Hello all you happy readers! ^_^ Thanks for sticking around to read this next chapter. Also, thank you to everyone who reviewed for chapter one, it made me very happy to read your comments! Enjoy!
Daybreak
Chapter 2 -- Damn Weird
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Kel stared blankly into the mirror on her dresser. It was after six; soon she and Yuki would leave their rooms and go to the Hall of Crowns, where the wedding ceremony would be held. Kel had grinned when she had received her invite to the event; she glanced at it now where it sat on her dresser, out of the corner of her eye.
Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan,
You are cordially invited to the wedding of Sir Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak and Buriram Tourakom of the K'miri Hau Ma. The ceremony will take place on the 15th of November, in the Great Hall. Guests should arrive at six-thirty in the evening, and are asked to come in formal dress. The ceremony will be followed by a wedding reception outdoors, in the Palace Gardens. We hope you will be able to attend.
The wedding was no surprise; after all, Raoul and Buri's romance was known throughout the palace, as well as their betrothal. Kel was sure that they would be very happy together. The two seemed to be a great match for each other.
The invitation, although written by a scribe, was signed by Raoul and Buri, and to Kel's great disdain Raoul had also scribbled a short note at the bottom of the paper which read, "This means a gown for you, Mindelan!". Kel had expressed many pleas and protests to her former knightmaster on this issue, but Raoul had been adamant, or in Kel's words, "a perfect sadist". She had heard his muffled snickering when they had crossed paths earlier that day.
"He just wants to see me suffer." She told her reflection flatly, and returned to brooding over her appearance. After buying the dress, Yuki had brought a stylist to Kel's sleeping chambers, whom had worked on the two girls' faces and hair. Kel's face was lightly brushed with face-paint; she wouldn't allow more then a small amount. Her hair, which she had never had time to get trimmed during her watch over Haven (and search for Blayce), had grown all the way down to where it just barely brushed her shoulders, and Kel had decided that she liked it that way. The sandy light brown locks were braided in several places now, and were adorned with a scattering of emeralds. Kel pressed some of her hair to her nose and sniffed. A vague, fragrant scent filled her nostrils.
'I just can't win...' She thought, sighing to herself. She got to her feet and made for the door, then suddenly jerked to the side, nearly falling over. She swore, and glared down at the cursed dark green heels Yuki had practically forced her to wear. Kel groaned inwardly and glanced forlornly behind her, to the leather boots sitting at the foot of the bed; she wished Yuki hadn't noticed she'd been shopping in them the entire afternoon, and not in the 'proper' footwear.
Someone knocked at the door. Kel sighed and wobbled over to it, swinging it open to see Yuki, her hand raised to knock again. Her raven hair was braided and pulled back into an intricate bun, with two ringlets left out to frame her face. She wore no facepaint on her cheeks, though a deep reddish purple tinged her eyelids, and her lips shone a rich crimson in the dimmed lighting. She smiled at Kel, and clasped her hands behind her back, a mischievous glint in her dark brown eyes. "Shall we go, milady?"
Kel threw her a dark glare. "Don't call me that..."
Yuki stifled a giggle and tugged at Kel's arm. Put off balance, Kel slipped and fell to the floor, swearing vividly. Yuki laughed outright at this, shaking her head as she bent down to help her friend up.
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Sergeant Domitan of Masbolle leaned back against his pew, staring up at the far-off ceiling of the Great Hall. To his left sat his cousin, Nealan of Queenscove (or "Meathead", as Dom liked to call him), who sat at the very edge of their pew, facing the isle and looking about cynically. Alanna the Lioness was sitting to his right, and next to her was her husband, George. Dom closed his eyes, his head pounding dully with a fading hangover. He had been up late last night with the rest of his squad, throwing a bachelor party for Raoul. Opening his eyes briefly, Dom turned his head slightly to glare at his commander, who was standing ramrod straight at the altar, stiffer than a block of wood. Raoul had been the only one who hadn't consumed any alcohol the night before, and Dom felt a bitter sort of envy toward him for that; the pounding in his head grew pointedly stronger, and he closed his eyes again. Vague flashes of memories from the night before passed through his mind, many of which involved his men babbling nonsensically and breaking numerous things in Raoul's chambers. Dom winced inwardly: he had trashed a few things himself, he knew. He also knew that Lord Raoul would remember this quite clearly.
The doorman announced someone, but Dom's mind was too clouded to bother interpreting who. A moment later Neal gasped, and elbowed him hard in the arm. Dom twitched, blue eyes snapping open to glare at him. Stupid Meathead. Interrupting his nap.
Neal's attention, however, was focused on the people walking down the isle; annoyed, yet curious, Dom followed his cousin's gaze. His jaw dropped slightly. There was Yukimi, looking quite lovely in dark red and gold and waving to Neal, a grin on her face. Behind her...No. There was just no way...
Behind Yukimi was a very familiar-looking individual. Same hair, same eyes, same face...This person looked exactly like Keladry of Mindelan.
But, that was just not right. Kel, he knew, would never...-never- wear a gown. Especially such a nice-looking one. It simply went against the laws of nature. And what's that glinting in her hair?...
What was happening here? Dom rubbed his eyes, and stared hard. It -was- her. Astonishing, he thought, and watched as she walked slowly, seeming slightly unbalanced, towards the pew across from him. She sat down in the middle beside Yuki, cheeks flushed, and gazed down into her lap.
"Unbelievable..." Neal said quietly, and turned slightly to glance at Dom. "That is her, right?"
Dom nodded slowly, his eyes still on Kel. "I...I think so..."
Neal shook his head a few times, as though to clear his thoughts. "That's just weird."
Dom nodded once in agreement, and, after a moment, tore his eyes away from the bizarre sight. It was damn weird.
'...Although,' Dom thought, staring wide-eyed down at the floor, 'She certainly doesn't look bad...'
Someone started to play the organ, and Dom jumped slightly, surprised by the noise. He looked up to watch the ceremony.
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Dom got up and stretched his arms out; Raoul and Buri had just left the hall together, in the midst of raining rice grains that people had thrown down from the balcony. The wedding was over, and the people around him were getting up as well, walking out through the large double-doors to follow the newlyweds to the gardens for the reception. Suddenly remembering something, his head turned quickly to look at the pew across from him. Kel and Yukimi were gone. He saw a brief flash of green in the corner of his eye, and he looked to the open doorway, but whoever it was had already gone. Dom's brow furrowed, and soon he realized that he was the last one left in his row. Quickly, he walked out through the narrow strip of floor between the pews and half-ran from the isle, catching up to Neal and the others.
Once they arrived at the palace gardens, Dom scanned the area with his eyes, continuing his search for the elusive Kel. He didn't know why exactly he wanted to talk to her so much, but...It was just too strange. A part of him was almost convinced that he had dozed off for a bit and dreamt up the whole thing, and that the organ had woken him up...
Wait. Over there. Someone in green.
Dom blinked, and took a few steps forward to get a closer look. There was one of the garden benches, and on it sat Kel, her hands folded in her lap, glancing from side to side like a caged animal. A few feet away from her stood Neal and Yuki, flirting shamelessly and chatting about the wedding. Dom took in the situation silently, suddenly feeling rather sorry for the lady knight. She obviously didn't want to be there. He started to walk towards her, and then he stopped, blinking a few times. He felt...odd. Dazed, sort of, but at the same time he felt strangely alert. 'It must be the lack of sleep.' He decided, and started towards Kel once more, quickening his pace. He called out to her, and she looked up. Seeing him, a grateful smile spread across her face.
"Dom! So you came, too." Kel said as he closed the distance between them, and sat down next to her on the bench. He nodded at her comment. "Even if My Lord hadn't already sent me an invite, I guess he would have felt obliged after the party we gave him last night...Sort of."
Kel's eyebrows raised slightly. "How did it go?"
Dom smiled ruefully, "You don't want to know. Trust me."
Kel snickered. "I see..." She said, struggling to keep the mirth out of her voice. Dom chuckled briefly himself; the laughter was contagious. He ended up telling her about some parts of the party anyway, ones that he remembered well enough, and weren't too embarrassing. He relaxed: Kel seemed normal enough, despite her surreal choice of dress.
After a while the subject of the bachelor party was exhausted, and a long silence stretched out between the two of them. Kel took in her surroundings, observing the people and the decorations. Dom, meanwhile, took this time to look over his friend's appearance from a closer viewpoint. It was amazing, really, seeing her like this. He had never seen Kel in anything other than tunic and breeches, and in her battle gear, of course. The gown was surprisingly well suited to her; its color brought out the green in her hazel eyes, and the opal theme was a nice touch. She turned her head slightly, and light bounced off of the emeralds placed in her hair. Dom's eyes lifted up to her head at the flash. So that's what the glinting had been...
"Er...Dom..."
Dom blinked. Kel was staring uneasily at him now, her cheeks tinted a slightly darker shade of pink than the facepaint had given them. She looked embarrassed.
Suddenly he realized that he had been staring, and felt his own face redden slightly. 'Idiot' he scorned, 'What the hell are you doing?!'
"Sorry, it's just..." Dom began slowly, trying to think of the right words. He failed miserably. "Wow, you know?" Suddenly, he had the overwhelming urge to bash his head in several times. Possibly on the tree behind them... "I mean, um--"
"Lord Raoul made me..." Kel mumbled, looking down; a light frown had settled onto her face.
"Oh." was the articulate response. "Well, it looks...erm..." Dom fumbled, and stopped for a moment to think, his verbal skills failing him once again. Since when was he this bad at everyday conversation?
Unfortunately, Kel misinterpreted the pause. She tensed, and turned her head away from him, "I know I look silly, alright?" she said tersely. Her head tilted down slightly, and her hair fell across the side of her face, hiding her expression from Dom as it did.
'What?' Dom blinked at her, and his eyes widened slightly. 'This is bad,' he thought, 'very bad...' "No! That's not..."
Kel glanced at him, one eyebrow raised. Good. She was listening.
"You...You look fine." He told her, a surprised kind of assurance in his tone. 'Better than fine,' he thought, but for some reason decided not to add aloud.
Kel blinked and turned her head to face him, fixing him with a suspicious gaze. Was he being serious?
Dom quickly read the skepticism in her expression. "Really! I'm not lying." He held one hand up and put the other to his chest. "Scout's honor."
Kel arched a brow at him, the corners of her mouth quirking as she tried not to smile. "And you're a scout?"
Dom frowned at her, feigning a pout. "Why must you always complicate things like that?...Fine. Sergeant's honor." He said, sounding exasperated and repeating the hand gesture from before. "Satisfied?"
Kel smirked. This was the Dom she knew. "For now." She replied cooly. Then the smirk faltered, and she was about to further interrogate Dom about her appearance when a familiar cheeping filled her ears. Several people looked up and watched as a large flock of sparrows descended from the air, scattering to land in various places around Kel. Three of the birds that were fairly new additions to the flock and had yet to be named selected Kel as a perch, settling gracefully onto her shoulders. Nari, the flock's leader, perched atop Dom's head. Apparently they had decided to join the party.
The onlookers stared at the two of them in surprise. Several people put a hand over their mouths, and a light chuckling sound filled the air. Even Yuki and Neal couldn't help themselves.
Kel's head sank between her shoulders, and she looked down at the ground, her cheeks burning. 'Gods, why me?'
Soon the moment passed, however, and the party buzzed with conversation. Slowly, Kel turned her head to see Dom's reaction. He sat quietly, staring ahead of him at nothing in particular, his face blank. 'Oh...' she thought, biting her lower lip. 'He doesn't look happy...'
Slowly, however, his expression changed. His eyes crinkled, and he began to shake, obviously trying very hard not to laugh. Kel blinked and stared at him, puzzled. Had he gone mad?...
She asked him as much, and he turned to her, a grin on his face. Kel's stomach did a quick flip-flop, and she silently cursed Dom for his good looks. The friendship between him and herself was strictly platonic, and she planned to keep it that way -- she didn't need a repeat of the terrible, unreturned crush she'd had on the sergeant in her years as a squire.
"Well, you have to admit," Dom said, holding back more laughter, "it was pretty funny."
Kel frowned at him. "Speak for yourself! I'll bet people will start calling me 'The Sparrow Girl' from now on. You watch."
Dom raised a brow at her. "You'd rather they call you 'Protector of the Small'?"
Kel laughed: he had a point.
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A/N: @_@; And that, ladies and gentlemen, was Pheep's pathetic attempt at vague, unrealized romance. Laugh. Laugh LONG and HARD. Still, I did work fairly hard on it and read over quite a few times, so I hope you didn't find it to be quite that awful. By the way, in case any of you were put off by the little paragraph about Kel not wanting to get together with Dom, keep this in mind: Things rarely go exactly as planned. ^_^ Muaha. REVIEW, PLEASE!
~Pheep