Disclaimer: I surrender everything and anything to Tamora Pierce. Even the original ideas are hers, since it was her work that sparked our imagination.
CHAPTER 10
Dom found her in the infirmary.
Night had fallen and all the survivors had been pulled off the beach front or out of the fortress rubble. Most lay on their cots in the infirmary, while others had been sent back to their rooms. The Tortallan navy ships had blockaded the harbor and would sound any alarm if another attack came. Odds were against that happening.
Weaving his way through the cots and the injured, Dom made his way to the back of the infirmary where Neal slept. Pausing for a moment, he offered the figure on the bed a grim smile before gently shaking Kel's shoulder.
She sat in a chair, her head propped up on the hand that rested on the bed and her other hand holding Neal's. She blinked rapidly when Dom woke her up. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she glanced at Neal's pale face.
"You should be in bed" Dom told her quietly as he slipped a blanket around her shoulders.
"He woke up a little while ago" Kel said softly, purposely ignoring Dom's previous comment. "This feels so unknown. It's never him in this position. You and I are here more than we would like to admit but Neal's always the safe one."
"The Lioness said he would be fine. He'll be awake tomorrow, complaining and annoying the truly sick people in here, and the Lioness will make you deal with him. Which is why you need to go to bed" Dom repeated.
"I told him I would stay. I never wake up alone. It's the first time I truly appreciate how lucky I am when I travel with you. Neal shouldn't have to do this alone just because Yuki and Cai are not here" Kel said, rubbing her hand over Neal's.
In the background she heard someone call the tenth hour of the night watch.
"I will stay" Dom told her, helping her to her feet after spending hours in the same position. "I want you to eat and sleep and come back tomorrow. I will stay."
"Are you sure? You've been on the wall all evening. You need sleep too." Kel handed him the blanket she had about her shoulders.
"I am sure. I can sleep in here. I wouldn't sleep anyway knowing you were here. You should go before the cooks in the kitchen put out the ovens for the night. I was already there. I will see you in the morning." Dom gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before seating himself in her vacated chair.
Kel hesitated a moment before leaving the ward and walking across the courtyard towards the kitchens. Torchlight flickered everywhere and voices could be heard on the walls as men hauled rubble out of the way and others patrolled the walls and beachfront.
Thanking the cooks for the small basket of bread, cheese and cold chicken, she made her way through the silent halls of the castle. Pulling her aching muscles up the stairs to her suite of rooms, Kel placed the basket on a table before stripping off her grimy, gun powder covered clothes and sinking into the cold but clean bath someone had left in her privy.
When she finished, she threw a clean night shirt over he head and quickly braided her hair into a long plait that kept it free of tangles. By the time she had climbed into bed and drawn the covers over her, the night watch had called the next hour.
Sounds and colors whirled through her mind, convincing her that she would never sleep. Tossing and turning, she finally drifted off to sleep before midnight was called from the wall.
"George, something is going on. They have strategy and they attack in patterns. Regular pirates take easy pickings. They attack the same village twice if it means they won't get caught. Which is why pirates who attack the castle of the King's Champion and one of his advisors are extremely unnerving" Alanna commented as she paced her husband's office.
She had come from the infirmary to make sure he had everything under control and to relieve some of her tension. She stopped pacing and watched him trace his finger along a map and tap a pencil against the desk.
"George! Did you hear me? I am unnerved!" Alanna snapped as she ran a hand through her short red hair. Her husband eyed her.
"I heard you. I agree. Which is why I am trying to see if there's a pattern to the raids themselves" George told her evenly. He could tell she was drained and was willing to forgive her slightly more heated temper for the moment.
"And?" Alanna asked as she looked over his shoulder.
"I have nothing. There's a pattern or reasoning of some sort but I need more information. Hopefully Raoul will bring it when he comes this week. I wish I knew what was happening in the Isles. Everything I have gotten contradicts the information before it" George said as he laid the pencil down and leaned back in his chair.
"I thought you had established new agents there last fall, it is the only place we never get decent information from" Alanna said with a small smile. Her husband growled under his breath.
"Aly sent them back. All of them but one. That's what makes this frustrating. Pirates can fly whatever flag they want, who really knows which country they hail from? If they are from the Isles, than I would expect some sort of answer from our daughter. Instead I get a letter that says she has taken a fancy to mangoes and she's pregnant again. I can't tell if she's hiding something or if she thinks I am playing games" George sighed.
"All we can do is wait. Raoul and Buri will most likely arrive before another attack. Hopefully they bring information" Alanna said before she left the room to return to the infirmary.