DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KISS ME BY SIXPENCE NONE THE RICHER!!
Author's Note: I'm ba-ack! Yup, that's right I'm back and with a new chapter too! So again I thank all of my reviewers, anonymous and signed, and encourage you to review if haven't yet, and if you have there is plenty of space so you can review again, I won't mind really.
Chapter Ten – What Happened to Raoul and Who Did It?
It was mid-February when Kel finally got around to writing to her mother and of course Dom's mother as well. She had decided not to tell them she was pregnant in the letters, but asking them to come to Corus to discuss some very important things. She had gotten replies from both women, who agreed they would meet her in Corus on the 9th of March.
"Dom how do you think we should tell them?" Kel asked her fiancé as they sat in Kel's room playing chess.
"I don't know, I'm sure they'll both be happy, but upset that we aren't married," Dom said taking Kel's knight, "well yet that is."
"My mum probably will be to happy to be angry, but I've only met yours once," Kel said amused, "how do you think she'll take it."
"I'm not sure," Dom pondered, "it's not like I'm the heir to Masbolle, I'm third so I don't think she'll be that mad."
"Well I hope she isn't, and I hope she doesn't think too lowly of me," Kel said pulling up her mask, "anyways I hope we get an assignment soon, I'll go out of mind if I'm stuck here for the next seven and a half months."
As if Mithros and the Great Mother Goddess hard her plea, Kel, Alanna, Raoul and three squads of Third Company were sent to go round up a group of bandits who'd been terrorizing the villages in fiefs near the Great Southern Desert.
On February 18th, Dom's squad, Balim's squad and Aiden's squad along with the three knights set out towards the desert on the sunny day. They started out at a trot, with Alanna and Raoul leading and Kel hanging back with Wolset and Dom. Kel had kept her secret very close to her, not letting on at all that she was pregnant. But knowing Third Company, certain people knew what was going on (Wolset and the rest of Dom's squad). So Kel had taken precautions for this trip and had brought extra baggy clothing even it was impossible for you to tell her new medical state.
"So Kel," Wolset said with a grin, "what's with the overly baggy shirt? Afraid you'll grow another foot before we return to the palace?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about corporal," Kel said pulling up her mask so to not let Wolset get away with anything.
"Of course you know what I mean, so does the rest of Dom's squad," Wolset said laughing, "do I need to call one of the men over?"
"No!" Kel and Dom both said hastily, neither liked the idea of the entire palace finding out before either of their parents knew.
"Oh, so you're both in on this secret," Wolset said a mischievous grin crawling up his face.
"Wolset we'll tell you," Kel said glancing at Dom who gave a slight jerk of his head, "but not now later after we set up camp."
With this Kel road ahead to go talk to Alanna and Raoul, letting Dom handle Wolset.
"Wolset you'll have to promise that you won't tell anyone about what this is," Dom said in a deadly tone.
"Aye aye cap'n!" Wolset yelled getting a couple of chuckles from some of the surrounding men.
They road until near dark and set up camp in a large clearing. Kel was getting restless, she had the urge to pull a prank on someone. She knew it couldn't be one of the men in the Own, they were to hard, but maybe Raoul. Yes Raoul was the perfect guy to pull a prank on, and he knew her well, he knew she didn't pull pranks. Bonus there, having fun and it being blamed on someone else.
"Alanna," Kel whispered to Alanna who was sitting right next to her, "I want to prank Raoul but I don't know what to do?"
"All to well my friend, all to well," Alanna whispered back, "just follow my lead."
Alanna got to her fit to walk over to where Raoul was setting up his tent.
"Hello Raoul," Alanna said in a sickeningly sweet voice.
"Oh no," he replied taking a step back, "you only use that voice when you want something. Namely something that I have."
"No not all," Alanna said with a smile, "it's just that Kel and I forgot our tent and Kel can't sleep outside, not in her condition..."
"Get to the point Alanna," Raoul said losing his patience.
"Well we were wondering if we could have yours, seeing as you would sacrifice anything for Kel in the current state." Alanna was finding this all to easy, and with the pouting face Kel was making they would definitely pull this off.
"Fine," Raoul muttered, and then he yelled to his men, "Someone will be lending me their tent, the Lady Knights seemed to have forgotten theirs."
"Sorry Raoul," Wolset bellowed back from across the fire, "but we have no spares and we already have three to a tent so I guess you'll be sleeping outside."
"If it rains Wolset," Raoul said grinning at the impertinence of his men, "you get latrine duty for a month."
Alanna and Kel slipped away from camp without being noticed by none other than Dom and his squad who said "they were going to see if they could find more food". Really they decided to join in with the fun the Lady Knights planned to have.
"So does everyone know the plan?" Alanna said with an evil grin plastered across her face, as eleven head's nodded in agreement, "Good, we execute Code:Blue at 0200hours!"
With this they dispersed to their tents leaving Raoul and a few stragglers still outside under the stars. Kel couldn't sleep so she lay awake in the tent hearing Alanna's soft breathing from beside her. She had a lot of things on her mind right now, the baby, how she was going to tell her parents and Dom's, how would everyone react, her head was swarming that she lost track of time when Dom came to "wake" her up for Code:Blue.
"C'mon Kel it's time for your part," Dom whispered giving her a kiss on her forehead.
Kel and Dom slipped from the tent to see Wolset holding a vial. She was going to have fun with this, of course there would be no proof that the men of the Own had helped in he slightest. If all went as planned, they were leave with a clean slate and Raoul would be very unhappy for a month.
Kel tiptoed over to the sleeping Raoul. Over the two years that she had left his service as a squire she'd forgotten how loud he snored. She carefully took the stopper out of the vial and pured it out onto Raoul's hair. She replaced the stopper in the vial and slipped away without a sound. She was about to slip back into her tent when Wolset stopped her.
"I want to know the secret between you and Dom," he said.
"As long as you don't tell anyone," Kel said seriously hoping she was making the right decision.
"I swear I will not tell a soul, upon my own life," Wolset as serious as Kel had spoke.
"I..well I..ummm you see," Kel couldn't bring herself to tell Wolset so Dom did it for her.
"Wolset, Kel is pregnant with my child," Dom said in tone without any emotion, he was serious but it was said so bluntly she could hardly tell it was him speaking.
"Thank you for trusting me," Wolset answered the silence, "I will not tell a soul."
The three of them returned to their tents trying to get some sleep over the next few hours. Knowing that when dawn came, heads would roll.
A deafening yell woke the camp, everyone stuck their heads out of tents to see Raoul scrubbing his now blue hair. None of the men spoke a word or made a sound, they had known nothing of this prank and decided to wait for the pranker(s) to come forward. Alanna and Kel were next to speak but it was hard to be classified as speaking, more of dieing from laughter.
"I like what you've done with the hair Raoul," Alanna said between gasps of air.
"You! You did this!" Raoul said fury in his eyes.
"Nope," Alanna said matter-of-factly, "All I did was give her the potion, simple really."
Now Raoul was really confused, what did Alanna mean by her? Then the idea popped into his head when Kel pulled a vial out of her pocket and everyone broke into laughter.
"Kel," Raoul said trying not to laugh, "you have latrine duty for a week."
"Excuse me my dear friend," Alanna said butting in, "but in her current state I forbid her to do latrine duty."
Turning to his old friend, "Then you can do it Alanna."
"Pardon me Raoul," Alanna retorted raising one eyebrow.
"I mean,...no one... has latrine...duty," he answered hesitantly not wanting Alanna's temper to flare up so early in the morning.
Everyone laughed and went to congratulate Kel on a prank well done.
Camp was quickly taken down as they once again set out for the desert. It was getting close to midday and the men of the Own were starting to get very bored. They decided to bother the already unhappy Raoul.
"When are we gonna get there?" Wolset whined.
"I don't know," Raoul said not realizing what his men were doing.
A few minutes later Pascar asked, "Are we there yet?"
"Not yet Pascar," Raoul said a little annoyed.
Such sayings carried on for about fifteen minutes before Raoul turned around and yelled at them to stop or they'd all be very sorry.
"Well what are we supposed to do then?" Dom asked curious to see what his commander would say.
Raoul pondered the thought and decided upon Kel's punishment, "Kel will sing a song for you, and you guys get to decide what song she sings."
Kel gave Raoul a very cold look and he returned it with a cruel grin of his own. The men of the own started to laugh and started arguing about what song she had to sing. Dom was the one to figure out what song she had to sing.
"Kiss Me," Dom said trying not to laugh, the other men let out chuckles as Wolset pulled a piece of parchment from his saddle bag.
Kel snatched the parchment from Wolset and read over it, it wasn't very long but she wasn't going to give Raoul the satisfaction of backing down. She took a deep breath and started to sing.
KEL
Kiss me out of the bearded barley
Nightly, beside the green, green grass
Swing, swing, swing the spinning step
You wear those shoes and I will wear that dress
KEL and DOM
Oh, Kiss me beneath the milky twilight
Lead me out on the moonlight floor
Lift your open hand
Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance
Silver moon's sparkling
So kiss me
KEL
Kiss me down by the broken tree house
Swing me upon its swinging tire
Bring, bring, bring your flowered hat
We'll take the trail marked on your father's map
KEL and DOM
Oh, Kiss me beneath the milky twilight
Lead me out on the moonlight floor
Lift your open hand
Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance
Silver moon's sparkling
So kiss me
EVERYONE EXCEPT RAOUL AND ALANNA
Oh, Kiss me beneath the milky twilight
Lead me out on the moonlight floor
Lift your open hand
Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance
Silver moon's sparkling
So kiss me
So kiss me
So kiss me
So kiss me
Kel finished the song and Dom road up beside her. He placed a small peck on her cheek and then nudged he horse away so Kel wouldn't attack him. Man of the own let out cat calls and wolf whistles whilst Kel tried to figure out how she would make Dom pay for this.
"You'll pay for that Domitan!" Kel yelled at him as all the men started laughing, this was one of those times that she loved being trained by the Yamani.
Author's Note: Okay I know that there really was no point to adding that song but I felt like it so tough! Please review my 80th reviewer may get to have a special appearance in the next chapter so there's some incentive for all of you lazy people who can't review. Well I'll the next chapter up soon, I hope, well maybe not, nope, bye-bye!