~~~~~~~~`
"Oh, Gods!" Cleon groaned. "Kel, wake up! It's nearly time for breakfast!"
"Whha..." she began, and then sat upright. "I overslept?"
"Hurry!" he urged, trying to de-crease his clothing. "Change, or something! So we both don't look like hell stumbling down late together."
Slipping into the dressing room, she grabbed her usual tunic and breeches, slipping into it as fast as she could, throwing a handful of seeds to the sparrows as she darted back. "All right. What about you?"
"Nothing. I look like this everyday," the redhead told her. "It won't make a difference."
Sprinting down the halls, they arrived and grabbed trays just in time before the prayers were said. Panting, they bowed their head and gasped, "So mote it be."
Owen, digging into his muffin, exclaimed, "You were almost late!"
"What happened?" Roald remarked quietly. "You never oversleep," he said to Kel.
"Well," she said, trying to look as put off as possible, "I did, and no one woke me up, thank you very much."
"That's Neal's job," Merric protested. "No one else -but Jolly Owen- is that alive in the mornings to remember anything but buttoning their shirts and stumbling down to the mess."
"What about me?" Cleon complained. "How come no one cares about my well-being?"
Faleron grinned. "You're late to the mess two days out of five, Cleon."
There was a brief silence as Neal and Cleon's eyes met, and a piercing glare was exchanged. The former's sharp green eyes took in the creased appearance and scowled.
Luckily, no one but Kel and the two boys saw.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Stumbling back to his rooms for his staff, Cleon ran directly into Inness. He gulped, seeing the look on his Knight's face. "Oh, I'm in for it," he muttered.
"Well, well," Inness told him. "Cleon, my boy, you have some explaining to do."
"I don't, actually," the redhead said as blithely as he could.
Mindelan sighed. "Cleon, she's my sister!"
"Nothing happened. I swear."
"By Mithros?"
Cleon scowled. "I swear, by Mithros, that I did not sleep with your sister! Like that," he added, just in case. "I did not sleep with her like that." His face blushed to its very edges.
"Oh, all right then."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oranie frowned at her skirt. Nothing was right.
"Damn!" she cried aloud, stomping around her room. "Why can't my life be simple!?" Her eyes regarded her reflection in the mirror. "Don't even think about him," she warned her twin in the glass. "Not a single thought."
A knock came at her door. "Orie? Hello?"
Opening it with poise, Kel came into view. "Orie, it's time for supper, and they sent me to collect you."
Smiling sweetly, the older sister studied Kel. Cheeks flushed, eyes bright, in that silly Squire dress, her hair even braided neatly...oh, she was in love. "All right," she replied, all the while thinking, This isn't fair! Mother and Father always told me I would marry, and then what do you know? A spindren eats Marel like a loaf of bread! And my little sister, the tomboy, the cow, she is the one who is happy.
"Oranie?"
"Yes?" she said, returning to herself.
"It's time to go," Kel told her with just a hint of worry in her joyful voice.
It's just not fair.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ilaine smiled at her husband. "It's all arranged."
"It is?"
"We have spoken to his parents, and all is well. They have agreed not to tell their son or Kel until we feel it is ready. They were quite excited, really."
"Have we made the right choice?" Piers asked cautiously. "Is it the right one?"
"Oh, certainly." The mother grinned smugly. "I could tell, like a second sight."
~~~~~~~~~