Disclaimed: Just playing here, no harm intended.

Kel ate with the men of Third Company that night, hoping to hell that the only just controlled laughter didn't show too much in her features. When she'd first walked into the mess, she'd seen Lerant scowling at his food and a small bubble of laughter escaped her mouth. The last time she'd seen Lerant, he'd been stripped to the waist with several rather rude suggestions written on his chest in red paint. He'd been doing some sort of odd war dance with one of the squads Kel didn't know too well.

She was currently sat next to Dom, eating and flirting as was the weekly ritual, trying to coax him into telling her exactly how much he remembered of the night before.

"I remember drinking a lot," Dom was saying, "What do you remember?"

"We're not talking about me here, Sergeant," Kel replied, "We're talking about you. Do you remember anything after Wolset started dancing on the tables?"

"No, I don't,"

"So you don't remember kissing Lerant?" Kel asked.

"Don't even joke about it, Kel. It's not funny…will you please stop laughing at me?"

"I'm sorry Dom," Kel said between peels of laughter, "But the look on your face was priceless."

"Yeah, well you'll pay for that," Dom said.

"I'm so scared," Kel said, grinning into her apple juice.

Dom glared at her, so much like Neal had so many times in the past, which just set Kel off again. She nearly fell of the bench she was sat on, only staying on because Dom held her up.

"I'm not sure you should be laughing," Fulcher, one of Dom's corporals plonked his tray down opposite Kel, "You've been fraternizing with the enemy."

"I have?" Kel asked, unsure of whom 'the enemy' were.

"You were at the Riders barracks today. Spent quite a while there by all accounts," Fulcher said.

"I went down with Tobe, so what?"

"What was Tobe doing down there?" Dom wanted to know.

"Their horse-mistress needs a new assistant. She wanted to know if Tobe would be interested, so she invited him to go and have a look around," Kel told him.

"So why did you go with him?" Fulcher asked.

Kel was starting to feel like she was being interrogated. "He asked me to go with him. I wasn't about to say no was I."

"But you left him after a few minutes and went into the Riders mess with one of them."

"Yes, I went and had a drink while Onua took Tobe out for a few hours. So what?"

"She doesn't know," Dom told Fulcher, "I was going to explain during dinner."

"I don't know what?" Kel asked.

"I thought you were going to tell her last week and ask her to join us," Fulcher said, slightly whiny.

"I didn't get round to it," Dom said apologetically.

"Didn't get around to what? What haven't you told me?" Kel asked, slightly aggravated that the two men were ignoring her.

"Look," Fulcher said, "Every year for, well, quite a while now the Own and the Riders have had a bit of a best of the best competition going on when we get a bit of spare time. Both groups put forwards their best rider, archer, fighter, and Mithros know what else and they compete against each other to find who's better, the Own or the Riders."

"It's turned into a bit of a ritual," Dom put in, "We've won six times out of ten, but they hold the title at the moment."

"So you think that because I was spending time with the Riders that I was telling them secrets about you?" Kel asked.

"Well, you might have been," Fulcher said defensively.

"They didn't ask me anything about you," Kel told him.

"Did they tell you anything about them that may help us?" Dom asked slyly.

"No, all we talked about Tobe and how Lauri had been helping Onua until she found an assistant, and then how the Riders worked, then Be turned up and we swapped stories."

"Be?" Fulcher asked. "You mean Beatrice from the First? Their back from patrol?"

"They got back in mid afternoon," Kel confirmed.

Dom groaned and dropped his head onto Kel's shoulder, "We're doomed."

"Don't be so negative," Kel said.

"You don't understand," Fulcher said, "They're the best."

"Yeah, but aren't you lot also the best?" Kel asked.

"Not in the way they are," Dom said. "Against just normal Rider we stand a chance, but these guys aren't just normal Riders."

"Yeah, they work as body guards for the King and Queen sometimes, so what?"

"They don't just 'guard the king and queen sometimes'," Dom said. He sighed and explained to Kel. "You remember the first time we caught up with Progress while you were a squire?" Kel nodded, "Well the First were there then because there were rumours that the Scanran government had sent assassins to take a pop at the king while he was in such a public place. The First did a bit of digging around and found the people the Scanrans were paying. They were caught and tried under the laws, but it was all kept quiet. That's what the First do. They look into threats to the royal family."

"They told me as much when we were talking to them. Well, not the bit about assassins, but they told me that they do work snooping around in fiefs that might plan to rebel," Kel said.

"Yes, but they don't just find the problem, they sort it out as well. They're practically killers," Fulcher said.

"I think you've been listening to too much gossip, both of you," Kel told them, "and how is that going to cause you problems in these Games?"

"They don't like to lose," Fulcher said, "In fact they hate to lose so much that last year they cheated by spiking our drinks so we all turned up the next morning with splitting hangovers."

Kel winced in sympathy. "I think I'm starting to like these Riders more and more," she joked.

"Don't," Dom warned, "You're practically Own yourself, the amount you ride with us. They probably wouldn't take exception just because you're not officially one of us."

"But I'm not going to be competing against them, so they have no reason to come after me as well as you lot," Kel reasoned.

"Well, we wanted to talk to you about that," Dom said to her.

"Oh no, I'm not getting involved in all this. I value my life to much for that. And besides, Tobe's practically a Rider now that he's taking this job. I couldn't go against him."

"Hmm, well I suppose when you put it that way we really can't ask you to compete," Dom said, "But you will come and watch us won't you?"

"Of course, I wouldn't miss you lot getting beaten by women for anything," Kel jibed.

"Ah, I wouldn't bet on us getting beaten this year," Fulcher said cryptically.

"What do you mean by that?" Kel asked.

"All will become clear soon, dear Keladry," Dom said, standing and picking up his tray. "We'll see you tomorrow. We start at nine o'clock in our training yards."

"I'll be there," Kel said, wondering exactly what Dom was planning.

-----

It was just after dark when Lauri crept out of the Riders Barracks and slipped away into the darkness towards the palace. She was actually getting quite good at knowing were she was going now. Three years of secret meetings did that to a girl's sense of direction.

Past the Owns barracks, through the old hall that held the meeting rooms, down the corridor next to one of the many libraries and out of the second door and, bam, there was the rose garden.

She remembered the midwinter night three years ago when her companion had ambushed her after one of the many parties that she was forced to attend by Buri. She'd left to get a bit of air when the wine had started to get to her head, and he'd followed her out. He'd snuck up behind her and put his arms around her waist and gently kissed her cheek, wishing her midwinter luck, and it'd all escalated from there.

The door to the garden opened behind her and someone walked up behind her, putting their arms around her waist, just as she remembered he'd done three years ago.

"Missed you," she said quietly.

"Missed you to," he breathed into her neck.

It was nearly an hour later when Lauri was walking back to her barracks that she met Dom out on a midnight stargaze outside the Own barracks. "Anything interesting up there?" she asked.

"I wasn't really looking," Dom replied. Unlike the rest of the Riders, Dom actually got on quite well with Lauri. She'd looked after one of his mounts when they'd fallen ill after drinking unclean water from somewhere. Dom had fully expected to lose her, but Lauri had helped.

"So, do you have a reason for lying on the floor staring up at the sky? You haven't fallen down and hurt something have you?" she asked.

"Wouldn't you just love that? No I haven't, I'm just thinking about last night,"

"Can't remember what you did?"

"Can't remember what anyone did, more like it," Dom said.

"I heard a rumour about naked war dances and body paint," Lauri said helpfully.

"See, if I had names that would be fantastic," Dom said.

"Ask Kel, she was there wasn't she?"

"Won't tell me," Dom said shortly.

"What, you mean she hasn't fallen for the famous Domitan Charm?"

"Nope, seems she's immune. Although she did tell me that I confessed my undying love for her…and Lerant, and Wolset and Peachblossom."

"I'm guessing that last three were a cover up for the slip of the tongue," Lauri teased.

"Why does everyone think I have a thing for Kel?"

"Because it would just be so nice for the two of you. And I don't think that the men believe that two people can be as close as you are and not have something."

"Nguh," Dom said in reply.

Lauri, now starting to get a bit tired, moved off, shouting over her shoulder, "Night Dom,"

"Night Lauri,"

-----