Disclaimer: Still not mine.

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The Own won the obstacle course challenge, and thankfully no one was injured by falling off the many high beams. Kel had been worried that of someone had fallen, it would be pretty hard to cover up what they'd been doing, and despite that fact that technically they weren't supposed to be competing, Kel found herself enjoying it.

As the crowd dispersed, Dom and Lauri called Kel and her friends over to the start of the course. Yuki, Shinko and Lianne were already there, congratulating Lerant and Dom on their victory and commiserating with Be, Clio and Jake.

"If you want a chance to complete the course, now's you chance," Dom told them. "The ladies have already expressed an interest, would you like to turn it into another race?"

Kel did a quick count and realised that there were seven women, but only six men. "I'll just watch," she volunteered when Neal pointed out the uneven numbers.

"Oh, but its fun Kel," Lauri protested. "Besides, we'll all do it at once so it won't matter of the numbers are uneven, it's the team with the slowest member that loses, and with Dom and Neal on the other team, how can we lose?" she teased.

"Kel doesn't like heights," Neal informed the group, a smug smile on his face.

Kel blushed slightly as Lauri gave her a quizzical look. "It's nothing," she said, trying to play it down. "I was afraid of them when I was younger, but I had an…experience than cured me of that problem." Looking Neal straight in the eyes she told Lauri, "I'll do it."

Neal smiled at her, knowing that by pointing out her weakness that she would want to prove him wrong and therefore have to complete the course. He knew her so well after more than a decade of friendship.

"Great," Be said, pulling Kel over to the start of the course while the other followed a little behind. "Don't worry," Be whispered into Kel's ear. "We're here for you. We'll get you through this."

Kel looked at the Rider woman and felt the gratitude flow out of her. She just hoped the Be could pick up on it.

They lined up along the line that had been carved into the ground to mark the start and Lauri counted down from three. On one, they all made for the wall, the men bickering over who should climb first while the women quickly decided that Shinko, Yuki, Clio and Be should go on ahead while Lianne and Lauri would help Kel if she got into trouble. The Yamani women climbed quickly up the rope and gracefully swung themselves over the top of the wall and back down to the ground, while the men practically threw themselves to the ground once they reached the top.

Once the other were over the wall, Lianne climbed the rope first, then Kel and finally Lauri behind her. Lianne waited at the top of the wall for Kel to reach it before clambering easily down the other side. Kel didn't even wait for Lauri to reach her before she was following the princess down the rope to the ground. She'd conquered Balor's Needle, twenty feet was nothing to her after than ordeal.

As Kel dropped to the ground, Lianne commented, "I thought you had a fear of heights, Lady Knight?"

"I did, then I climbed down the outer staircase of Balor's Needle on a windy day. Now I simply dislike them, highness."

"Please, Lady Night, call me Lianne," the princess said to Kel.

"Only if you call me Kel," Kel replied.

Lianne offered her hand and the two women shook on it as Lauri dropped to the ground beside them.

Next were the logs. Kel had no problems getting over them, her height an advantage at this point. She helped Lianne, who was just over five feet in height, over the highest of the logs while they all rolled under the lower logs with ease. It was at this point that they caught up with the stragglers from the group of men. Neal seemed to be struggling under the net and Dom and Merric were stuck behind him. Dom was poking his cousin, trying to make him move forward, but all he was succeeding in doing was annoying him.

The three women scuttled under the net easily, with a word of advice whispered from Lauri before they started. Kel waved cheekily at Dom and Neal as she slithered past them and out the other side.

As they started over the logs, Yuki, Shinko, Clio and Be were just finishing and setting up to cross the rope swing over the water. This time Kel went first, using her long legs to cross the space between the logs easily. Lianne had more trouble and Kel slowed down to help her balance when she had to overstretch to reach the next log. Lauri, while only just taller than Lianne, jumped neatly between the logs as if she did it everyday.

"I wish it were as easy as you make it look," Lianne told her as they reached the end of the log steps.

"I've had a lot of practise over the years," Lauri told her as she jumped off the last log. "Mainly when I was young and I worked in the rafters during performances my family gave. If you lost your footing while you were that far up, the only way to go was down, a long way down."

The second wall was as easy as the first, and the women had soon scaled it and landed on the other side, Lauri not even bothering with the rope but jumping from the top, landing nimbly and lightly.

Kel smiled at her friend and turned to see what was going on at the rope swing. Shinko, Yuki and Clio all seemed to have made it safely across the water, but Be had not been so lucky.

Kel wasn't sure how, but Lerant and Be had both ended up in the water and were now in the process of trying to kill each other.

Lauri rushed past Kel and Lianne and jumped into the water to try to separate her friend and the enraged standard bearer. Dom had just cleared the second wall when Lauri splashed into the water, and seeing what was going on, he rolled his eyes and ran past her to help.

It took a minute to separate them, and by the time they had, both Lauri and Dom were wet from head to toe. "What they hell is going on here?" Lauri demanded as she did her best to keep hold of Be to stop her friend from getting up and continuing her fight with Lerant, while Dom held his colleague tightly to stop him from attacking Be again.

"He started it," Be shouted.

"No, you started it," Lerant yelled back. "You pulled me in."

"You pushed me in first, I was just trying to regain my balance, which you caused me to lose," Be replied.

"You pulled me in on purpose," Lerant said, shaking his finger at Be.

She smiled sweetly and replied, "Actually yes I did. I figured if I was going in I was taking you with me."

They both started to struggle again, but Dom and Lauri held on tightly until they stopped.

"Lerant, did you try to push Be into the water?" Lauri asked.

Lerant glared at her. "Of course," he replied. "She was bragging about how easy she found the course. It only seemed fair that she take a dip."

"So you're both as bad as each other," Dom surmised. "If we let go, are you two going to try to kill each other?"

Be sent one last glare at Lerant before shaking her head. "I'll behave," she said.

"Good," Dom told her. "And you?" he asked Lerant.

Lerant scowled and said, "I'll try, but I'm not making any promises."

"Good enough for me," Dom said, letting Lerant go at the same time that Lauri released Be. The got up and climbed out of the pool, both giving each other the same look of barely disguised hatred as they walked over the net that they had to scale.

"When do you think they're going to realise just how thin the line between love and hate really is?" Lauri asked Dom as he helped her up.

"I have no idea, but I hope it's soon," he replied. "I have too many bruises from splitting up fights between then two of them."

While Kel had watched Dom and Lauri diffuse the situation, Merric and Neal had come to stand by her and Lianne having caught them up. "Did we miss something?" Neal asked, looking at Dom and Lauri still stood up to there knee in water.

"Just a minor fight," Lianne told the men. "Nothing much to worry about."

As Merric and Neal used to rope to swing across the water, Dom caught hold of Lianne's waist and hoister her over his shoulder, carrying her across the ditch to the other side. He placed her carefully on the far side and she gave him a small curtsy before moving on to the net.

Dom crossed the water back to Kel. "The wet look suits you sergeant," Kel teased as he approached. "You should wear it more often. You hair especially looks much better than normal."

Dom's hand went to his hair, finding it stuck up at odd angles from where he'd been wrestling Lerant. Looking back at Kel, an evil idea passed across his mind. He grabbed Kel's arm and yanked hard, causing her to tumble head first into the ditch with him and Lauri, who still hadn't climbed out.

Kel came up spluttering to find both Lauri and Dom laughing hard. "I can't believe you did that," Kel said when she finally removed all the water from her mouth and nose. "You just pulled me in," she repeated, hitting Dom hard on the arm.

Dom cried out in mock-pain and splashed Kel with water in retaliation. It was a matter of seconds before all three of them where involved in a serious water fight.

Neal's voice finally stopped them when he called from the top of the net, "Can't you people act like grown ups for two minutes?"

Kel and Lauri could only laugh as Dom stuck out his tongue at his cousin and Neal rolled his eyes before starting his descent.

Deciding that play time was over, Kel, Lauri and Dom climbed out of the ditch and moved over to the netting. It had been pegged so that it was at an angle, making it easier to climb than if it had been completely vertical. They set out, Dom clambering into the lead. He saluted to Lianne, who was waiting for Kel and Lauri, and he climbed over the top and started down the other side.

Did you enjoy your little dip?" Lianne enquired when the two women made it to the top of the net, a smile splitting her face making it obvious that she was much less disapproving them Neal had been.

"It was very refreshing," Kel said as she swung herself onto the beam that marked the top of the net. "I'm thinking about making it part of my morning routine."

"Speak for yourself," Lauri said. "I'd rather not repeat the experience, but then again I didn't have the charming sergeant flirting with me."

Kel blushed. "That's just Dom," she dismissed. "He does it with everyone."

"Everyone, really?" Lauri said, her tone a little too mild for Kel.

"I know that everyone thinks there's something going on between us, but it's nothing," Kel insisted.

"And if it could be something?" Lauri asked. "If there was a chance that maybe Dom wasn't just flirting with you because he always flirts?"

Kel silence was enough to confirm Lauri's comments as true. "Well, there are certainly less handsome men around," Lianne said.

"And there are also less troublesome one too," Kel replied as she started to climb down the net.

"I don't know, I think he might be worth the trouble," Lianne replied.

Kel sighed. "And the problem is that I thing the same thing."

Lauri bit her lips as she, Kel and Lianne climbed back down to the ground.

Only the final bar was left to go, but Kel wondered if this was were she might have problems. Twenty feet up wasn't far, but it was still higher than ground level, and the beam they had to cross wasn't quite a foot wide.

Lauri climbed first, using the ladder that had been put there for that express purpose. Once she was on the beam, Kel followed with Lianne a few steps behind her.

Lauri was stood on the beam like it was ten feet across, not ten inches. Kel tried to stand too, but felt her knees go when she saw the ground beyond the beam. Lauri saw Kel go pale and grabbed hold of her arm to steady her before telling her, "Sit on the beam, knees either side of it like you're riding a horse."

Kel obeyed and found she was facing Lauri, who was sat backwards on the beam. They shuffled forwards to allow Lianne to sit on the beam behind Kel while Lauri muttered encouragements.

"Now, we need to move forwards. Slowly does it," Lauri told Kel, seeing just how much she was shaking.

"I'm fine," Kel told her as she shuffled a few inches forwards, trying her best not to see that ground far below her.

"We need something to take your mind off of where we are," Lauri suggested. "Let's talk about something. You pick the topic."

Kel could only think about one thing right then. "I heard a rumour today," she said.

"What was it?" Lauri asked.

"That you were involved with Prince Liam," Kel said, still concentrating on Lauri's voice.

"Where did you hear that?" Lauri enquired.

"Oh, just a friend," Kel replied lightly. "Is it true?"

Lauri looked past Kel to find Lianne watching her closely, waiting for her answer. "Yes it is," she told the two women.

"When did you first meet?" Kel asked.

"Midwinter, three years ago," Lauri told her. "Buri was forcing me to go to all these Midwinter parties while I was recovering from a broken arm. She said she wanted someone from the Riders to be seen at these things, and I happened to be available.

"If you ask me she was just looking to punish me for having been stupid enough to have broken my arm in the first place. I've been very careful since then not to get injured around Midwinter, so she has no reason to force me into going to them again."

"Did you know who he was?" Kel asked, still inching her way forward.

"Yes, we'd been riding with the royal children all autumn. They'd all gone to visit Kalasin in Carthak, so we'd been to Pearlmouth and back too many times to remember."

"Did he know who you were?" Lianne asked from behind Kel.

"Yes, he knew. Didn't stop him from kissing me for Midwinter luck," Lauri told the princess.

"I love that tradition," Kel said. "The first time Cleon kissed me it was for Midwinter luck."

"I'm not sure that people are supposed to kiss princesses for Midwinter luck," Lianne said.

"Don't you worry Princess," Lauri told her. "You Prince will come some day."

"And if he doesn't my father will just find one for me," Lianne said, her voice holding a hint of disappointment.

"You don't want to marry for the good of Tortall?" Kel asked her.

"Just because I know my duty doesn't mean I want to marry without love Kel," Lianne said.

"You could always try to find someone," Lauri suggested.

"Yes, because so many men want to ask the King for his daughter hand in marriage," Lianne drawled.

"Maybe the right guy would," Kel suggested.

"Maybe," Lianne agreed. "But first I have to find him and that it the tricky part."

"Don't look now," Lauri said. "But we've reached the end of the beam."

Lauri somehow managed to manoeuvre her body so she was stood on the ladder. She helped Kel to the end of the beam and then started to descend as Lianne helped Kel onto the ladder before following.

When Kel's foot hit the ground, she was glad to feel solid earth under her again. "Remind me never to do that again," Kel told Lauri and Lianne jumped off the last few rungs to the floor.

"But it was fun," Lauri protested.

"Maybe for you," Kel said. "I'm keeping my feet on solid ground from now on, if it's all the same to you."

Lauri smiled at her. "But it feels good to know that you can do it."

"I suppose," Kel conceded as they walked over to where the other were waiting.

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AN: Sorry for the late update, real life has gotten in the way darn it! I hope it was worth the wait.

Also, I need a knight master for Fionola. I don't think its even been mentioned, so I throw open the floor for any suggestion.