehead. Kel knew he was silently questioning why she was sitting next to Dom after what he'd revealed the night before. His very expression reeked of surprise. She began to slip on her Yamani mask, prepared for some sneering comments, but he was already gone.

Dom nudged her, a curious smile on his lips. "What did he give you that look for?"

Kel winced, thinking, I know exactly why, but she lied to him, blurting out the first thing that came to her head. "I have no idea, but it's probably because he doesn't like me..."

"He has been acting strange, these past days," Qasim remarked with little interest in his voice.

"Maybe he's ill or something," Kel suggested hurriedly, hoping to end the conversation. "Now, who has the water pitcher?"

"I do," Wolset announced, passing it to her. As she busied herself with filling up her flask (despite it being three quarters full already), the others immersed themselves in another immortals debate. She breathed a sigh of relief. Lerant had almost attracted far too much unwanted attention. If anyone questioned too deeply and discovered what Lerant had said to her, they might link any strange behaviour from her to his words, and make a guess that she had a crush on Dom. Kel thought she'd die of embarrassment if that ever got out.

Having finished her porridge, Kel began to stand. No one else had finished yet. "Dom, I'm just going back to my rooms to fetch my spyglass. Meet you at the wall?"

He nodded distractedly and waved her off, still absorbed in a debate between Wolset and Sergeant Aiden. Kel headed for the table where Lofren and two other men she didn't recognise were washing up with a huge tub of water. She stood and waited while they finished up other bowls. Someone approached on her right; she glanced at them, then turned away, horrified.

"You sat next to Dom," Lerant remarked, staring at her so intensely that she could have sworn someone had just poured a bucket of icy water over her head. He was almost sneering, but it didn't reach his eyes.

She gathered up all the courage she could. "You were lying."

He rolled his eyes. "You have no proof I was lying."

Kel found herself becoming angry. "So?" she hissed, fury getting the better of her. "You don't have anything to prove you weren't, either! In fact, it's far more likely you were lying because you've obviously never liked me!"

He reached forward and thrust his bowl and spoon into the tub of water, splashing one of the men on washing-up duty. Lerant eyed the man's soaking tunic with disinterest before turning back to Kel. "Ask him, then!" he said heatedly, not bothering to keep his voice down. "I don't know one of their names, but the other was Tanaia, from Group Seventeen." He stalked away without looking back.

Throughout the day it was hard to forget what Lerant had told her; she just couldn't find any rational reason for anything he'd said. One of the arguments she used against herself was that he knew she wouldn't have the courage to actually ask Dom about it. He knows I have a crush on Dom and he's using it against me - he thinks I wouldn't dare risk asking Dom 'cause it might reveal my feelings for him. But there was still a chance she'd ask, wasn't there? A chance that she'd ask and find out it really was a lie - why would he risk that against Dom, who was supposed to be his friend? Why doesn't anything Lerant say make sense? Kel thought furiously.

It was fairly dark outside. Kel was on the late shift of scout duty with Dom, standing up on the walls. This time she'd remembered her gloves, and, as an after-thought, she'd also snatched up a cloak. She was glad for the extra layer. While she marched up and down the tiny pathway of the wall in an attempt to keep her blood moving, Dom stood right at the end with her spyglass, occasionally lifting his lamp to see a little further out into the darkness. She was also using the excuse of trying to keep warm as a way to stay away from Dom a little longer, still pondering what to do about this rider girl's name. Eventually weariness got to her and she rejoined him. Raising her own lamp, she saw his nose was bright red from cold.

"A bit chilly tonight," she said, averting her gaze from his face.

He scowled at her. "You're alright," he said. "I didn't think it would be this cold. You have a cloak."

Kel grinned at him and pulled it closer around her shoulders, making an expression that suggested she was deliciously warm.

"I hate you," Dom said with feeling, narrowing his eyes at her. "Hey, you know, I think that might fit around my shoulders. We could take turns! As I've said before, 'a chivalrous knight shares'!"

"Pah. I don't want your germs on my things!"

"What germs?!" he exclaimed loudly. "I don't have germs!"

Kel smirked. "That's not what Neal said."

For several moments, Dom opened and closed his mouth like a gasping fish. Kel saw his knuckles go white as his grip on the lamp-handle grew tighter. "What has that - that monster been saying to you?!"

Kel grinned at him and said, "Oh, all sorts. Last week he told me you never wash with Third Company anymore, because once when you were bathing in a river something crawled up your leg and bit your--"

"What?!"

"Oh! And, the week before he told me that, Neal said that once a huge bug landed on your arm and you ate it--"

"THAT WAS A DARE, THANK YOU!"

"--and someone else told me that their friend once walked into your room, and you weren't wearing anything except a helmet--"

"WHO THE HELL TOLD YOU THAT?!"

It was actually Merric (at Haven, when Third Company was visiting, he had become good friends with Wolset, who had been the one to walk in on Dom), but the rider girl's name had been bugging her all day and it just popped out her mouth. "My Rider friend, Tanaia..."

He went pale. "Tanaia? Um, of which group?"

"Seventeen," Kel supplied, thinking she might as well go all the way now she'd let the name slip. "Do you know her?"

He looked out into the darkness. "I think so..." he said vaguely, stumbling over the words. "Her rider group came last week... we were, uh, comrades..."

Kel looked at the floor. From his reaction, she knew he was lying. So Lerant was right all along. I don't even know why I feel so... I don't know, betrayed... it's not like me and Dom are courting or anything. But, by the way Dom reacted, I think he doesn't want me to find out, like he's trying to keep it secret. Maybe he doesn't trust me. I guess it is his personal life, but it still hurts. I feel like an idiot - lusting after him, when he's thinking of other women - this is worse than when I liked Neal and he was writing poetry to other girls...

"Heeey," someone whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder. Kel nearly jumped out her skin. "We could hear you two shouting from the barracks! Try your inside voices when you're on scout duty, why don't you?"

Qasim stepped out of the shadows. "It is our shift now. You can go to bed."

"Have fun," Dom said, grinning broadly at them. "Come on, Kel. Want me to walk you to your room?"

Kel swallowed. "No thanks." Dom looked at her, confused. They always walked to her room together - it was on the way to the barracks anyway. "Um, I have to stop by the latrine," she explained, although she'd gone before their shift at scout duty and didn't need to go again. "So, I'll, uh, see you tomorrow." She strode away before he had a chance to ask if something was wrong.

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The next day, Kel was in the line for breakfast when she distinctly heard Dom's voice behind her. Immediately she panicked and sneaked a look over her shoulder. He was three men behind her! I can't be seen, I can't be seen... She didn't even know why she didn't want him to see her. When she looked at him, she still felt the same warmth, but alarm mingled along with it. My head is a mess, she decided. I'll just... avoid him for today, and sort things out - and then it'll be fine! Absolutely fine... Slowly, she bent her knees to take a few inches off her height. Luckily the man behind her was pretty big so she didn't need to hunch over like an old person to avoid being seen.

Somehow she managed to kick all her friends who tried to reply, "She's right here!!" when Dom asked where she was at the table. Inhaling her porridge while hiding beside Faleron, she launched up and dumped her bowl on the washing-up table. Then she escaped the room.

It took a lot of mad dashing to escape Dom through out the day. She was glad to see he hadn't put their names up for scout duty together, but she had to sneakily "edit" a shift of wood-chopping duty that they would have shared if she hadn't changed it. At mealtimes she gobbled up her food and rushed out, hiding in her room whenever she had a spare moment. By the end of the day she'd lost all energy, and trudged back to her room feeling like she was about to die. She couldn't even bring herself to get her key out; she just slumped against her door.

Eventually she thought she ought to go inside her room in case Dom came looking for her. Slowly she glanced to her left, checking for him, and then to her right. Lerant's door caught her eye. Maybe I should apologise for shouting at him in the mess yesterday... She took a few moments to gather some courage and then she knocked three times, willing herself not to be overcome by any nervousness.

She heard scuffling and footsteps. The door swung open. Seeing her, Lerant stared and then raised an eyebrow. "What do you want?"

"Um, I'm sorry. You weren't lying. You were right. And - I shouted at you, and didn't believe you when lots of things pointed to the conclusion that you were right all along."

Lerant just looked at her blankly. Then, after a long pause, he said, "You're avoiding Dom, aren't you?"

"Yes, but..." She trailed off. She wanted to say, but only for today, but nothing had improved. She still felt like she couldn't face him.

"Well, you might be interested to know that he's coming up the hall behind you."

Kel froze. There was no point trying to get into her room - Dom would know it was her, and she wouldn't even be able to pretend she wasn't there if he knocked on the door. "Lerant," she said urgently, "hide me. Please."

He sighed as if to say, well, you did apologise... and opened his door. Immediately she darted inside and backed up into a corner where Dom wouldn't be able to see her if he came to the door. Lerant shut the door and stood before it, waiting. He didn't look at her.

A moment later, another knock came on the door. Lerant took his time opening it. "Yes?" he said emotionlessly.

Dom's voice drifted into the room. "Hey, Lerant... I'm looking for Kel. Have you seen her?"

Lerant appeared to consider the question for a moment. Finally he answered, "No, I haven't."

There was a pause, as if Dom hadn't expected that answer. "Uh, really? Because, I saw you let a woman into your room and I swear she looked just like--"

"I said I haven't seen her," Lerant interrupted impatiently. He didn't seem fazed by being so rude to his best friend. "I'm busy. Go look for her somewhere else."

Curiosity crept into Dom's next question. "Who is she?" It seemed he thought Kel was someone else, come to visit Lerant to participate in some nighttime activities...

"None of your business, Masbolle," Lerant spat, slamming the door shut. He moved to the opposite wall and threw open the flimsy shutters on his window, taking a few moments to look outside. Then he turned to Kel. "You can go now."

She remained where she was. "Um, thanks."

"Go away. You're ruining my room."

Kel grinned; that was a typical thing for Lerant to do, masking any sort of friendliness behind a snide comment. "See you tomorrow."

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Bonjour! How's it going? I hope you enjoyed this chapter... things are getting more complicated! I'm glad because it means things are speeding up. Hopefully next chapter will be up on Friday (by the way, Chapter 4 is the one where things really start to kick off! Aren't you excited?). Writing is on schedule. Thank you for all the nice feedback - reviews are always appreciated.

Also, just a warning, I have a couple of English exams the week after next so I'm afraid my update for that week might be late. I really screwed my English media studies presentation so I want to revise a lot for the exams. I'll try and write extra this week so updates won't be disrupted too much. Thanks for reading!