Trying Raoul

After the exciting events of that day Kel went to sleep in Dom's arms, after they had reached an understanding – that Kel was in fact happy to be having a baby, it was just the having bit that she had a problem with.

The next morning Dom woke up and saw his wife sprinting to the bathroom. Seeing that she was experiencing the joys of morning sickness, he went down to the mess and grabbed her a breakfast tray and a drink.

After taking out her anger on Dom after she had eaten, Kel made a show of lying down on the bed, saying that she may as well go back to sleep.

Dom looked at her, suspicious "You are not going to go running down to the practise courts?"

Kel looked shocked, "Are you saying that you do not trust me, your wife, to know how to relax?"

"Of course I don't. You never stop." Dom replied, eyes sparkling. Kel made to respond, but Dom cut her off, by saying that in any case he had work to do.

As Dom exited, he saw the calculating look in Kel's eyes, meaning that she was indeed planning to go practise. He shook his head and hoped that Raoul knew what he was getting into.

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After waiting a few minutes, Kel jumped off the bed and changed into training clothes. She was irritably thinking that it didn't even look like she was pregnant, so why should the Own guess that she was?

Searching for her glaive, her eyes ran over the room. Realising why she did not see it immediately, she cursed. "Traitors!" she muttered, realising too late that one of her visitors yesterday must have contrived to remove it from her room.

Kel collapsed on to the bed, one hand against her temple. Deciding to get in a bit of sparring practise instead, she resolutely got up, grabbed her sword and stormed out to the practise courts.

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There were only a few people there when Kel started. She felt better just going through the motions of drills. She did not notice a soldier from the Own slip away.

A few minutes later, she heard a dry voice, "Already over relaxing?"

Kel spun around to see Raoul leaning against the fence, one eyebrow arched, observing her closely.

Too annoyed to impose her Yamani calm face, she just scowled at him and went back to the drills.

"This will not do." Raoul commented idly. He strode toward her, and quickly snatched her up, around her middle. He transferred her to his right shoulder and started walking.

Kel let out a furious shout as she was carried unceremoniously back into the palace.

"If it is the last thing I do, I will get you back. You are a bad man." Kel furiously informed her former knight master.

Raoul just let out a bark of laughter and continued toward his destination. He burst into the Own's Barracks. It was about lunchtime, and most of the Third Company were eating… or at least they were until they turned to witness the unique occurrence.

Most started laughing uproariously as they realised that one of their Commanders was carrying the ferocious lady knight over one shoulder. Raoul was looking around the mess, and spotted Dom walked over to him.

Dom had been forced to stuff his fist into his mouth in an attempt to stop the laughter that was battling to break free. He quickly removed it and stood up, bowing to Raoul and simultaneously raising an eyebrow at him, sapphire eyes dancing.

Raoul, with a wolfish grin on his face responded, "She tried me." He then swept Kel off his shoulder and planted her on the ground next to Dom.

Kel was seething, livid that Raoul just had to make a huge scene of this situation. She quickly swept in and tried to punch the daylights out of the man, but Dom had sensed that she would not let him get away with it unscathed, and he wrapped his hands around her waist, forcing her away.

Kel struggled against his hold, but sensing the situation would not improve, stopped to observe Raoul. She decided that the man was taking an un-holy amusement in her frustrations and made a mental note to make his punishment much worse.

Once Kel got her temper under control, she lightly addressed Raoul, "I thought you said the men of the Own would be the ones to force me to rest."

Raoul grinned wolfishly, "And so they will – next time. I wanted the honour of stopping you first."

Kel just stared at him, infuriated that the man knew her so well.

Raoul addressed the men, "I want everyone to remember this. Kel is pregnant –" A this the men wolf-whistled - "And I approve, neigh insist, that the most deliberate force be used to teach her the finer points of rest and relaxation." With this he turned around and strode out of the hall.

Kel span around and gave all the men a death glare – just daring them to stop her in the future – and then stomped out of the hall. The men stopped laughing at once.

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Over the next few weeks, Kel could constantly be found practising in some secluded place all over the palace. She came to consider avoiding the men of the Own as a kind of training in itself.

The first time that the men had attempted to stop her was not anywhere near successful. One of the men on guard had spotted her training in a clearing in the grounds and had approached her.

She had just glared at him, and he had backed away slowly. She had been satisfied with her accomplishment, until the man had returned with three of his buddies. The four of them had set on her at once, careful not to actually injure her.

Kel, however, had no such limitations and had continued practising once the men had been forced to retreat; she had rendered two unconscious and the others were too afraid to force her.

This would have been perfect, had they not gone to get Raoul – again – and he had just slung her over his shoulder, taken her to her rooms, and tied her to her bed.

The Own came to their own way of disabling her without having to involve Raoul a few days later; the recruits that were fast – and dumb – enough to stop her would jump in and tie her arms by her side, load her on a stretcher and cart her back to her rooms.

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Kel kept at the teasing game mainly because that is what Raoul would expect her to do. She was actually waiting until the man stopped looking over his shoulder for her revenge to come and hit him in the face.

A full month after her first altercation with Raoul, her revenge was almost ready to put into action. She had chosen something far more subtle than attaching him by his breeches to a flagpole and hoisting him up; no matter how inviting that prospect was.

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Kel was relaxing on her bed when she heard a tentative knock on her door. Telling the person to come in, she was delighted to see Dom look in, his sapphire eyes sparking.

He quickly saw that she was in a good mood and swept her up into his arms, giving her a passionate kiss. After the greetings were over with, he forced her to sit down again.

"Ah, Kel…" Dom began.

"Yes Dom?"

"Tomorrow the King is holding a ball, and he ordered me – and you – to attend."

She pursed her lips and glared at her husband. "He can't make me go if I do not have a dress that fits!"

At this Dom gulped and built up the courage to say, "well, the thing is you do…or will. At the moment Lalasa is with the Queen, fitting a dress. She has brought one to fit on you." He said all this rapidly, much like one removes a bandaid.

Much to his confusion she just nodded her head and left the room.

Dom tried to think if he had ever seen his wife go willingly to a dress fitting. Remembering that she had been dragged kicking and screaming to be fitted into her wedding dress, he decided that she had never done it willingly. Then a thought struck him. She did not seem even a little surprised at this information. Normally this lack of emotion would not be strange, but she had all but abandoned her Yamani mask through irritation at not being allowed to train.

It seems Kel is up to something he mused, staring at the door that she had just exited.

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Disclaimer: I am not Tamora Pierce

Thankyou to everyone for your kind reviews, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I can ensure you that you will enjoy the next!