Title: The Traitors in Our Midst
Author: Pickzee (sound it out you'll get it) formerly The Lady Rogue
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
Pairing(s): Kel/Cleon, Kel/Dom
Summary: In her first year as a knight Kel discovers a bit more about traitors than she ever wished to know. She finds that in the war against the Scanrans one of the most trusted of her friends is really the most traitorous of enemies. To make matters worse her relationship with Cleon deepens and in a moment of distraction the one she finds most traitorous is herself.
A/N: I beg of thee REVIEW! If you care a wink about this story REVIEW! I'm tired and I'm only writing this now because I know I need to hack out so people who care don't charge me with pitchforks (it really hurts to get stabbed with those, trust me) or try to impale me with plastic knives.
Disclaimer: Go fish. Seriously go fish. You have a better chance of catching Tamora Pierce in a lake with the fishes than you have of finding her in this house
All rights reserved for Ms. Tamora Pierce. I am not Tamora Pierce, one I'm not that gifted and two if I were the all mighty Tammy do you really think that Neal would be demanding that I raise Joren from the dead so they can play cards until his next scene?(It won't happen. I'm not Thom, I don't go around resurrecting people just for the heck of it. Thom's dead anywho so I can't hire him.) Now that we've got that cleared up on to the legal crap. These are only being borrowed for the amusement and enjoyment of the author and the readers of this fan fiction. No money is being made off the distribution of this story and even if money was being made I have no money for a lawsuit.
Chapter 5 (What's in a name? Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? If Shakespeare can say that about a sir name I can say it about chapter titles.)
~
Dom's squad was back. Since before Kel's life-altering night with Cleon they had been in a village just north of port Caynne helping to rebuild the town after a band of pirates had looted the valuables and set fire to the buildings. Kel was beyond relief to have someone that she could talk to without having them stare at her stomach, thinking about her soon to be born illegitimate child. She knew that in order to have a somewhat normal conversation with him she would have to intercept him before the court gossips did. So that was why Kel was leaning against the stall door for Dom's horse.
"Well look at who just got back from gloriously saving a village," Kel said noting Dom's muddy tunic and breeches.
"You spent far too much time with milord Raoul. You raise your eyebrow like him, you talk like him, you fight like him, you can even do the commander voice like him. Begging your pardon, but you are a bad girl, Keladry."
"This coming from the man who stole my line? I think I've finally rubbed off on you Dom."
"Maybe you have but why did you ambush me in my first ten minute's in the palace to flaunt your Raoul-ish-ness?"
"Actually I really just needed to talk to you before anyone else caught you. If I help you put your things away would you come up to my rooms to talk with me?"
"Well I do have to report to Raoul but I think I can postpone that since you're such a good friend."
"Thank you, Dom."
The combined efforts of Kel and Dom made fast work of settling Dom's things. Soon they were trudging up the hill towards the rooms Kel called home. Dom teased Kel who responded by a large smile, she was still some what governed by Yamani law and straight out laughing would be beyond rude. The pair exchanged small talk and other niceties though neither really knew quite what they were saying; Kel was more worried about how Dom would take the news; Dom wondered what the news that was so urgent was.
"Come in, Dom, it won't bite you." Kel suppressed a giggle at Dom's hesitation to enter the place she lived. He took a hesitant step, he had been in here before but only at parties or with other men of the Own, now it felt like an invasion of privacy, especially with his own suppressed feelings.
"Sit down," Kel said as she shut the door. "If you don't want to be my friend after you hear this I understand entirely. I'm pregnant. With Cleon's child and he had to go off and marry the heiress and the court gossips already know so of course my good name, not that I ever had one with the conservatives, has been dragged through the mud so much that you cannot even guess at how it used to be, and my whole life is a mess and oh Goddess, Dom, it's horrible so horrible, no court ladies will talk to me and neither will any people I don't know. I hate myself, I hate Cleon, I hate this unborn child, but at the same time I love them all too. Oh Gods..."
"Kel, it will be okay, it has to be, you're Keladry of Mindelan, you'll be okay." Somehow in her rant Kel's head ended up resting on Dom's shoulder making two rivers of tears wind their way down his back. He gave her a reassuring rub on the back but she was already asleep on his shoulder.
~
It was delicate operation. Dom had carried Kel over to her bed and gently dropped her on it. Now he was trying to remove her clothes so she was more comfortable but it was tricky. He had no problems pulling off her boots but her was having serious misgivings about taking off her tunic, shirt and breeches. The tunic was easy enough; one arm through the hole, then the other and finally up over her head. Pulling off the shirt disturbed him, so much bare skin was hidden underneath it, as much as he tried to hide it Dom was still a virgin. He averted his eyes and began to work the breeches down when Kel stirred.
"Dom? What are you doing? Are you trying to take advantage of me? You are hideous, I thought you were my friend and you just try to get into bed with me. Why?"
"Kel it's not what you think."
"I know exactly what it is Marble, do you take me for a dunce or a prostitute? Well I'm not and I won't stand for this treatment. Are there no decent men in this country?, Cleon impregnates me, promises to marry me to save my honor and than goes to be married to a rich lady. And you try to steal some of me while I'm sleeping? Why must everything be like this?"
"But Kel I wasn't going to take advantage of you, you just feel asleep on my shoulder and I took you back to your bed and tried I was trying to make you more comfortable, and I know you would not have been if you were still wearing your training clothes."
"Oh. I guess I didn't need to go into hysterics then did I? I'm sorry for yelling Dom." Kel looked down at her feet unable to face him after her brash outburst. She grabbed the linen shirt Dom had removed and put it back on over her undergarments.
"It's okay, Kel, I think I can se how you would think that. I did feel bad but I wanted you to be comfortable, I'm sorry for making you think that. Did Cleon really propose?"
"He did but in a way I'm glad he couldn't go through with it, we never would have made a good marriage, he never took anything seriously and I take things too seriously. We would be fighting all the time and that would not be good for either of us. But a part of me still wishes it could have worked out."
"More than a part of me is glad that it didn't," Dom whispered.
"What? How do you mean?"
"This what I mean." Dom said as he leaned closer to Kel. He placed his lips on hers but a sudden rap quickly drew them away on the door.
"Kel! Open the door! I know you are in there!" The person's voice was indistinguishable clear.
"Who is it?" Kel inquired of the voice the voice.
"Neal!"
Kel motioned for Dom to hide under the poster bed before she called for Neal to come in.
"Hello Kel. Yuki sent me on a mission. You know of course how our wedding is in three months. Well, Yuki wants you to act as matron of honor. She sent me to ask if you would be willing to undertake the job."
Three months Kel thought. I would not be showing yet so I think it is safe for me to accept. "I can and will do it. When do I need to meet Yuki to begin preparations?"
"Two days from today is the first fitting. It is being held at Lalasa's shop."
"Thank you Neal. I won't keep you any more, I know you and Yuki have a lot to plan for your wedding and I don't want to hold you up."
"Why are you so anxious to get rid of me Kel? You act like you have a man hidden under the bed." Kel blushed faintly.
"No, Alanna's coming over soon to do a check on the pregnancy and is not something you would enjoy being witness too."
"All right Kel, I'll see you later sometime, I spent enough time with Alanna as a squire, I don't want to run into her any more than I have to."
"Goodbye Neal."
As Neal left Kel closed door firmly so there would be no more intrusions.
"You can come out now Dom." When Dom surfaced from under the bed he asked the question that had been haunting him.
"When did my cousin get the Sight?"
"What makes you think he has the Sight, it was probably just a lucky guess."
"A damned good lucky guess."
"What were you saying before Neal come over here to annoy us with his wedding plans?"
"This," Dom said as he leaned down and kissed Kel, this time the kiss being much longer more lingering but equally soft. When he ended the kiss Kel reinstated it, though this kiss was more than a light brush and tongues explored the others mouth. It felt like fireworks were exploding behind her eyes and she felt assured the feeling was reciprocal.
These kisses were different than Cleon's.
And Kel liked them more.
A/N
Review. Please. My MP3 downloader isn't working so I don't have any of the music files I want on my computer so I need your reviews to be music to my ears... err eyes. Do me a favor and tell your friends. And go read Only Hope, it by my best friend yes the plots are somewhat similar, it wasn't supposed end up that way but that's what happens when you idea bounce.
~Pickzee
P.S. The real plot starts next chapter, I decided.
Author: Pickzee (sound it out you'll get it) formerly The Lady Rogue
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
Pairing(s): Kel/Cleon, Kel/Dom
Summary: In her first year as a knight Kel discovers a bit more about traitors than she ever wished to know. She finds that in the war against the Scanrans one of the most trusted of her friends is really the most traitorous of enemies. To make matters worse her relationship with Cleon deepens and in a moment of distraction the one she finds most traitorous is herself.
A/N: I beg of thee REVIEW! If you care a wink about this story REVIEW! I'm tired and I'm only writing this now because I know I need to hack out so people who care don't charge me with pitchforks (it really hurts to get stabbed with those, trust me) or try to impale me with plastic knives.
Disclaimer: Go fish. Seriously go fish. You have a better chance of catching Tamora Pierce in a lake with the fishes than you have of finding her in this house
All rights reserved for Ms. Tamora Pierce. I am not Tamora Pierce, one I'm not that gifted and two if I were the all mighty Tammy do you really think that Neal would be demanding that I raise Joren from the dead so they can play cards until his next scene?(It won't happen. I'm not Thom, I don't go around resurrecting people just for the heck of it. Thom's dead anywho so I can't hire him.) Now that we've got that cleared up on to the legal crap. These are only being borrowed for the amusement and enjoyment of the author and the readers of this fan fiction. No money is being made off the distribution of this story and even if money was being made I have no money for a lawsuit.
Chapter 5 (What's in a name? Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? If Shakespeare can say that about a sir name I can say it about chapter titles.)
~
Dom's squad was back. Since before Kel's life-altering night with Cleon they had been in a village just north of port Caynne helping to rebuild the town after a band of pirates had looted the valuables and set fire to the buildings. Kel was beyond relief to have someone that she could talk to without having them stare at her stomach, thinking about her soon to be born illegitimate child. She knew that in order to have a somewhat normal conversation with him she would have to intercept him before the court gossips did. So that was why Kel was leaning against the stall door for Dom's horse.
"Well look at who just got back from gloriously saving a village," Kel said noting Dom's muddy tunic and breeches.
"You spent far too much time with milord Raoul. You raise your eyebrow like him, you talk like him, you fight like him, you can even do the commander voice like him. Begging your pardon, but you are a bad girl, Keladry."
"This coming from the man who stole my line? I think I've finally rubbed off on you Dom."
"Maybe you have but why did you ambush me in my first ten minute's in the palace to flaunt your Raoul-ish-ness?"
"Actually I really just needed to talk to you before anyone else caught you. If I help you put your things away would you come up to my rooms to talk with me?"
"Well I do have to report to Raoul but I think I can postpone that since you're such a good friend."
"Thank you, Dom."
The combined efforts of Kel and Dom made fast work of settling Dom's things. Soon they were trudging up the hill towards the rooms Kel called home. Dom teased Kel who responded by a large smile, she was still some what governed by Yamani law and straight out laughing would be beyond rude. The pair exchanged small talk and other niceties though neither really knew quite what they were saying; Kel was more worried about how Dom would take the news; Dom wondered what the news that was so urgent was.
"Come in, Dom, it won't bite you." Kel suppressed a giggle at Dom's hesitation to enter the place she lived. He took a hesitant step, he had been in here before but only at parties or with other men of the Own, now it felt like an invasion of privacy, especially with his own suppressed feelings.
"Sit down," Kel said as she shut the door. "If you don't want to be my friend after you hear this I understand entirely. I'm pregnant. With Cleon's child and he had to go off and marry the heiress and the court gossips already know so of course my good name, not that I ever had one with the conservatives, has been dragged through the mud so much that you cannot even guess at how it used to be, and my whole life is a mess and oh Goddess, Dom, it's horrible so horrible, no court ladies will talk to me and neither will any people I don't know. I hate myself, I hate Cleon, I hate this unborn child, but at the same time I love them all too. Oh Gods..."
"Kel, it will be okay, it has to be, you're Keladry of Mindelan, you'll be okay." Somehow in her rant Kel's head ended up resting on Dom's shoulder making two rivers of tears wind their way down his back. He gave her a reassuring rub on the back but she was already asleep on his shoulder.
~
It was delicate operation. Dom had carried Kel over to her bed and gently dropped her on it. Now he was trying to remove her clothes so she was more comfortable but it was tricky. He had no problems pulling off her boots but her was having serious misgivings about taking off her tunic, shirt and breeches. The tunic was easy enough; one arm through the hole, then the other and finally up over her head. Pulling off the shirt disturbed him, so much bare skin was hidden underneath it, as much as he tried to hide it Dom was still a virgin. He averted his eyes and began to work the breeches down when Kel stirred.
"Dom? What are you doing? Are you trying to take advantage of me? You are hideous, I thought you were my friend and you just try to get into bed with me. Why?"
"Kel it's not what you think."
"I know exactly what it is Marble, do you take me for a dunce or a prostitute? Well I'm not and I won't stand for this treatment. Are there no decent men in this country?, Cleon impregnates me, promises to marry me to save my honor and than goes to be married to a rich lady. And you try to steal some of me while I'm sleeping? Why must everything be like this?"
"But Kel I wasn't going to take advantage of you, you just feel asleep on my shoulder and I took you back to your bed and tried I was trying to make you more comfortable, and I know you would not have been if you were still wearing your training clothes."
"Oh. I guess I didn't need to go into hysterics then did I? I'm sorry for yelling Dom." Kel looked down at her feet unable to face him after her brash outburst. She grabbed the linen shirt Dom had removed and put it back on over her undergarments.
"It's okay, Kel, I think I can se how you would think that. I did feel bad but I wanted you to be comfortable, I'm sorry for making you think that. Did Cleon really propose?"
"He did but in a way I'm glad he couldn't go through with it, we never would have made a good marriage, he never took anything seriously and I take things too seriously. We would be fighting all the time and that would not be good for either of us. But a part of me still wishes it could have worked out."
"More than a part of me is glad that it didn't," Dom whispered.
"What? How do you mean?"
"This what I mean." Dom said as he leaned closer to Kel. He placed his lips on hers but a sudden rap quickly drew them away on the door.
"Kel! Open the door! I know you are in there!" The person's voice was indistinguishable clear.
"Who is it?" Kel inquired of the voice the voice.
"Neal!"
Kel motioned for Dom to hide under the poster bed before she called for Neal to come in.
"Hello Kel. Yuki sent me on a mission. You know of course how our wedding is in three months. Well, Yuki wants you to act as matron of honor. She sent me to ask if you would be willing to undertake the job."
Three months Kel thought. I would not be showing yet so I think it is safe for me to accept. "I can and will do it. When do I need to meet Yuki to begin preparations?"
"Two days from today is the first fitting. It is being held at Lalasa's shop."
"Thank you Neal. I won't keep you any more, I know you and Yuki have a lot to plan for your wedding and I don't want to hold you up."
"Why are you so anxious to get rid of me Kel? You act like you have a man hidden under the bed." Kel blushed faintly.
"No, Alanna's coming over soon to do a check on the pregnancy and is not something you would enjoy being witness too."
"All right Kel, I'll see you later sometime, I spent enough time with Alanna as a squire, I don't want to run into her any more than I have to."
"Goodbye Neal."
As Neal left Kel closed door firmly so there would be no more intrusions.
"You can come out now Dom." When Dom surfaced from under the bed he asked the question that had been haunting him.
"When did my cousin get the Sight?"
"What makes you think he has the Sight, it was probably just a lucky guess."
"A damned good lucky guess."
"What were you saying before Neal come over here to annoy us with his wedding plans?"
"This," Dom said as he leaned down and kissed Kel, this time the kiss being much longer more lingering but equally soft. When he ended the kiss Kel reinstated it, though this kiss was more than a light brush and tongues explored the others mouth. It felt like fireworks were exploding behind her eyes and she felt assured the feeling was reciprocal.
These kisses were different than Cleon's.
And Kel liked them more.
A/N
Review. Please. My MP3 downloader isn't working so I don't have any of the music files I want on my computer so I need your reviews to be music to my ears... err eyes. Do me a favor and tell your friends. And go read Only Hope, it by my best friend yes the plots are somewhat similar, it wasn't supposed end up that way but that's what happens when you idea bounce.
~Pickzee
P.S. The real plot starts next chapter, I decided.