He he he... my turn! Oh yeah! Now, this is the part where the writing starts to suck, on account of I'm writing it... mads
Cleon was proud about his choice of leaving Kel and Neal in the library- after all, what was the point of him sticking around, if only to witness their feeble attempts at flirting? What I need is a real woman, Cleon thought. Not one that giggles with every man she sees.
"Cleon, wait!" Kel called, jogging after him. "Cleon, please!"
Cleon sighed, folding his arms. They were in one of the main hallways, and it was quite late at night. He could see various portraits of the royal family: the king, looking as regal as ever; the princess and princes, all with dark hair; and then- Queen Thayet's picture was right in front of him. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen - gorgeous, with skin that could have been mistaken for ivory silk, bright eyes, and hair that reminded one of a raven's wing.
"Cleon!" Kel yelled again, only a few feet from where he was standing. "I'm sorry - I didn't mean to make you leave!"
Cleon shook himself from his daze. "What?" he said, blinking.
"In the library! I didn't mean to chase you off, talking to Neal and all."
"Oh," Cleon said. "Well, you two seemed to be enjoying yourselves. I certainly didn't want to be the cause of your bad time."
"My - bad time?" Kel repeated, almost laughing. "Cleon, I - well, I don't know - I hadn't seen Neal in a while. We were just catching up."
"It might have been 'just catching up' for you, but I saw Neal. I saw the way he was looking at you." He caught Kel's eyes, and gave her a serious stare. "He loves you, Kel."
Kel didn't look away from him, but caught his hand. "And what if I were to say that I loved you, Cleon of Kennan?"
Cleon smiled, feeling as though the wait of the world had been lifted from his soul. But as he pulled Kel towards him for a kiss, he couldn't help looking at the Queen's lovely portrait.
Awww... ain't that SA-WEET? Some of you people who catch foreshadowing really easily might be able to guess where the plot is heading... REMEMBER: This is NOT your run-of-the-mill K/N/C love tangle.