I wanted to have this chapter up for you yesterday, but I ended up spending all of Valentine's Day writing a paper whose thesis hinged on a suicidal jackrabbit (okay, I confess, I also spent a few hours watching Emma, eating chocolate, and debating the merits of Mr. Darcy and Mr. Knightly) and I seem to have unleashed a few fluff bunnies in this plot in response.
Again, I've just brought a few of my own characters to play in Tamora Piece's wonder Tortall.
"We're lucky none of us got sliced into bits this morning." Dalton spoke quietly as he and Penelope started on a third circuit of the campground. The rest of the pages had gone to sleep, but they were in the middle of their first shift of sentry duty. "I still can't quite believe we held the hurroks off for so long." He sighed, and they continued pacing along the perimeter, trying not become complacent, despite the fact that there appeared to be no danger.
"So," said Penelope, speaking quickly as she forced the words out into the almost-comfortable silence. "I realized this morning—things haven't been right between us since last week and—and I'm sorry I didn't--"
"There's no need to—"
"No, you've been trying to patch things up all week and I've been inexcusably rude. I really need to stop being such an idiot about needing to do everything on my own." She swallowed. "It's just hard having to prove to everyone that I'm tough enough to keep up when so many people are convinced I'm not worthy…"
"I'm not one of them," Dalton spoke in a whisper as they passed by the three tents housing the mages, Queenscove, and training master's family.
"I know you're not. You've always been—sometimes I'm just so busy staying stubborn and strong that I forget it's really only nine of every ten people who are against me and not the whole world. And then I forget to behave decently to the good tenth. You didn't deserve my little tantrum." She looked down and nudged a stick out of her path with the toe of her boot.
"You might try remembering that not everyone who offers to help you thinks you actually need assistance." Penelope shot him a questioning look and he gave her a little shrug before continuing. "Some of us try to lend you a hand because we respect you and agree with what you're trying to do and we see you as an equal. It's not meant to imply that you aren't capable—"
"I can't—"
Dalton reached out a hand and grabbed her shoulder to stop her pacing. "No, listen, if you weren't so busy trying to prove your own worthiness to yourself, you might realize that there are people who already believe you'll succeed."
"I know," Penelope muttered, and began walking again, without bothering to shake his hand from her shoulder.
"No, you don't know," Dalton told her. "People who care about you," he continued as though there had been no interruption, "people who admire how strong and beautiful you are—"
"I'm not," Penelope muttered, still staring at the ground.
Dalton stopped her again and turned her to face him; he had to reach across and grab her other shoulder to do it without disturbing her wounded arm. He took a deep breath and placed his fingers under her chin to lift it. "Yes," he said, "you are." He bent forwards slightly and kissed her, briefly and gently.
A shiver ran through Penelope's shoulders as she glanced up at his face, trying to read it. He lowered his fingers away from her chin and took a step backwards.
"And clever," he continued. "And brave. And—"
"too stubborn and too scared to accept anything from anyone or admit the truth to myself," she muttered, lifting her hands to catch the one that was falling away from her chin. She stepped forwards and kissed him.
This kiss lasted considerable longer than the first and was witnessed by none other than the great romantic, Sir Nealan of Queenscove.
MMMM
Neal immediately abandoned all of his speculation that Dom had added extra salt to his supper to make him wake up unbearably thirsty. He stood staring, wondering whether or not he ought to go and wake Kel. On the one hand, they were her pages, but on the other hand, they weren't doing anything wrong and she would probably feel an inexplicable need to punish them. He also thought of stepping over to interrupt them himself, but then, what would he say?
Finally, he settled for throwing a rock in their direction so that they would be reminded of their sentry duty and following them as a sort of discrete chaperone.
They jumped apart when the rock hit the bushes next to them.
"What was that?" Dalton whispered.
"That was me not being a stubborn—"
"No, I meant," he muttered and gestured towards the bush.
"Oh, a rabbit, I think. We—we ought to keep walking our circuit."
Dalton nodded and hesitantly held out his hand to her. She took his arm and wrapped it over her shoulder before they continued walking. Neal followed silently.
"Did you mean what you—what you said just then?" Penelope asked.
"Yes," he said, turning and kissing her hair. "All of it. I think I've thought of you that way for—well, at least since last week—but you were so—I convinced myself I was just—and then this morning--"
"You saved our lives." She finished for him.
He shrugged. "I didn't really have time to consider the matter until after Queenscove shot the last one. And then I knew I couldn't pretend anymore."
"I um, realized a few things this morning too. I should have realized sooner…but I couldn't stop being an obstinate idiot and pushing you away last week because I was afraid that if I had any help, or got to close to anyone, I wouldn't be able to do things on my own any more. There's nothing like a little mortal peril to clarify certain…feelings."
"You almost make me glad they attacked," he muttered.
"I'm glad I was up there with you when they did," she said, twisting around to face him in a lightning movement. She kissed him before he could say another word.
Neal was just beginning to look for another rock to throw so that he could get them moving again when a voice behind him began whispering an impressive string of curses.
He turned and saw Kel, who was staring at her two pages in complete bewilderment.
"Neal, what are they doing?" she whispered. And then, with a sudden glint in her eyes, "what are you doing here?"
"I was on my way to refill my water skin," Neal said calmly, "and unless my eyes and ears deceive me, your lovely little protégés are kissing now that they've come to a philosophical agreement of sorts."
"This is not happening," said Kel. "I don't know how to deal with this. On top of everything else, it's too much." She glared at Neal, who was gesturing with some amusement towards Penelope and Dalton who had begun walking their circuit once more, Dalton's arm draped over Penelope's shoulders once again. "Lord Wyldon never had to deal with anything like this."
"Well," said Neal in a whisper as they trailed along behind the pages—who were too busy talking to each other to be acting as reliable sentries at the moment—"there was that one rumor about Joren and …" he trailed off beneath Kel's scowl. "But, no, I would say that once again, Lady Knight, your situation is unique."
"When did you become such an optimist?" Kel muttered. "I would have used the term hopeless. How am I supposed to warn them away from doing anything foolish without sounding like a complete hypocrite when the result of my own, er, youthful indiscretions is sleeping in a tent fifty paces away?"
"You weren't indiscrete, exactly Kel," Neal said. "I don't think you and Dom did anything wrong."
"Neal," Kel sighed. "Kefira's…wonderful. And I wouldn't wish not to have had her for anything, but she's completely altered the course of my career. If –well, I didn't mean to have children for another six years or so, if ever. And the scandal that had me sleeping with virtually every Tortallian soldier was a nightmare."
"So," said Neal after a long pause, "have a little chat with Penelope tomorrow and tell her that. She really looks up to you Kel; admires and respects you. You owe her the truth and the benefit of your advice."
"Like what," Kel whispered. "Be sure your anti-pregnancy charm is still in place after rounds of jousting and before you hop into bed with your lover?"
"Is that how the ever blunt and sensible Kel managed to…?" Neal shook his head. "No, don't answer that. Anyway, I had something a little less explicit in mind, but giving the girl some concrete practical advice might not be such a terrible idea."
"I can't sanction that sort of behavior. Her parents would kill me and then the conservatives would start a war deciding how to dispose of my body in the most inglorious fashion possible."
"Her parents are dead, I think," Neal muttered.
"That makes me doubly responsible," Kel said.
"Look Kel, Wyldon would probably want to expel her just for kissing the boy. Well, maybe not anymore, because he seems to be undergoing some radical personality changes as he ages, but that's beside the point. You and I both know that would be ridiculous. It might not even be that big a problem, given that they'll get knight masters and go separate ways in half a year anyway. You can give her a—well, not a lecture, but some sort of, um, talking to—that discourages, untoward behavior without punishing her or forbidding them from ever going near each other again. I mean, it looks like they've been friends for a while and they work well together—we saw that today—and he respects what she wants to do with her life. You can't just tear that away from them."
"You must be trying to appeal to my romantic side," Kel muttered. "You're making him sound like Dom."
"Speaking of Dom," Neal said, "why don't you ask him to have a little chat with Dalton?"
Kel grinned back at Neal. "I'll be sure to tell him it was all cousin Meathead's idea."
"What?" Dom asked as he stepped up behind Kel, wrapping his arms around her and brushing his lips past her cheek.
MMMM
"So," said Penelope, blushing slightly, "I know this has to do with that little encounter we had when the three of you came to remind us we were supposed to wake the next sentries. Did you pick me to help you with dishes as a kind of punishment or are we going to have an uncomfortable little chat now?"
Kel blinked at her and tried to give a noncommittal shrug. Kefira gave a delighted chuckle as Kel scooped her up.
"I suppose it's entirely a coincidence that Sergeant Domitan just rode off alone with Dalton," Penelope said as she stacked cooking utensils into a pot.
"The dishes are just so we can be doing something useful while we very carefully avoid look down at our hands and avoid eye contact," Kel told her.
"That make sense," said Penelope. There was a very long silence as they walked to the creek. "Since you haven't started yet," Penelope said, "do you mind if I say a few things first."
"As long as they're truthful," Kel said. "And remember, I'm not fond of excuses."
"Well," Penelope said, as she began cleaning, "Dalton and I…talked a lot last night." Kel resisted the urge to remind Penelope that she and Dom and Neal had watched most of their conversation, though it had been too muffled—and probably too incoherent given the number of times it had been interrupted by kisses—to overhear. "After we realized…how we felt about each other, it didn't take me long to remember that if certain individuals realized that the two of us were, um, anything more than platonic friends, it would get you—and us—into a lot of trouble. And neither of us wants that to happen. We both—well, everyone but the conservatives thinks you're a lot better than ha Minch. I don't think we would have made it through yesterday if it weren't for you. Anyway, neither of us wants to see you go because of anything we've done." She paused as she reached for a rag to dry her pot with. "So—this probably isn't going to reassure you any because I have a feeling you told yourself something similar once," she said, her eyes flicking briefly towards Kefira. "But we're not going to do anything stupid"—she and Kel both managed to blush scarlet—"I'm too young and I don't want…at least until I've earned my shield." Kel nodded gravely and opened her mouth to speak, but Penelope hadn't quite finished. "And we won't get caught doing anything foolish."
Kel felt her lips give an involuntary twitch at this distinction. This is going to be easier than I expected, she thought, though I may have to be careful to keep an eye on her in the future. "So," she said to Penelope, "you've proved yourself even more mature and perceptive than I thought you were, but don't think you've weaseled your way out of my advice." Penelope looked up at her and swallowed visibly. "I'm glad to hear," Kel continued, "that you like me better than ha Minch, and to be honest I'm really enjoying working with all of you—well, maybe not Gregory—but it was never a part of my plan for myself. I didn't mean for…" Kel trailed off, lost in thought. "Let me tell you something my knight-master once said to me," she said finally.
MMMM
Some time after she had released Penelope, Kel stood holding Kefira and waiting for Dom and Dalton to return as she watched the other pages practice hand-to-hand combat. She heard Dom's voice before they walked into view.
"…not try to protect her from the rest of the world. You just have to protect her from herself from time to time and let her take on the rest of the world on her own terms."
Dom sent Dalton to carry the hares they'd caught over to Neal and hurried to stand near Kel.
"That was very wise advice you gave," Kel said quietly.
"Oh," said Dom. He kissed her before explaining, "I've learned a few things from you over the years."
Okay, I wasn't planning for Penelope and Dalton to highjack the story quite like that, but they walked into my imagination hand in hand and they're something of a force. Besides, my muse seems to have a soft spot for them. Hopefully, there will be more action and more of Tobe, Kel, and Neal in the next chapter—and, if possible, more conservative bashing-- but I can already see more future episodes featuring Penelope and Dalton…With any luck it will be up sometime this weekend. Thanks for reading!