Disclaimer: All characters and places recognized belong to Tamora Pierce!
As usual, Kel woke up before Dom. She spent a few moments just looking at the man besides her. She began to bite her lip as she thought. Realizing that it would be foolish to allow the time to pass just staring at the man in her bed, Kel quietly got up and changed into her workout clothes. She grabbed her glaive and left with one last glance back to the man in her bed.
Walking out to the practice courts Kel took a deep breath of the fresh morning air. As she started her pattern dances, she realized just how accustomed she had become to wearing dresses as she practiced.
She was just finishing the last steps of her current dance when she noticed an audience had gathered.
"Lady Kel! You look far more graceful and deadly when you practice wearing a dress than when you practice wearing your normal clothes." Riley called out. Several of the men stated their agreement.
Buri stepped forward. "I have been hoping that I could practice with you. I'm sure you would enjoy practicing against an opponent." Buri finished with a smile.
Kel nodded. She knew she needed to practice against somebody again. So she faced off against the small K'miri.
Dom woke up shortly after Kel left. He quietly dressed in the clothes he had brought with him the night before. He slipped out of the room and made his way to the practice courts. He was rather shocked at the sight that awaited him.
Kel and Buri were locked in what appeared to be a fierce duel, neither seemed to have an advantage.
"Beautiful aren't they Sergeant?" Dom looked over to Lord Raoul who had a large smile on his face. "I married me quite the fierce little woman and I have to say that I am as proud as a father with how my former squire turned out."
Dom nodded in agreement. Kel looked particularly lovely wielding her glaive.
It didn't take long though before Kel, with her many years of experience, to win the mock duel.
Smiling, both women left discussing how Buri could get better with the long weapon. Before they fully disappeared, Raoul called after the Lady Knight. "Kel, don't forget you need to find a new tent and I would like you to be present, along with all sergeants, at a meeting at the tenth morning bell."
Kel nodded and then continued her discussion with Buri.
"We're having a meeting Sir?" Dom asked, pulling out his sword and starting to warm up.
"I know I promised a day off, but we need to start planning our next move. Find out where all of these attacks seem to be centered. Begin planning on how to best split the Company." Raoul told the listening men. "Now get practicing men, this mission promises to be long and hard."
Wolset had been standing off to the side of the practice court, waiting for his chance to talk to Dom about what he had seen the night before.
He began to warm up, figuring that being practice partners with Dom would be the best and easiest way to do it while having a semiprivate conversation.
When he saw that Dom was looking for an available man to practice against, Wolset waved him down. "Over here Sergeant." Wolset called, watching as Dom started to walk towards him.
"So, did ye have a good night with milady?"
Dom focused on his sword for a moment before answering. "I always enjoy my time with Kel, and last night was no different."
"Oh?" Wolset started to advance more aggressively in his attack. "And how long have ye been havin' such relations with our Lady?"
Dom staggered a moment as he realized what Wolset thought.
"Wolset, I swear, it is nothing like that! After we left you men, we just went around town and then came back and went to bed."
Wolset glared at his sergeant. "Then why did I see ye sneakin' out an' into her ladyship's room?"
Dom was stunned; he had thought that nobody had seen that.
He came back to the present when he felt Wolset's sword hit his arm; luckily it was just the flat of the sword. He sighed, "Fine, I did spend the night in Kel's room, but we just slept. I am not going to rush things with her, if she wants to be something more than cuddle buddies, then I will wait until she lets me know that she wants that step."
Wolset had stopped and was staring hard at Dom. "Ye love Lady Kel."
Dom nodded. "She means too much to me to ruin our friendship. I would happily call her my wife someday, but we both have our duty to do before we are ready."
Wolset bowed to Dom, "I leave this practice. I sought ye out to teach ye to respect our Lady, but I see now that that twas unnecessary."
Dom stared as Wolset walked out of the court. When he looked around once again, he saw that Raoul was staring at him from a few feet away. He walked over to the Knight Commander when he saw him beckon.
Kel had left Buri once they had reached the barracks.
If she had to attend the meeting at ten, then she had a few things to do before then, the first of which was to gather a new tent and bedroll from the storage rooms in the barracks.
It did not take her long to realize that the tents and bedrolls available would not suit what she needed, the walls were too thin on the tents, and most of the bedrolls smelled no better than the tent Lord Raoul had cut up and placed in the men's bags.
Kel sighed as she realized that she had to venture out into town to buy her own gear.
As she walked back to her room, her mood picked up when she saw that Lalasa was ready for a trip out herself.
"Milady! Are you going out to town?"
Kel nodded as she told her friend, "I was just in the storage rooms looking for a new tent and bedroll, but they don't have anything that would suit my needs." She looked over at Lalasa, "What are you going to town for?"
Lalasa ducked her head, "I was planning on looking for new materials for dresses."
Kel smiled, she knew that her friend was a wonderful seamstress.
They quickly parted ways when they both found the stores they needed.
Lalasa had known that her lady had had a crush on Sergeant Domitan for years, but it was still surprising to her that her lady was now in a relationship with him.
She approved the pair, but she also knew of how often Kel's crushes were either one sided, or the romance was doomed from the start. While she had faith that things would work out for her lady and Dom, she also knew that they both worked high risk jobs and there was a restriction that if Dom wished to stay in the Own, he could not marry Kel.
Lalasa sighed to herself as she thought it over.
Before she could start worrying afresh about the future of Kel's and Dom's relationship, she saw the perfect fabric.
It seemed to have been something that was either made locally, or was never traded in Corus. It was just the thing she was looking for. She quickly found several colors of similar material. She was still looking and trying to decide on which colors would sell well in Corus when one bulk caught her eye. She gasped as an image flooded her mind's eye. Without hesitation, she quickly bought enough of the material to complete the dress she hopped she would one day sew.
"Dom?" Raoul seemed to hesitate with his next question.
"Yes Sir?" Dom was starting to feel uncomfortable with Raoul looking at him.
"I just…" he sighed. "Domitan, I know I have had this conversation with you several times, but I never thought I would have to give it to you about Lady Keladry. Just be sure you are careful with your conduct with her. I know she is a knight and can choose when and who she…" here he turned very red. "Well, um," he cleared his throat. "The point is, don't do anything that will get her in trouble, or yourself."
Dom looked down at his boots. "Don't worry Raoul, I know the risks, and draw backs. I will not be responsible for getting Kel in that position unless she and I both agree that it is time. I love her, I care for her, and one day, I will, if she agrees, marry her." He looked up at Raoul. "I'm not quite ready to leave you yet my Lord."
Raoul nodded, he knew that Dom loved his job, and to hear that he was actually considering leaving for Kel someday spoke more than anything else.
"And Sir?" Dom spoke up before Raoul could walk away. "Please, if it's not too much of an awkward position for you, could you talk about this to Kel?" Dom had an evil grin on his face; he knew that it would kill both the former squire and knight master to have that conversation.
Kel had quickly found her perfect tent; the walls were thicker, allowing more privacy for changing. It was large enough so that she fit comfortably, and she also knew Dom could fit if they had the chance to share, but not too large that it was heavy or overly bulky. She also bought herself a new thick bedroll that offered her more comfort than a standard issue.
She was just beginning to walk back with her new belongings when a shop caught her eye. She quickly went into the shop and bought a charm. She knew that she and Dom might not need it or use it for some time, but if they got carried away, there would be no hesitation.
Raoul waited in the meeting room. He knew that this was bound to be a long and difficult mission when they had first rode out. While Tyra relied heavily on trade, there was still a pocket full of people who tried to make something out of the swamp land. From all he had found out in the afternoon yesterday and this morning, the small band had joined with some of the lesser and far more discontented merchants and started to raid Tortallan soil.
He stood when all then sergeants and the Lady Knight were present. "We set out on this mission nearly three weeks ago. While the King would normally send the fighting force by sea to take control of the situation quickly, we did not know the full story."
He looked at the people around the room. "While we have been riding towards this mission, information has been gathered that will help us. It seems as if the very small farmer group has joined the very large and unhappy lower merchant group. They had heard of sudden untold riches found in Tortall decided to take control of said riches and use them to over throw the richer community."
Here he sighed as he looked that the report in front of him. "From the information gathered, there appears to be," he squinted as he tried to read the messy report paper, "Ten main raid groups, each of whom rotate periodically on who is sent out. These groups seem to be comprised of anywhere between ten to thirty raiders. From the patterns observed, they strike every three days, anywhere between seven to ten leagues away from their last strike location."
He looked back up as the men started to shift, Kel he noticed was looking very thoughtful.
"When was their last attack Sir?" She asked.
Raoul sighed, "Three days ago, so I would assume it should be safe to say that the next attack will be today."
Dom cursed. "So we won't be snatching them today, where was the attack three days ago?"
Raoul pointed to the location on the map. "Here, by observations, todays attack, whenever that may be…" he looked at the map for a second before pointing to two possible locations. "Here or here, both of which have a large number of potential targets."
Kel point to two new locations on the map while Dom pointed to another set, they both stated "These are the most likely areas for the following attack," at the same time. They shared a quick smile before Kel continued.
"It will take about a day and a half to travel to the midpoint of the furthest northern attack point, maybe half a day to a day for the southernmost." She looked up at Raoul, "Half of the Own will have to leave by tomorrow afternoon."
Raoul nodded. "I would normally have Flyn lead the second half, but seeing as he is still recovering, that leaves you Lady Keladry to lead my men. You will leave tomorrow afternoon with Aiden, Volorin, Osbern, Balim and Qasim."
He noted that all the people in the room looked surprised. "Qasim has just been promoted as of this morning, the old squad leader decided that he did not enjoy the Own life anymore and has left so he could marry his sweetheart in Corus. Although why the sorry sod had to wait until three weeks after we left to tell me…" here he trailed off.
"You will also be taking three squads of regular army. Later today we will know more or less where the attack may be. I trained you well; I know you will divide the men accordingly."
The meeting did not last much longer than that. Without knowledge of where the attack due today would occur, they could not finalize plans.
As the meeting ended and the sergeants began to file out, Raoul asked for Kel to stay behind. She smiled at Dom and told him that she would be ready around noon for him to escort her around town.
When Kel turned back towards Raoul, she immediately knew that he was about to talk about a personal matter and not the upcoming mission. She sat down as she waited for him to start speaking. It took a few moments for him to collect his thoughts.
"I know that it has been years since I have had a conversation like this with you Kel, but do you remember what I told you, about female warriors taking on lovers?" He paused looking a little red.
Kel blushed as she recalled the conversation Raoul had with her after he found her with Cleon in her tent. "That if a woman commander takes on a lover, a fellow warrior, and the relationship is discovered, there is…trouble." She looked up at Raoul. "Dom and I have exposed our relationship to some of the men my Lord, all of Dom's squad knows of it, along with Qasim."
Raoul nodded, "I heard Wolset giving Dom a talk about spending the night. I noticed, as of today, you seem to have…reacquired a," Raoul flushed a bright red, "new charm. Are you planning to…" Raoul was now redder than Kel had ever seen him. He cleared his throat. "Are you planning on having sex with Sergeant Domitan Lady Keladry?"
Kel cringed, she knew Raoul was trying to be kind and gentle, but his nervousness over this conversation made him gruffer than normal. "I don't know Sir. The thought has crossed my mind, but…" She flushed red, "I am…inexperienced in such matters sir. I purchased my new charm as a precaution. I am not ready to be a mother, and I would hate to put Dom in such a compromising position." Kel finished by looking at her hands, she could feel the heat radiating through her body. It was hot enough that she felt sweat rolling down her back.
Kel looked up when she felt Raoul's large hand on her shoulder. "Kel, it is your decision as to when, and to whom you give your virtue to. I know I am not your father, but I feel as if you are my daughter. I don't want to see you hurt. And I do have to admit that while Dom really does seem to care for you, he has a history."
Kel nodded. "I know Sir. Last night, Dom told me that he would wait until I am ready, and fully prepared, before he will take my virtue. He knows that I am still…complete." She flushed once again.
Raoul gave her a quick hug. "I trust your judgment Kel." He let her go. "And I am sorry that I am separating you and Sergeant Domitan for this mission, but this is a delicate situation. I need both of you to be thinking clearly, and since this is all still new, you may slip from being a commander to a lover, and that could get you or those around you killed."
"I understand Sir. Besides, I know that he is better off with your group, after all, I have an amazing group of sergeants under my command, and I may be a bit biased, but Sergeant Domitan is better than them all combined."
Raoul laughed, "He is really good, no offence my lady, but I really do wish to keep him all to myself. I was rather hopping to name him as the next captain for Third Company, I doubt Flyn will stay with us much longer."
"Don't worry Sir; I'm not nearly ready to settle down with a husband just yet. I would gladly leave Dom in your care." She had an evil smile on, "Who knows, maybe you could help me teach him a thing or two about flying."
Raoul held open the meeting door laughing. He knew that they would do fine with a small separation, even though he knew it would be difficult for the young couple. Mithros knew it was still difficult for him to leave Buri.
AN: I know there was not much Kel/Dom action in this one, but I felt like picking on Lord Raoul :)
Today I finally got a hold of one of the greatest things that I own, and not only that, I can actually say that it was given to me by one of the many creators! It is the Tortall Comic Project! It is a lovely fan based book of scenes from Tammy's books that they actually got permission from her to create! While I was not a direct part of this project, I helped my friend many times with small details and even offering the use of my books. The book is available on in both a book ($62.40) and ebook (FREE!). While I know $63 is a bit much for some during this hard time, I would highly recommend buying the book, there are a few double page master pieces! The book is about 12 inches by 8 inches about 260 pages!