Most of the characters aren't mine, they're Tamora Pierce's. I'm just playing with them in my spare time.
Kel stood in a weak patch of winter sun, ostensibly watching a group of pages at afternoon combat practice, but really entranced by the performance of two very young swordswomen.
A warm hand grasped her elbow and turned her away. "What's this Mindelan? Not dereliction of duty, surely." Dom's eyes danced from Kel to the mock dueling Sarralin and Kefira. Kel grinned in surprise; he was back a day early.
"No." Kel kissed him soundly, completely ignoring the wolf-whistles from her pages. "That was dereliction of duty," she informed him. She barked orders for them to continue while Dom scooped Kefira up, kissed her, and spun her around in a circle.
"I'm not the one to make accusations of dereliction of duty," he muttered once he'd set her down. "She seems to have doubled in size while I've been away."
"You should see Tobe," Kel told him.
"Impressive," Dom agreed, when Tobe and Daine arrived a few minutes later.
Tobe shook Dom's hand and allowed himself to be pounded on the back, before rushing back to some healing work in the stables.
"Don't overtire, yourself," Daine and Kel called after him.
"Hypocrites," he called back.
"I see the boy's learning to speak up for himself," Dom remarked. Daine and Kel shrugged sheepishly at each other.
"Thanks for watching her," Daine told Kel as she gathered up Sarralin.
"My pleasure," Kel replied, "though I think we ought to share the fun with Neal now that he's back; he got in just this morning, so I haven't seen him yet. His daughter must have been lonely without any companions her own age."
WWWWW
"I'm sure she'll get over this in a day or two," Kel told Dom as Kefira crouched behind the bed and refused to speak to him. "She was happy enough when you first arrived." Kel reached down and beckoned to Kefira, but the girl shook her head and refused to approach her mother.
"It's no less than I deserve," Dom sighed and shrugged out of his tunic. "She's too young to understand why I am away so long." Kel noticed blood on the front of his shirt and stood, biting her lip as she stepped towards him. "What?" he asked, before glancing down. "Oh, it's cracked again." He unbuttoned his shirt and peeled it away carefully, revealing a long, oozing cut on his abdomen.
"What happened?" Kel demanded. "Has a healer seen to that?"
"Stormwing feather," he explained tersely, bending over to examine the wound. "We were attacked by an Immortal gang one night. It turns out some of the other Immortals have figured out how to weld the feathers into blades. Anyway, our healer was on sentry duty and he was killed straight off, so of few of my men patched it up as best they could once the fighting was over."
Kel stretched out her fingers and touched his belly just beside the cut. His skin was hot and he winced, stepping backwards. "And how well did they clean it?" she asked, sharply.
"We didn't have a whole lot in the way of supplies after the centaurs ransacked our camp," he muttered.
Kel wrapped her hands around his shoulders and backed him into a chair. "I'm getting Neal to look at this," she told. "Sit." She kissed his forehead. "And stay," she added, kissing him again before hurrying from the room.
WWWWW
Naturally, Dom waited until Kel had left before he stood and tiptoed over to Kefira. "I'm very sorry, Fira—" he began.
She whimpered and covered her eyes. Dom looked down and understood why. His infected cut was gaping and puss-covered. He grabbed his tunic off the bed and used it to hide the wound.
"There," he told her. "You can look now." She uncovered her eyes and blinked at him, wide-eyed. "Your Da's got a bad scratch is all," he explained.
She nodded rapidly. He bent and took another step towards her, but she put her hands on the floor and scooted away backwards. He sighed and swallowed back a groan. He clenched his teeth together and lowered himself to the floor, ignoring the tearing sensation in his muscles.
"How about if I just sit here and tell a story? Would that be alright?"
She nodded and cocked her head to one side, as though preparing to listen.
"Alright then. Once upon a time, and not so very long ago, there was a very brave little girl…"
WWWWW
"I thought I told you not to move," Kel scolded as she and Neal swept into the room. Her expression softened when she saw that Kefira had migrated into Dom's lap during her absence. She embraced both of them and then lifted Kefira away so that Neal could examine the wound.
"You're supposed to stop being stupid and stoic once you have a wife and kids," Neal informed him, frowning as he focused on burning out the infection. "I don't want to see you out of bed until the Mid-winter's eve party," he ordered when he had finished.
"But that's two days, surely I don—"
"I'm leaving enforcement to Kel." Neal grinned as he washed his hands.
Kefira scooted up to the bed and tugged on the covers. "Story," she demanded. Dom chuckled as Kel lifted their daughter onto the bed and lay down beside her.
"So," he said, fighting off a wave of post-healing drowsiness as Kefira nestled herself between them, "after she had rescued the puppy from the spidren…"
WWWWW
"Aren't you ready yet?" Neal asked as he stumbled into the sitting room of his suite at the palace.
He was greeted by two silent glares, a chuckle, and soft snore. Yuki stood beside the door, elegant as ever in a blue gown and holding their sleeping son, Galdric, in her arms. Penelope and Nessaren were perched side by side on the sofa, their heads bent over the book that Penelope was reading from and their hair glinting in the firelight. They might have been sisters. Penelope wore loose trousers and Nessaren a simple dress, but both were dressed in Queenscove colors. All four of them were ready to leave and it looked as though they had been for some time.
Neal was tempted to remark on how lucky it was that he didn't have to wait, but Penelope snapped the book shut and Yuki cleared her throat authoritatively and he decided against it. "Let's go then and see if Lady Alanna has arrived yet," he said cheerfully, bending over so that Penelope could lift Nessaren onto his shoulders.
"So," Penelope inferred as she accepted Galdric from Yuki so that Neal could take her arm, "punctuality is optional for knights."
Neal sighed loudly as he glanced back at his squire. "Beauty and intelligence are optional for squires, dear girl, but you don't seem to have lost them." He paused and cocked his head to one side. "Not yet, at any rate," he added, "although some days—"
"Dear, need I remind you that she is carrying your only son over a hard flagstone floor and you have already tried her patience considerably?" Yuki cut in.
Daine and Numair arrived with their children just then, and Neal found himself agreeing to watch all of their children—and Kel's—the next week. Yuki and Penelope didn't bother to conceal their wolfish grins as the group swept into the ballroom.
WWWWW
Kel watched Dom's face carefully as her family settled themselves in a corner. He was still very quiet and his lips kept twitching into a half-grimace. He wasn't alone; many of her friends and acquaintances who had recently returned to the palace sported some sort of wound and all of them seemed strained and exhausted.
Neal looked the same way, she realized, now that she saw him with the others. And so did Penelope—she seemed cheerful enough amidst the celebration, but her cheeks were pale and hollowed and Kel noticed that she stayed closer to Neal's family than was necessary for a squire. Penelope helped Yuki with the children and brought drinks for the adults instead of joining her year-mates.
"We've all had a difficult fall, I'm afraid," Neal told her when he noticed her observations. "She's seen quite a lot—dealt with a lot—saved my life more than once. I wouldn't want my daughter to have to—"
"She's not your daughter," Kel said firmly. "You can't protect her from her own decisions."
"I know," Neal answered. "I can only hope my daughter turns out as well."
"How could she not?" Kel asked, looking over to wear Nessaren and Kefira played. "Think about the role models you're surrounding her with."
"I try not to; you're all rather terrifying." He sighed and gave a helpless grin. "Anyway, we were nearly cornered by a pair of spidren the other day. They just came out at us out of nowhere and I'd gotten a bit turned around…"
"He means we were completely lost," Penelope put in flatly as she returned, passing mulled wine to Numair and Dom.
Neal grabbed her by her braid as soon as her hands were free, clapping a hand over her mouth. "Insubordinate squire," he complained, attempting to haul her away before she could reveal any more of his mistakes. Penelope stubbornly resisted being dragged away by her hair, trying to talk through Neal's fingers.
Suddenly, Penelope's eyes widened and she stopped struggling. She allowed herself to be pulled backwards, deliberately trampling Neal's feet as she twisted free. Kel turned and saw that Alanna had arrived, accompanied by George and followed by Dalton.
Neal reached out and grabbed Penelope's forearm before she darted away. "Careful," he reminded her, "the last thing you need right now is malicious gossip. You aren't at Pirate's Swoop anymore."
"Thanks," Penelope whispered.
Kel watched Penelope hurry away to greet the new arrivals, keeping a careful distance from Dalton. "Are they still…?" she asked Neal. "I would have thought they'd have drifted apart by now."
Neal just shrugged and winked at her.
WWWWW
Penelope met Dalton's eyes as she bowed formally to Lady Alanna and glanced quickly at a cluster of middle-aged conservatives who were eyeing her carefully. He gave her a tiny nod as he stepped forward to shake her hand.
"I hope to have the honor of a mock duel, soon Lady Penelope," he said carefully.
"The honor will be mine," Penelope answered smoothly, forming the hand signal for "outside" before her leg.
"Perhaps, tomorrow morning," he returned, signaling "tree" and "me first".
"I'll wait and take my turn second," Lady Alanna cut in, addressing both of them. "I hope you've been able to help Queenscove manage his ego, my dear."
"I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise, my lady," Penelope replied, forcing herself not to watch Dalton as he slipped out of the ballroom. It was simply ridiculous; there was nothing romantic or exciting about it. How did other noblewomen manage endless covert meetings? She and Dalton had grown used to straightforward companionship at Pirate's Swoop; sweaty kisses behind the stables after practice and open conversation as they studied. She felt naked before so many courtiers—all of them seemed to be waiting for her to trip up.
"His children have helped immensely, of course," Penelope added, shaking herself out of her troubled reverie.
"Let's go see them then, shall we, I'd love to thank the newest arrival."
WWWWW
Dalton wrapped his cloak tightly about his shoulders as he reached the apple tree in the back garden and blinked up at the sky. It looked like snow. He sat down next to it to wait for Penelope. And to worry. She'd seemed so weary when she'd greeted him; and she'd been laughing so happily with Queenscove just beforehand. Could she have…But then, he was her knightmaster, and she had wanted to see him outside.
There was a noise in the bushes and he stood quickly. Penelope seemed to come out of nowhere and collide with him, wrapping her arms about him and burying her face against his chest. He laughed with relief and spun her about before setting her down to kiss her.
He ignored the tears streaming down her cheeks, knowing she wouldn't want them mentioned, but he winced when he felt the tension in her shoulders and the sharpness of her backbone. She frowned as she wrapped her arms around him again, and he knew that she noticed his own prominent ribs. It had been a difficult winter for both of them.
"We don't need to ask each other how we are, then," she whispered, setting her cheek over his heart as he pulled her closer.
"No," he said, as they sat side by side on the bench. "Why don't we start by listing the Immortals we didn't see?" he added, trying to speak lightly.
"Hurroks," she said simply.
"Me too, maybe we've earned ourselves a bit of a reputation."
She half-smiled and laid her head against his shoulder. "The worst were the Spidren," she said quietly. "Neal and I were sent out to rescue the boy they'd captured …we didn't make it in time." She leapt up and began pacing restlessly as she spoke. "I never thought I was squeamish about blood, but then they dropped his body out in front of us and there was so much of it…"
Dalton gripped the edges of the bench to keep himself from reaching out to grab her arm and pulling her to him as he listened to her jumbled account of the skirmish.
"…it was horrible though; I actually liked killing them, they was something so, so satisfying about it—I kept hacking at them even after they were all dead. Everyone—all the men who'd come to help us—stared at me after like I was some sort of creature too." She shivered as soon as she'd finished speaking. Her neck was covered in gooseflesh.
"We've all got a little monster in us. When we were attacking centaurs I always went for the human part instead of the horse part. There was something more innocent about their animal ends, but I could always hate their faces when I thought about what they had done." Realizing that she had no cloak, Dalton lifted the edge of his and nodded at her. "They wouldn't have cared so much if you were a boy; lots of soldiers get swept up in battle rage."
"I know," she whispered as she stepped under his arm and pull the cloak tight around both of them. "But I'm not allowed to become a monster; I'm supposed to be gentler and nobler and quieter than all of that."
"Who says? And you're not allowed to answer 'I say' or 'everyone says'."
She shook with silent laughter and he lifted a hand to tweak her nose and brush a stray strand of hair away from her face.
"How do you always know the right thing to say?"
"You're just a generous listener," he said. He wrapped both arms around her and kissed her, ignoring her icy nose. "I don't always know what to say," he added soberly, "most of the time I don't have any idea. I had to tell a man his daughter had been killed by a taurus last week. There aren't any words for that kind of thing; so I just blurted it out and let him punch me."
"It's something of a relief, being an orphan," she told him. "Knowing my parents won't ever have to get news like that. It makes me feel better about risking everything." She shuddered again. "It's been a nightmare, but I can't imagine quitting. I couldn't just walk away from all of this."
Dalton sighed. He could imagine it, imagine running home and hiding behind a desk for the rest of his days. He knew he wouldn't, but still, it was tempting. "You are a most remarkable creature," he told Penelope as they sat together on a bench.
"You're rather inspiring yourself," she answered, settling against him.
WWWWW
Neal chuckled softly when he found them sleeping with their backs against the tree and blissfully ignorant of the descending snow flurries. He hadn't seen his squire looking so untroubled or unguarded in months. Only the snow and the thought of the scandal that would arise if anyone else found them kept him from tiptoeing away.
They both startled, reaching for belt knives that they weren't carrying, when he shook them awake. They jumped to their feet when they recognized him. Penelope kept a defiant grip on Dalton's hand, but she twisted her lips together as though she were trying to think up an explanation.
"Don't bother," he told her. "I knew I'd be playing fairy godmother when I took you on. Besides, I'd hate to have rumors going around that my illicit young mistress was cheating on me. Just see to it that certain Lady Knights don't hear about any more of my shortcomings."
"Yes, sir, " they both saluted. And Dalton kissed Penelope's cheek and shook Neal's hand before darting away.
"You're awfully cynical for a hopeless romantic," she told Neal as they set off for his suite.
"Speaking of which, I told Nessa to let us sleep and wake you instead tomorrow morning."
"But it's midwinter, she'll be up before dawn," Penelope protested.
"It'll give you plenty of time to get ready for your practice bout with Lady Alanna," Neal informed her. "By the way, you're not to let her disarm you until her third try. I have a considerable sum of money resting on it."
"I should never have left you unsupervised," Penelope said glumly.
"The cold has muddled your wits, dear girl," Neal said, clapping an arm about her shoulders. "I'm supposed to be saying that about you."
WWWWW
"I take it you've recovered from your financial losses this morning," Kel asked Dom as he bent to collect a fistful of snow.
"Nearly," he answered, grinning as he packed the snow into a missile. "I'll never underestimate one of your protégés again."
"See that you don't," Kel said, stepping forwards to kiss him. They were interrupted when a snowball connected squarely with Kel's ear.
She turned sharply and saw Penelope and Neal standing side by side with their hands behind their backs and their faces innocently upturned.
Dom launched his snowball at Neal, but he miscalculated and it ended up hitting Numair, who blamed George for the attack. An all-out battle began which temporarily distracted all of them from their worries. Seeing George and Alanna behaving more like vengeful teenagers than Tobe, Penelope and Dalton, Kel forget about keeping up a staid and serious façade. Silverspot and a few of Daine's other friends charged out of the forest to join the snow war. Silverspot tangled herself in Numair's long legs so that he fell, knocking Dalton over. Inspired, Daine transformed into a large white arctic bear and scattered snow over everyone.
When the fighting was over, they all collapsed, wet and red-faced, on the snow. Sarralin, completely unfazed by her mother's teeth and claws, scrambled onto Daine's back and demanded a ride. Nessaren and Kifira hurried to join her. Daine lurched good-naturedly to her feet, growled softly at Tobe, and began lumbering up the hill. Tobe positioned himself at her side and trotted along beside her, ready to catch any of the girls if they slipped.
Kel chuckled as she listened to Neal's remarks about the difficulties of raising "abnormally fearless children". The girls were a thrilling sight on the bear, looking more like something out of a fairy tale than an ordinary midwinter afternoon. She glanced quickly at the sky, wondering if they ought to be heading home soon.
"Don't," Alanna told her, voice slightly muffled by her hood and scarf. "You have to savor moments like this, otherwise you might wake up one day and find that you've forgotten what you're fighting for." Kel nodded as a strong, gloved hand released her shoulder and grabbed Penelope's instead.
"You have to let your walls down to love and laugh a little every so often." She leaned forward to whisper in the girl's ear, "but try not to stay out too late doing it—you might have beat me this morning if you'd been better rested." She winked quickly at Neal and Dalton and then strolled over to join George and Numair. Kel spent the afternoon following her advice.