Hey all, chapter 7- REVISED. Thankyou to justletitshine for pointing out a very stupid mistake! Not necessary to read the revised version- but recommended that you read the conversation with Felicity again. Thanks!
It was several days before Dom roused himself to do anything other than sit in his room and mope- no, not mope, he thought angrily. Think. Because it wasn't like he was the one that cared, anyway.
He splashed some cold water over his face and made his way through the corridors down to the dining hall, hunger making his stomach grumble loudly.
It was during breakfast that he made his first mistake. Shovelling bread and bacon into his mouth as fast as he could, Dom lifted his head and scanned the crowd boredly, searching for Wolset, or Lerant, someone, anyone to talk to.
Instead, he found a pale hazel-eyed face, several tables away, bent over a full plate. Her hands weren't anywhere near her knife and fork, she wasn't even attempting to eat. The seats near her were empty, and Dom impulsively stood, picking up his breakfast tray, and strode over to plonk himself next to her.
"Hey, Kel, ho-"
As soon as she took him in, she bolted, her eyes widening like a startled horse's. Kel practically ran out of the dining hall, bemused watchers staring after her and at Dom, who sat, his food suddenly tastless.
He cursed himself bitterly, how could he have been so stupid? He'd completely forgotten about everything that had happened. Well, he'd been thinking about it, and her, before he'd seen her, but the sight of her had drove everything but her from his mind and he'd just wanted to keep her company and-
And the conservatives would be wondering why on earth his betrothed had sprinted away at the sight of him.
Dom forced himself to grin and lift a hand at the starers. "Think she's getting nervous about the wedding. My mother's got her trying on about ten dresses a day!"
A few people chuckled, everyone looked away; Dom sighed with relief and made his exit. His hunger had vanished along with her, and now he didn't know what to do with himself.
It was around midday when he got the note. It was a simple piece of parchment with ten words scrawled onto it- "Dom, need to see you now in my rooms. -Mother".
Dom made himself sit up- he had been lying on his room's floor, staring at the ceiling, hoping to find answers.
There was nothing particularly enlightening up there.
Reluctantly, he walked to his mother's rooms, dreading what she would have to say. He knocked lightly on the door, hoping that she would have gone out or something, but it definitely wasn't his lucky day, and the door was opened.
"Hello, mother," he greeted Felicity wearily. She hugged him tightly around the shoulders and hustled him inside. The ordinary, calming smell of tea filled his nostrils and he felt slightly better until he noticed who occupied one of the three chairs in the middle of the room.
Kel. She sat stiffly, her back to Dom, holding a slim Yamani teacup in one hand. Her other hand was in her lap, clenching to make a fist, and then unclenching slowly.
"I thought we'd have a meeting," Felicity said, her tone becoming firmer.
Feeling like a small naughty boy, Dom settled himself into the chair that Felicity indicated, trying not to look at Kel, but failing miserably.
She looked unwell. Her skin was pale and her eyes shadowed by dark circles. She was wearing her favourite blue shirt, but it was baggier than he remembered. Or maybe she was thinner.
Felicity cleared her throat and Dom jerked back to the present, his face flushing slightly with the realisation that he had been caught staring.
"A meeting. Yes." He said hurriedly.
In any other time or situation, Kel would have found Dom acting like a guilty child amusing, but now it only made her cringe inside. She sipped her tea stiffly, trying to pretend that Felicity and Dom didn't exist.
"Masbolle," Felicity began sharply, "is a well-known and well-respected house throughout Tortall. Mithros, we're in the Book of Gold."
She paused, evidently trying to set this in both Dom and Kel's minds. "The Book of Gold," Felicity repeated, just to be certain. "It would be scandalous if it was implied, or shown, that the two of you are not a love match."
Stopping, the Lady of Masbolle took in Dom's blank stare and Kel's unfocused eyes, and sighed inwardly. It would seem that there was going to have to be a lot of elaboration.
"Mindelan," Felicity dragged out the word, and successfully captured Kel's attention. "Is not in any of the books. But it has a good chance of rising to join the Book of Copper, in time. This marriage is meant to benefit both fiefs. But as I said, it would be a huge and heavy scandal if it were found out that this is an arranged marriage.
You," she addressed this to Kel, whose eyes widened, startled. "You are the only dubbed Lady Knight in all of Tortall. You hold a high position, and a position that there has been much difficulty in getting to. You are a pioneer for all women in Tortall."
Kel stared at Lady Felicity, speechless and stunned.
Felicity didn't leave any room for another person to speak. "If it were suspected that you, of all women in Tortall, had been forced into an arranged marriage, like some ordinary court lady," here she paused for effect. "It would be scandal. Women all over Tortall would be devestated because they would think that their, their independence, their freedom, their choices were going absolutely nowhere. You, Lady Keladry, have become Tortall's Lady hero... not only Tortall's, but other countries too. With you, women have begun to be considered worthy of choosing their own futures. I don't want this to change."
Looking at the two again, Lady Felicity felt some relief in knowing that her message was taking effect.
"Kel," her tone was gentler this time. "If you want women to have more freedom, if you want them to be allowed to make the same choices you did, you have to be a strong, successful example. Your marriage must seem to be the happiness and joy that it is supposed to be. The court and the public need to see you spending time together... People have to see you together on normal days, otherwise they're going to wonder if you, well, have some kind of motivation in marrying Domitan...
The conservatives would pounce on anything, anything to further ruin your reputation and stop other girls from becoming Lady Knights. If you won't do this for me, do it for the women of Tortall. You..." she paused, trying to choose her words carefully. "You used to spend a lot of time together. I'm sure it won't be too hard now."
You have no idea, Dom thought, staring at his mother increduously. The fact was, Felicity really did not have a grasp on all the wild undercurrents of emotions going on in both Kel and Dom.
It hurt to admit it, even to himself, but Dom knew that despite his misgivings, Felicity was right- and that he also did not want all Kel's struggles and challenges in becoming a knight to go nowhere.
Dom was musing on this before he realised that someone was supposed to respond- and that Kel wasn't going to.
"Um, we'll... try?" Dom said carefully.
Kel sipped her tea numbly- she had absorbed everything Felicity had said with a kind of numb mind, and had now returned to trying to pretend that Felicity and Dom didn't exist.
"Good," Felicity relaxed into her seat. "Good. To start, I suggest a walk after lunch. A horse ride. Anything."
Kel suddenly came to life, her eyebrows knitting together into a glare. "Today? What? No. No, I won't."
Whereis Dom's bright blue eyes were usually found to be warm and friendly, Felicity's, over time, had taken on a steely and firm look.
Those steely blue eyes lifted to meet Kel's pain-filled hazel ones.
"Keladry?" Felicity said softly, drily. "I really don't think you have any other choice."
It came out as a barely contained threat, giving Dom a shock, but seeming to have the same effect on Kel as a whip to a slave.
Kel bowed her head in defeat, her brown hair swinging out from behind her ears to cover her face.
Lady Felicity was gazing at Kel almost sorrowfully, but with a certain amount of satisfaction in her eyes.
Dom, confused, looked between his mother and fiance.
Whatever had gone on, Dom certainly was not privy to it.
"Erm, Kel, would you like to come for a walk with me after lunch?" Dom called uselessly. Uselessly, because Kel walked quickly down the corridors, trying to pretend that Dom didn't exist.
"Kel? Kel? Kel! KEL!" Dom practically bellowed, sprinting after her. "Oh, Mithros, KEL!"
Kel was finding it rather hard to ignore him. "What do you want?" she demanded coldly, not even bothering to stop walking.
"I, I, I want... I want you to come for a walk with me!" Dom decided firmly, having no idea what he really wanted.
"Well I don't want to," Kel marched on unemotionally.
"But Kel, you heard what my mother said, I-"
Kel cut him off, spinning around to glare him in the face. "I know what she said, Domitan. And I know what we have to do. So how about you give me some space for a while?"
Confused but resolving firmly that he was not hurt, Dom let her go, standing uselessly in the middle of the hallway as she walked away.
Women. What a nightmare.
He ate lunch, despite the fact that he really had no appetite. Neal sat with him, but neither of them talked. There was nothing to say.
It was after lunch, when he was sitting at the table about to pick up his tray to take it back, that Kel walked over, her face pale and emotionless. "Walk?"
Dom stared at her in shock. He had thought that she wouldn't come near him for the rest of the day, but here she was, asking him to go for a walk.
Not really, said a nasty little voice in the back of his mind. Mother basically ordered her to. It's not her choice. Or yours.
"Sure," Dom said, nonetheless getting up quickly and disposing of his dishes. "Let's go."
They strolled away from the castle- not touching, but Dom counted it a good thing to the public eye that they were together.
It was in the forest that it became all the more awkward. Kel led the way, taking a messy route through the forest until, finally, they reached a clearer patch where the sun shone dimly through the branches.
Kel sat wordlessly, leaning against a tall tree. Dom followed suit, a safe distance away. He gazed up at the blue splotch of sky showing through the trees until he became painfully aware of Kel's hazel eyes appraising him closely.
"You don't know, do you," she said flatly. It wasn't even a question, it was a statement of fact.
Dom frowned. "Know what?" His mind worked through what he might be supposed to know. Birthday, Midwinter, Midsummer, wedding...?
Her mouth twisted up into a kind of bitter smile. "Forget it. You'll find out soon enough."
Dom took in these words, along with her pained smile and hurt, miserable hazel eyes, and really thought.
He looked at her, and it came to him- a discovery made far too late, something that he should have seen from the very beginning. It was like the recognition of a fact that he had long been aware of- but now, finally, he was acknowledging it.
I love her.
At first those words hovered in his head with a kind of blissful ecstasy, a pleased wonderment- but then Dom's current situation soured the words and turned them black and bitter.
A week ago, he realised, with a horrified jolt. This would have been amazing... She loves- loved- me, and we could have been happily wed with no concerns...
Images rose in his mind, images of what he had done to her ever since he had discovered that they were betrothed.
"And I'm not betrothed to just anyone. I'm betrothed to Kel, for Mithros' sake!"
"I hate the fact that I'm betrothed to you!"
"I have to give up my career, my entire life, for someone I don't even love!"
"Can we still be friends?" ... "We can try."
But now? Dom thought as he watched Kel.
I've done too much, I've pushed her away, I've broken her heart... I've ruined her. How could I have done all this?
His chest was filled with a cold misery that refused to let him speak. He choked silently on his own thoughts for a couple of moments, before he collected himself.
I love her. I love her so much. And I've treated her so badly. This has to stop. I have to... be her friend again.
"No, you tell me," he said gently, blending back into the conversation as best as he could, his mind still aching from the revelations.
Kel lifted her hazel eyes up to meet his stonily. "My father is dead," she said bluntly.
Stunned yet again, Dom stared at her numbly. "No, no, what?"
Her head slumped and her shoulders curved inwards, shaking uncontrollably. It took Dom several seconds to work out that she was sobbing in utter silence, trying not to show him her grief.
"How?" he said. Uncertainty filled him- he had no idea whether he should move forward to comfort her or whether that would only make matters worse.
"Scanran bandits," Kel managed through her sobs. "They, they caught him on the roads and killed him for his money bags. For his money!"
Dom swallowed heavily, his mind completely empty of what to say. Comforting had never been his strong point, especially not when he'd badly hurt the person who was upset.
"Kel," he began quietly but with determination. "I am so, so sorry."
She sounded like she was choking, like she was drowning in misery. Dom couldn't bear it any longer.
Once again, Keladry of Mindelan found herself feeling like a complete idiot, sitting with Dom's arms around her as she sobbed pitifully. One of his hands rubbed gentle circles into her back, while the other rested lightly on her shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, Kel," he whispered. "If I could do anything... If you need anything... anything."
"You can't." The words were so faint through her hiccupping sobs that Dom almost thought that he had imagined them.
Her sobs eased gradually and her arms reached up to push him away. Dom let go quickly, realising that the time for comforting had ended- any more, and Kel would feel stupid.
She brought a resolute yet tearstained face up to look at his own. "You see why this has to work now. Father was managing all Mindelan's accounts, and it turns out that they aren't as good as he told us. Our money's gone... My father's gone. Your mother promised us..."
She trailed off miserably, but Dom got the general gist. Another puzzle piece clicked into place and he drew in his breath sharply.
"Is that why... Is that why mother said that she really didn't think you had another choice?" He was furious at the thought, to him it seemed like a low comment designed to hit Kel hard and bring her down.
"I guess," Kel nodded her head, biting her lip miserably. "It doesn't matter. She's right."
Dom, his thoughts unhappy and distant, knew with a sick kind of certainty that his mother was right.
This marriage had to work, for the sake of Kel's fief and family, and for the women of Tortall.
Kel would do anything for her family. Including putting on a brave face about marrying him.
And Kel would do anything for her country, for Tortall- including keeping up the happy act about their marriage.
A/N: Chapter 7, aren't you proud? I know it was a horrible gap between chapters, and for that I'm seriously sorry! Hope you enjoyed this one, and I hope to have the next one up ASAP!
