A/N: I went back and revised the fight at the end of the last chapter, and I think it reads a bit better. Have a look before you read this chapter!

Kel was warm. It felt nice to be something, after not feeling anything for a good bit of time. It was dark, though once she remembered how to open her eyes, the darkness was less.

She was in the infirmary at New Hope, it was night time and a candle was burning on a table not too far from her. The other beds were unoccupied, as far as she could tell by turning her head, but as soon as she stirred, a familiar blond head popped up at her bedside. She sighed, slightly. "Tobe, are you sleeping on the floor?"

"I'm not sleeping, milady, I'm keeping an eye on you." She patted a space on the bed and he hopped up. When she opened her arms to him, which took effort, he hugged her fiercely. "You scared Sir Neal."

His breath was warm on her neck, and she stroked his hair while she held him, even if her arm objected to the treatment. "I'm sure he'll be in to yell at me soon, then."

She felt the boy's nod. "And probably Lord Raoul, and Sergeant Dom."

She sank her head back on the pillow. "Maybe I'll leave the incident out of my next report, hmm?"

Tobe raised his head. "I doubt they'll be forgetting anytime soon, milady. Lord Raoul was cursing enough to choke hisself when they brung you in."

"Himself, Tobe, and brought," she corrected absently. "Wait, did you say when they brought me in?"

Another nod. "Grestin found them afore… before he got back here with word about the spidrens, so they rode after you to be backup. Lord Raoul said you should know better than to go after spidrens without archers, and that he taught you better than that."

"I do know better than that. Our intention was only to track them to where they were holed up. Unfortunately, they didn't stick to that plan. How many were there?"

"Six." She looked up to see Neal in the doorway. Her friend looked tired, and irritated. "You were the only one seriously injured. One of Jacut's corporals got stabbed in the leg, and another man had his arm broken, but they were fairly easy to patch up and so they get to sleep in their own beds tonight. You're lucky Raoul's squad came on you when they did."

She sighed and sat up a bit, shifting Tobe and trying to suppress a wince at the pain in her arm. "What were they doing over our way?"

Neal pulled a chair up to her bedside, on the opposite side from where Tobe had appeared. "They'd just been through Mastiff, visiting with my former knight-mistress, and then they were on their way to New Giantkiller. They'd planned on spending the night here before heading there in the morning. Raoul decided to do this courier run in person, the gods know why."

"I'm sure he just needed to stretch his legs." Tobe wriggled out of her grasp. "Where are you off to, my lad?"

"I have to tell Lord Raoul you're up." She started to object, and he interrupted her. "I promised. Sergeant Dom said he wouldn't let me sleep here unless I promised to come and tell them if you woke up."

Kel sighed. "Fine then, feed me to the wolves, you traitor." She pulled him in with her good arm and kissed his forehead before shooing him away. "So, Neal, what did I manage to do that has you looking so serious?"

Her older friend tried to look stern, then failed and smiled slightly. "You lost a lot of blood, Kel, and cut one of the nerves in your arm. I'm guessing you couldn't grip with that hand." She nodded, and made a fist experimentally. Her hand seemed to be obeying her properly now. "I fixed it. You'll have to go a bit easy for a week or two, to get your energy back, but you should have no lasting damage. I also managed to fix the burns from spidren blood, which would have left a very attractive scar, I'm sure."

"You look tired, Neal." His hair was mussed, showing multiple passes from his fingers, and dark shadows lingered under green eyes that didn't contain their normal mischievous glint.

"Fixing nerves is difficult. I… I almost didn't manage it, Kel." When his eyes met hers, he looked almost anguished.

She gripped his hand with the one she'd injured. "You managed, Neal. And if you hadn't, I wouldn't have blamed you. You're a healer, not a god."

He nodded, his free hand coming to wrap around their joined hands. He kept his eyes locked on their hands, as if searching for an answer there. "I almost fell apart, Kel, seeing you injured like that. It wasn't like in Scanra, when I knew what was going on, that you were in danger. I was just going through our stock of herbs with Thelma when the door slammed open, and Raoul hauled you in. I hadn't even known you were out on patrol. I thought you were dead, you looked so white, and I just… I froze, Kel." He took a deep, shuddering breath. "You were on my table, and I just… Dom punched me. He called me ten types of fool and told me he'd kill me himself if I didn't snap out of it. Luckily, Thelma is good with stopping bleeding or…" His grip on her hand tightened. "You would have died because I looked at you, and I saw my sister, not a patient."

She wrapped her free arm around his shoulders and hugged him tight, and then pulled away and made him look her in the eye. Now she noticed that the shadow under his eyes was darker on one side. She brushed a thumb over the black eye. "You could have had someone see to that, you know."

Neal shrugged, brushing her hand away from his cheek. "It wasn't important."

"And he knows he would have gotten another one if he had. Good to see you among the living, Protector."

She looked to the doorway, recognized the silhouetted shape of Dom, with Raoul and Yuki behind him. She smiled at the three of them. "I must say, I'm glad you lads turned up when you did. I was really not looking forward to finishing off that second spidren."

Raoul harrumphed. "You managed to ignore me bellowing at you to fall back, or my archers would have had him a bit sooner."

"I'm sorry. I suppose I was a bit focused on the task at hand, as it were." She smiled at her former knight-master, who hauled another chair to her bedside, pushing away Tobe's blankets with a foot. With one last squeeze, she slipped her hand from between Neal's. Yuki came to stand beside her betrothed, resting one hand on his shoulder. Kel nodded at her Yamani friend. "Good evening, Yukimi. I am sorry if I disrupted your day through my carelessness."

Yuki whipped open her fan and hid a smile behind it, before responding in Yamani. "I did not mind the disruption. Seeing how your sergeant worried for you was reward enough, once I knew you would recover. However, the next time he decides to strike my betrothed, not even being worried for you will save him."

Kel fought back a laugh. Well, one person knows, at least. Raoul was frowning at her. "I should have paid more attention to the lessons you gave me in Yamani when you were my squire, Kel, but all I know is that she didn't welcome your esteemed imperial highness or comment on the beautiful quality of the moonlight."

Kel rolled her eyes. "You were quite hopeless with the language, sir." She pushed herself up a bit more, but it was difficult. "Neal said you lot were on your way here from Mastiff. Any news to pass on?"

The look he gave her spoke volumes. "Nothing urgent. General reports. The border is quiet. So, Lady Knight, what made you decide to tackle two spidrens on your own, with no archers out? I taught you better than that."

She managed a weak grin. "Tobe told me you'd said that. And, yes, sir, you did. We'd only intended to track the creatures, but they decided to have some fun with us. That path was too narrow to have scouts out, and the birds brought warning too late. Before I could even string my bow, they were on us."

Raoul's snort let her know what he thought of that. Neal swayed next to her, cutting off Raoul's response, and Yuki gripped his shoulder harder, so he wouldn't fall over, before announcing, "Neal, bed. I will not carry you if you collapse where you sit, and I doubt either Sergeant Domitan or Lord Raoul will volunteer for such a duty."

Neal looked wistfully at Kel, then nodded. "There's a tea for you to drink." He glanced to Raoul, then Dom. "Could one of you get that for her? It's on my desk, and needs to steep in hot water- not boiling- for ten minutes." Kel made a face. "If you don't agree to drink it, I will stay up until I pass out on you, and then you'll have Yuki to deal with."

The eye roll Yuki directed at him was decidedly un-Yamani, but Kel waved them away to their beds, before looking at the remaining men. "You two don't need to sit with me, you know."

Raoul stretched, which on a man as big as he was, was impressive. "I suppose I can finish yelling at you in the morning. Dom, you'll make sure she chokes down whatever horrid tea Sir Nealan had prescribed?" The sergeant nodded, ignoring Kel's muttered 'traitor'. "Good night then."

As soon as he was gone, she looked to Dom, who had taken Neal's vacated chair. "You're not really going to make me drink one of his vile teas, are you?"

Dom leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. "Of course I am. Slide over, would you?"

Obligingly, she made room for him on the bed, and he slid in next to her, his arms going around her shoulders. She tucked herself under his chin. "This is cozy," she sighed. He made a pleased noise in response, and for a few long, lovely minutes, she let him hold her. "You didn't have to punch Neal."

Dom tilted her chin so she was looking at him. "I really did, Kel. And I've blacked his eye for much more trivial things than nearly letting his best friend die, so don't think he expected any less from me." He stroked her hair for a moment before kissing her forehead. "At least I learned I can keep my head when you're injured, or fighting."

She snuggled into his comforting warmth, ignoring the pain in her arm. "Did you think you wouldn't be able to?"

She felt his shrug. "Some people can't. They see the person they care for in danger, and they forget that charging in will probably get the both of you killed, perhaps along with some of the men under your command. I was fairly sure I could handle it, but it is good to know. I did get angry with my cousin when he fell apart. I was angry that he could be so selfish, thinking that he had the luxury of that time, when it could have killed you"

She bit back a yawn. "Still, punching him in the face seems a bit extreme." Her last word was swallowed by the yawn she'd tried to suppress.

Dom leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose before claiming her lips briefly. "You're very cute when you yawn, Lady Knight." She ignored his silliness. "I'll get you your tea, then it's time for sleep."

He ignored her protests and slipped out of bed. When he returned, he was holding a steaming mug that smelled less than pleasant. She made a face, and he laughed at her, and then set it on his chair to steep and slipped back into her bed. She settled happily back in his arms with a sigh. "Yuki has us figured out, you know."

She felt his lips brush her hair. "Hmm. Is that why she was looking at me from behind her fan all evening?"

Kel felt a giggle slip out of her lips. "Was she?" Dom nodded. "Probably. She has such a wicked sense of humor. She'll probably yell at me for not telling her sooner."

"Ah, well. I suppose the cat's out of the bag then. She'll tell Neal, and he'll tell… everyone." Dom sounded almost cheerful at the prospect.

"She won't tell Neal if I ask her not to. I'll probably have to get her to swear on her ancestors, but she won't tell. Not until they're actually married, anyway. The Yamani consider spouses to be one person, so to tell the wife is to tell the husband, and vice versa." Kel glanced up at him through her lashes. "I still think quiet is nice; no one expects anything of me, and I can just enjoy this, with no one judging me."

Half of Dom's mouth quirked up in a grin, and she leaned in for a quick kiss. "I need to keep an eye out for that look. I think you could get me to agree to anything when you look at me like that."

She was confused. "Like what?"

He waved a hand in her direction. "Batting your lashes at me, making the gold in your eyes sparkle like that. I'd fetch the moon from the sky if you asked for it and looked at me like that."

She laughed and blinked a few times experimentally. "Pour out that tea, won't you?"

He laughed and tweaked her nose. "No." They sat for a few minutes in comfortable silence before Dom handed her the tea and arched an eyebrow at her.

With a sigh, she downed it as quickly as she was able. "Blech," she groaned. "I think Neal put his old boots in that." She yawned, widely. "And about a quart of valerian root." She yawned again. "Don't you need to get back to your bed?"

He ran his fingers through her hair, which she found ridiculously soothing. "Not just yet, sweet. You sleep. Don't mind me." Her eyes slid shut, and she enjoyed the sensation of his touch until she drifted off.

She felt better in the morning. Her arm ached less, and she was happy when Neal let her up, though he warned she'd be tiring easily for a week or two while her body replenished the blood she'd lost, as well as the energy reserves he'd had to tap into to heal her.

Raoul spent a good fifteen minutes chewing her out for managing to stumble into the spidrens. He did it quietly, in her office, so there were no witnesses, and she felt she deserved worse. She'd been stupid, depending on her animals to scout for her. They were good, certainly, but they weren't infallible, and she could have paid a higher price for that lesson. Finally, he sighed. "At ease, Kel. In fact, sit down." She did so, neatening a stack of papers on her desk that didn't need it. "I don't like lecturing from this side of a desk, it's curst unsettling." She managed a tight smile. "You're green, Kel, for all the work you've done this past year, and green knights make mistakes. You've done an excellent job with your refugees, but you need experience commanding troops, or all this potential I see in you is going to be wasted." He raked a hand through his dark curls. "I make no promises, but I will see what I can do. You need new challenges, or you're going to get complacent."

It was a challenge to keep her face still, but she managed. She'd rather face ten spidrens than another moment of Raoul being disappointed with her. "Sir, it won't happen again."

His smile surprised her. "Oh, it will. It happens to us all, Kel, as much as we'd like to pretend it doesn't. I've got a knee that aches in the cold to remind me of the price of complacency. I'm more angry with myself than I am with you."

"Sir?"

"You've had your own command for nearly a year, and you haven't had anyone above you to remind you of these important truths from time to time. You're an excellent commander, far too good for someone your age, and I think it's caused the rest of us to forget that you are so young and that there are certain basic lessons you are still learning. So," he paused, "I will see what I can do about getting you some other experiences, though I can't promise anything."

The prospect of a few weeks, even a month or two, away from her refugee camp was a welcome one, though she still had no idea of who would be suitable to command here in her absence. She pushed her hopes to one side. "Tea, my lord?"

Raoul rolled his eyes as she pulled out bowls and green tea, but acquiesced to her request, even though he didn't particularly like the drink. Still, his humoring her made her feel, more than his words, that she was forgiven.

Raoul and Dom's squad stayed until the next morning. Kel had stayed up with Dom, playing chess in his room until they'd gotten distracted by each other. Dom had kissed her passionately, making her realize that, for all his calm words, he'd been worried, seeing her so injured. He'd even repeated a few of the same things Raoul had told her, about carelessness, and showed her a scar on his shoulder that showed a mistake of his own.

Eventually, Tobe had come to fetch her to bed, and they'd leapt apart at his perfunctory knock, probably looking quite guilty when he stuck his head through the door. The young lad didn't say anything, but Kel thought that might be another person who knew their secret.

Neal's prediction about her needing rest proved irritatingly correct. The next two weeks found her tiring easily, and Neal forbid her from exercising that first week, after he had to be called out to the practice yard that first morning when she'd collapsed after a simple pattern dance with Yuki. The second week, she still had to cut her sessions because she was simply too weak to handle her normal pace. Still, she got a considerable amount of her paperwork done, and felt much better for it.

She felt like she was finding places for her orphans at last. Loey badgered anyone and everyone she could for riding lessons. Merric and Neal were more than happy to help when Kel was too tired to manage it. Dortie and Rena, both twelve, had taken to weaving when Mistresses Alma and Farelle started working with the children once a week at Yuki's schol. Both girls were spending two extra mornings during the week helping the two women and learning the basics of the weaving trade. Keon was happy with the carpenters, and the master carpenter, Rissan Faraksra, thought the lad had a hand for the trade. Barrabul had not been happy with woodworking, but he'd approached Kel and asked about being sent out with the hunters and trappers. Kel had agreed, and Saefas, who lead the camp's hunters had agreed to take him on at a trial basis.

That was a huge weight off her mind. She still had Rhyl and Peytar, the seven and eight year old boys, to think about, as well as Irnai, but she had some time there. Two weeks after her injury, she finally started feeling like herself again. The first day she actually beat Yuki with her glaive, she grinned, and didn't stop grinning for most of the day.

The snows stopped coming with any regularity, though they had yet to see any particular signs of melt when she ran into Dom again, this time at Mastiff, in the second week of March. She'd come to drop off reports, as had he. She wound up spending most of the afternoon in the training yard with Alanna, practicing their sword work.

That was where she noticed the blue-eyed sergeant, when she was bent over and panting after a bout with the woman she'd idolized for most of her life. He waved at her, used the Own's hand signals to tell her she was crazy and settled in to watch. She sketched him a quick salute before turning back to Alanna.

She circled the short woman slowly, keeping the point of her sword low. She'd practiced with her sword more today than she had in a year or more, and it showed. After their first bout with swords, Alanna had chastised her soundly for neglecting her griffin. Kel had had to agree.

Still, after their third bout, she was feeling better with the weapon, though she was still wary of the violet-eyed woman before her. She hoped the fourth bout would have a better ending than the first three.

She put thoughts of Dom to the side and focused on her opponent. Kel was tired, but so was Alanna. They both moved slowly, feinting with the tips of their blades, each trying to get the other to attack. Kel waited; Alanna had tricked her this way twice already. She wouldn't be had a third time. She had patience, and she thought Alanna was eating through what little she possessed.

Finally, Alanna attacked, her blade a blur as she lunged towards Kel. Kel blocked, and they exchanged a quick flurry of strikes, the metal of their connecting swords ringing through Mastiff's practice yard. Low, high, low again. Kel met Alanna's blade with her own, trying to find some weakness in the woman's defense.

Sweat dripped down her cheeks, kept out of her eyes by the griffin feather band around her forehead, and her breath burned in her lungs. She felt her focus narrow, to the point where all that existed in the world was her and her opponent, her blade simply an extension of her arm, as she'd learned as a child. They came together, blades locking, and she had the advantage, with her height and strength against Alanna's, but some part of her refused to win that way. In a real fight, she would have taken any chance she had, but she knew this was practice, and she wanted to win based on skill, not size.

Alanna seemed to know exactly what she was thinking as Kel let her dance away. She grinned and said. "You could have had me there, long-shanks."

Kel nodded, not taking her eyes off the Lioness. "Ask me later if I regret letting you go."

The older woman grinned and attacked again. She moved faster, any pauses between her strikes gone, and it was all Kel could do to get her sword up in time to block, but then she saw a moment of hesitation when Alanna attacked Kel's left side. Perhaps the Lioness was recovering from a strained muscle. It wasn't much, but Kel thought it was enough.

She kept blocking, stepping backward to allow Alanna to attack, turning slightly to encourage an attack from her weak side. When the opportunity came, Kel took it. She whipped her blade around Alanna's and twisted, a move she'd learned from Cleon when she was still a page, normally employed against a person with a dagger, but with Kel's added height and strength, it worked against Alanna.

The Lioness's sword went clattering across the yard, and cheers erupted from the crowd of onlookers. Kel grinned and Alanna laughed. "Try that in a week and it won't work, youngster."

Kel saluted. "I know, my lady. If we'd not had three bouts already, I doubt it would have worked, even with you nursing an injury."

Alanna snorted. "Yes, well, I'll tell my pride that." She reached up and clapped Kel on the shoulder. "And, to borrow a phrase from my husband, don't call me 'my lady', I work for my living."

Kel's smile was shy, but hopeful. "Of course, Alanna." Perhaps she and the only other Lady Knight in the realm might actually be friends, which was a strange concept. She'd practically thought of the woman as a god, or at least a hero out of legend, since the first time she'd heard the name 'Lioness'. They clasped forearms and Kel went to drop a bucket of cold water over her head. For all that there was still snow on the ground, she was drenched in sweat.

Dom found her while she was still dripping and laughed at her, before glancing around and stealing a kiss. "You won me a gold noble off one of Alanna's sergeants."

Kel snorted. "While I appreciate your confidence, I wouldn't bet on me against Alanna too frequently if you'd like to have any money left."

Dom nudged her shoulder with his. "Please, I can stand to lose a bit, and I could never bet against you. Besides, you won Third Company so much money on the grand progress I would have to find stakes much higher than we lowly soldiers are willing to risk on a training bout to lose it all."

She nudged him right back. "You're degenerate gamblers, the lot of you. Still, it was a good match."

Dom nodded. "I think Alanna will be annoyed you didn't try your hardest when the two of you came body to body. She'll try and punish you for that the next time you face her."

Kel shrugged one shoulder. "I didn't want to win like that, and I think she of all people could understand that. What are you lads doing here?"

"Reporting." He rolled his eyes. "We're heading back to Steadfast in the morning."

She nodded. "The same."

He brushed his fingers across her cheek. "You seem much better." His hand stilled, his palm cupping her cheek.

She brushed his hand away. "Someone might see. And I am better, or your cousin would have refused to let me out of his sight."

Dom smiled. "No Tobe, either? I never see you without your shadow."

Kel laughed. "He decided that I must have learned from my injury, and that if I couldn't manage on my own for one night, I wasn't worth the bother." Dom leaned in to kiss her again, but she pushed him away. "I'm filthy, Dom. I'm going to go and find some hot water to wash in and get changed. I'll see you at dinner?"

He sighed, but waved her away without further protest. She did see him at dinner, feeling much better for having washed, and wound up talking away a good portion of the evening with him and his squad. She'd sighed wistfully when she'd left them to go to bed; her efforts of the day had taken their toll, and she was exhausted.

Dom sneaking into her room after she'd changed into her night things had been a surprise, but not an unwelcome one. She'd kissed him soundly, with a passion he'd happily returned, before she pulled away with a sigh. "I really am tired, Dom."

He tucked a piece of her hair behind an ear, then kicked off his boots. "Into bed then." She looked at him skeptically. "I've missed you, and I want to cuddle. Would it be such a trial to fall asleep in my arms?"

She laughed and leaned in for another kiss. "No. You've got a very comfortable chest, if I remember correctly from the infirmary." She pulled back the blankets carefully and crawled into bed, leaving space for him. "Mind the sparrows." Nari and Arrow, along with three of their flock mates, had bedded down around her pillows.

He slid in next to her and wrapped his arms around her with a happy sigh. She felt his lips against her hair after he blew out the candle. "Sleep well, Lady Knight."

He was gone when she woke, her arms around Jump instead. She smiled and petted her dog, then opened the window so the five sparrows with her could get out. Without thought, she went through the routine of her practice dance and strengthening exercises.

Alanna saw them off with a smile, joking with Kel that next time she should bring Yuki's glaive so that Kel could teach her a bit more. Kel had said she would look forward to it, and led her patrol out.

When she'd returned to New Hope, she'd had to deal with Neal. It had taken her some time to work out what, exactly, was wrong with her best friend, but she learned pretty quickly that it had something to do with his betrothed. Yuki wouldn't speak about it, but had insisted on practicing glaive and then shukusen with Kel.

The next morning, she called both of them into her office. They'd refused to look at each other while Kel silently made green tea. She'd waited patiently, watching both of them over the rim of her bowl as she sipped her tea slowly. Finally, Neal erupted. "Tell her she has to go south before the fighting heats up."

Kel blinked in surprise. She opened her mouth to reply, not that she knew what she would say, but Yuki cut her off, speaking rapidly in Yamani. "I am not a dog to be sent, Keladry of Mindelan, and I refuse to simply do as I am bid without any reason. You know that I can protect myself, better than many women here, and there is no reason for me to leave when I can be of use here."

Kel sighed and rubbed her temple. "I refuse to mediate if you won't speak to each other, Yukimi noh Diaomoru. If you would like to speak to me privately, that is one thing, but if you are both present, we will speak Common." Twin red spots flared in her friend's cheeks, but after a long beat, the Yamani bowed her head in submission. "Good. Now, Yuki, I gather Neal wants you to go south before the fighting starts up again, and you have objections. Is this correct?" She nodded. "Neal, what is your reasoning?"

Her best friend glared at his betrothed. "Yuki needs to return to Corus. She is in danger here, and it serves no purpose. She is not a soldier, and we are not going to be facing bandits raiding this summer, we're facing armies!"

"I am not some idiotic Tortallan noblewoman to hide behind the walls of my husband's fief. I am a Yamani noblewoman, and I can defend myself and those under my care. We follow our husbands, we do not wait in our towers, sighing over handkerchiefs!" Yuki was shouting. It actually took Kel a few seconds to wrap her head around the fact that her friend was actually shouting. She didn't think she'd ever heard a Yamani shout. Even when gutting bandits, Yamani ladies kept their tone cool and polite. What in the world had Neal done to Yuki?

Neal jumped up and started pacing. "Do you see what insanity I'm dealing with, Kel? She refuses to see any kind of reason! She…"

Kel raised a hand, cutting Neal off. "Leave us, please."

Neal sputtered. "What? Why should I leave? I have every right to be a party to this discussion, and I refuse to be sent from your presence like a misbehaving child being sent to bed without supper. I won't have it!"

Again, she raised her hand. "As your commanding officer, I order you to leave."

Neal gaped at her, then at Yuki, then threw up both his hands and stormed from the room. Yuki pulled out her fan, and hid most of her face behind it. Kel pushed it down and forced her friend to look her in the eye. "You are becoming more Tortallan than I am, Yuki. I'd never expected such an outburst from you." She spoke in Yamani, hoping to make her friend relax, slightly.

Yuki bowed, deeply, her head nearly touching her knees. "I am shamed by my actions, Keladry. I cannot ask for forgiveness for such a shameful display."

Kel sighed. "Yuki, there is no shame. I have known Neal for a long time, and I, of all people, know that he could anger a stone. Now, can you tell me what the problem is?"

Yuki sipped her tea, obviously stalling for time. Finally, she said, "He wants me to return south before the fighting starts again, so that I will be safe. He refuses to listen to reason, even though he knows I am perfectly capable of protecting myself if need be. Not to mention that I am unlikely to face danger here."

Kel forced herself not to think of the ruin of Haven, her people dead and captured. She wondered if that had been on Neal's mind as well. "Neal is not wrong, Yuki. This camp is full of civilians, but that does not mean it is safe. You know what happened last summer." Yuki refused to meet her eyes. "We are soldiers, Yukimi, knights. Our job is to fight, and this must be our focus. You have to discuss this with your betrothed, but if he feels you would be a distraction to him, you would be duty bound to leave."

Now Yuki looked at her, anger flashing in her eyes. "I refuse to leave him. He is practically my husband, and I will not leave because he refuses to see me for who I am."

Kel suppressed a sigh. "Are you sure you are seeing him for who he is, Yuki? Neal loves you, with all his heart, but Neal is not at his most effective when he is in love. He will worry for you, and that will take his focus from where it needs to be, on the work at hand. What if we are transferred to a different command? You would be here, in a refugee camp that is not as well defended as any other border encampment, and Neal would be worried for you, as well as missing you. He would be distracted, and distraction is death for a soldier; you know that as well as I."

Yuki shook her head, trying to deny what she knew to be true. "He is practically my husband. I should not need to be separated from him."

Kel reached out across her desk and gripped her friend's hand. "In this case, Yukimi noh Diaomoru, the fact that he is not yet your husband is important. He could not bring you with him if he were posted somewhere else, and he needs to know you are safe. You must discuss these things with him, and decide what you will do."

Yuki sighed. "I need time."

Kel smiled. "Reflect as though you have all of time, even when time is short."

Yuki smiled slightly, then rose. "I will speak with Neal."

A/N: This chapter kind of got out of hand in terms of length. Just over 6k words! Sheesh! Still, I'm pleased with it,and ended where I wanted to. Now, I have a question for you guys. Not next chapter, but the one after that, I have a scene that would necessitate changing the rating to M. I'm currently leaning towards publishing that chapter as a separate one shot, and basically just skipping it, so I can keep my rating as 'T'. I don't particularly want to edit it down to a T, but I'd like to hear your opinions. If that's what you want, I'll do it, and probably still post a one shot of the unedited version. I would need someone's help to edit it down to a T, as I've tried, and struggled to do that, so if that's the consensus, I'd ask for a beta. Anyway, looking forward to hearing your thoughts, both on what you just read and this monstrously long author's note!