AN: Yay! I actually got down. Now, I really would appreciate around 3 reviews per update, so read on!

"Keladry of Mindelan!" The short, plump announcer called out. All of the people quieted. Rumors had been going around when the most formidable women in the realm carted dresses, jewelry, cosmetics, and brushes into a single room, locking themselves up, and later snatching in the Protector of the Small. People wondered what was going on, and were eager to see Keladry. As she descended the stairs, several gasps were heard. She felt all their stares, weighing her down. There were jealous ones from the noble daughters, and, to her immense surprise, admiring and even dreamy ones form the male population. She descended down the stairs, glimmering with gold. Her eyes searched subtly, finally finding their mark. Dom was staring at her in a mix of shock and amazement. She blushed the tiniest bit, dusty pink staining her cheeks as she continued down the stairs.

Dom couldn't believe it. He just couldn't. Kel, Kel, was wearing a dress. And a form fitting one, too. Though he hadn't noticed before, her—he blushed to even think of it—form had matured. She now had curves, and her body had rounded out into a quite nice hourglass figure, perfected from all her training with the glaive. She caught his eyes and gave him a smile, and strangely, he felt his breath catch and his chest go all tight. Mentally, he thumped himself. This was Kel he was thinking about. He shivered as he imagined the consequences to come if he acted on those impulses. His imagination provided him with a sudden image–himself, lying in the snow like a sea jelly, every bone in his body smashed to powder, while a furious Kel squishily strangled him. (AN: Anyone know what book that came from? Kel's name is replaced with "Kitai" in the real quote.) That might be exaggerating a bit, but it couldn't be far from the truth if he attempted to court Kel. Sure that he was right, he put those thought out of his head. He smiled easily as Kel walked up. "You look nice today Kel."

She also grinned, "Thanks. Why is it that you aren't a mountain of ladies today?"

Dom frowned, just noticing that no lady had come up to him, trying to win his affections. Glancing around, he saw that although most were glancing at them jealously, none made a move to go up to him. Instead, they were attempting to murder Kel with glares. A sudden realization came to him, and he blushed scarlet. Seeing this, Kel asked, "What's wrong now? Don't tell me you forgot that you were supposed to come here with the Countess of whatever again!"

He mock-glared at her. "For your information, that only happened once, and no, it's not that. It's just that I realized the reason I'm not swamped today." He paused, hesitating.

Kel waited patiently and said, "Well? What's the reason?"

"People think we're together." He blurt out. Kel just stared at him as it sunk in. When it did, she started to shift back and forth uncomfortably. "Oh." She said. "I can leave if you want." She offered.

"No!" Dom said, surprised. "This is the first time in I don't know how long that I don't have two ladies on each arm and another five all around me. Trust me; you're doing me a favor."

She grinned at him as he added, "Thanks for being such a great friend."

"No problem." She said back easily, though inside her heart was sinking. Friends.

That night, Kel lay in bed, just staring at the moon. Faintly, she remembered a poem from her childhood, sung to her by her mother:

The Night is a big black cat

The Moon is her topaz eye,

The stars are the mice she hunts at night,

In the field of the sultry sky.

She felt a tear trace its way down her cheek, warm and wet. She swiped it away, but felt more tears come down. As her body shook with silent sobs, she wondered what was wrong with her. She hadn't cried since she was seven. She grappled for her Yamani mask, but it eluded her. She knew exactly what was wrong. All night long, Dom had made nice, innocent, friendly conversation with her. More tears came down, blinding her, turning the moon into a silvery blur. What was wrong with her? Was she ugly? Was she not thin enough? Was her skin not white enough? Was her figure not dainty enough? Was she not perfect enough?

The door creaked open, a tiny sliver of warm golden light falling on her. "Kel," Daine said softly. "Are you alright?"

Kel just shook her head, tears tracing silvery rivers down her cheeks which were pale and drained. "Oh Kel." Daine whispered, enveloping her in a hug, just like her mother had. The skittering of paws were heard and a variety of dogs and cats scrambled onto the bed, warming her.

"Kel, I know how much it hurts." Daine said honestly.

Anger flared up inside her, "How?" She demanded. "How do you know how much it hurts?"

Daine just looked at her sadly and said, "Numair used be quite the ladies' man. When I discovered my feelings, I had to hide them, just like you. So day by day, I had to watch him seduce all those women. Problem was, our walls were usually connected. You can probably understand how much it hurt those noises coming through that wall. It hurt to watch him hold them near in a way that was impossible for me. I hated it. It hurt me in a way I wasn't used to. Kel, I know how much it hurts."

Once again, the tears came down. She lay down, sobbing inconsolably. The animals came closer, warming her. The last thing she felt before slipping into the velvet blanket of sleep was a slender hand stroking her forehead.

AN: Yeah, motherly Daine, something I've never tried before. I didn't think it was that bad though.