NEW HOPE'S FIRST BATTLE
"What's on your mind?" Kel asked Dom as Yamani calm as she could muster. Her heart was beating rapidly.
"Umm.well.I was just wondering." Dom stuttered. 'Why was he so agitated?' Kel wondered. She had never seen him like this before. He was usually calm and sarcastic, like Neal. "My men will soon get a little restless here without any action, so I was wondering if they could help with the refugee training?" 'This is what he was so disquieted about? There is definitely something else.' Kel thought to herself.
Coming out of her trance-like silence and realizing that Dom was staring at her strangely, she hastily replied, "Yeah sure. We need all the help we can get. I trust that you can organize your men to their strengths with the training."
"Of course. I was just checking to make sure you didn't have a problem with it. I will attend to the instructing rosters immediately." He replied with a little more confidence.
"Excellent. You are dismissed, if there isn't anything else you can to see me about." She told him with just a hint of anxiety in her usually placid voice.
"No, that's all," he replied with a strained smile.
Kel sighed inwardly. She had hoped he had come to see her for more personal reasons, but apparently wine had just gotten the better of him that night. That's what Kel had feared. She was just the source of some excitement one boring night. "All right, good luck with the training," she said at last. She then returned her attention to the paper she had been previously reading, assuming Dom would take his leave. A few moments later, Kel realized that her hadn't moved.
"Was there something else?" she asked puzzled. 'Why is he standing there like that?' she thought fretfully. There was a long tense silence. 'Why won't he say something!?' she thought. She could take the silence no longer. "SAY SOMETHING DAMMIT!" she exploded.
"Us, Kel. What about us? Is there an us?" he replied calmly as if not acknowledging the fact that she had just screamed at him.
"I don't know Dom. What happened the other night?" she asked him.
"I don't know, but I want more of it. Kel," he told her softly. "You've been acting as though it never happened. I thought you weren't interested anymore," he continued with just a hint of anger rising in his voice, which irritated Kel.
"Well I'm sorry for not fawning over you like all the other court ladies!" she screamed at him, not quite sure what had gotten her so upset. Dom looked absolutely shocked and hurt at her words. Obviously that was not the reply he had hoped for.
"Is that what you think? I just fool around with whomever I feel like? Kel, I thought you knew me better than that," he yelled back and stormed out of her office, missing the tears that had started streaming down her cheeks.
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'They're back!' Kel screamed to herself in utter panick. The black killing devices were here in New Hope and murdering her people without restraint. To her horror, they were now killing everyone and taking no prisoners. She heard a scream behind her. She whirled around and saw a device tear apart her friend and son-figure Tobe. Then, he picked up a man's body and turned him to face Kel. It was Dom.
"NOO!" Kel cried. She ran toward the machine with anger in her heart, ignoring the fact that she was completely unarmed. He cut Dom in two. When she reached the monster she passed right through it like a specter. She turned around and stared at the black beast in total disbelief. It didn't even seem to notice her. It continued its rampage around her camp, killing all who crossed its path.
Kel felt helpless, her worst fear had come true. All the people she had looked after for so long being slaughtered in front of her eyes. She cried out in anguish.
Kel sat up in bed with sweat pouring down her body and tears cascading down her cheeks. It had been a dream, albeit a horrible one, but a dream all the same. It was about four-thirty in the morning and Kel knew it was useless to try to go back to sleep, so she got out of bed and grabbed her glaive to start a complex pattern dance.
Suddenly the horn blew to signal an attack. Kel quickly got dressed in her armor and raced out to the wall. Merric was already there waiting for her and giving defensive commands.
"What's going on?" Kel shouted to Merric over the noise of the refugees readying for battle.
"Raiders from Scanra. About fifty," he replied just as loudly.
"BOWS!" Kel bellowed in her most Raoul-like voice. "READY.FIRE!!" she roared. A wave of arrow launched over her head and to both sides of her. She saw many of the invaders go down with arrows lodged in various places. "AGAIN!" she shouted once more, and another stream of arrows whisked overhead. More men fell.
They had reached the wall and were moving ladders into position. The Scanran archers let their bolts fly to cover the ascending men. Kel heard scattered screams.
"POLES! I NEED POLES!" Merric hollered at the defenders. The refugees quickly retrieved long wooden poles to push the ladders off of the walls. Many succeeded, a few had been too slow and attackers had breeched the walls, but were having little success. After a few skirmishes on the walls, the battle had been won.
"Not.bad for.our first.battle," panted Merric wiping his blade clean of blood. Kel did the same catching her breath as she did.
A man with a shallow leg wound limped over to Kel to report the damage. "No dead, but a dozen or so badly wounded, my lady," he reported to her.
"Is Sir Nealan in the infirmary already?" she asked the young soldier. He nodded. "Good. Round up all the healers or hedge witches in the camp and get them working. We don't want to lose anyone if we can help it." He nodded briskly and jogged away as fast as his injured leg would carry him.
Kel looked around anxiously for familiar faces. Then she realized that she wasn't looking for any familiar face, but Dom's. She quickly found him tending to a patient bleeding heavily from a chest wound. He caught her eye and winked. She smiled in return; all memories of the previous night's encounter forgotten.
"Merric?" she asked.
"Yes?" he replied.
"Get a squad together and search the woods. I'll get a group together to collect their dead and burn them. The last thing we need is some foreign disease spreading through the camp."
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That evening Kel went looking for Dom to apologize, but she couldn't find him. She first went to the infirmary to see if he was still tending patients, but Neal told her he had left earlier entirely worn out. Next she checked his rooms, but he wasn't there either. Kel asked around, but no one had seen him for at least an hour. She finally gave up retired to her study.
"Hello Kel," Dom said mildly from her seat behind her desk. He looked terrible. He had bloodstains on his shirt and was covered in scratches and dirt.
"I was just looking for you," she replied to him wearily. "How are you holding up?"
"Barely, actually. I feel like someone as hammered my head into my shoulders." He responded wincing slightly as she shifted his weight. "You?"
"I'm alive at least," she told him. "About last night. I shouldn't have lost my temper." Dom put up a silencing hand.
"Don't even mention it. We were both exhausted and edgy," he said to her in a matter-of-fact way that even she couldn't argue. Kel gave him a grateful smile. "I'm in your chair. Forgive me," he said gracefully, despite his stiffness, stood up and walked over to her. He kissed her gently and proceeded to bow extravagantly. "Good night, my lady."
"Good night, good sir," she answered. He smiled at her and left. Closing the door quietly on his way out.
Sorry it took so long dedicated readers, but I'm back in school and have homework to do and less time to write! Please R/R!!
"What's on your mind?" Kel asked Dom as Yamani calm as she could muster. Her heart was beating rapidly.
"Umm.well.I was just wondering." Dom stuttered. 'Why was he so agitated?' Kel wondered. She had never seen him like this before. He was usually calm and sarcastic, like Neal. "My men will soon get a little restless here without any action, so I was wondering if they could help with the refugee training?" 'This is what he was so disquieted about? There is definitely something else.' Kel thought to herself.
Coming out of her trance-like silence and realizing that Dom was staring at her strangely, she hastily replied, "Yeah sure. We need all the help we can get. I trust that you can organize your men to their strengths with the training."
"Of course. I was just checking to make sure you didn't have a problem with it. I will attend to the instructing rosters immediately." He replied with a little more confidence.
"Excellent. You are dismissed, if there isn't anything else you can to see me about." She told him with just a hint of anxiety in her usually placid voice.
"No, that's all," he replied with a strained smile.
Kel sighed inwardly. She had hoped he had come to see her for more personal reasons, but apparently wine had just gotten the better of him that night. That's what Kel had feared. She was just the source of some excitement one boring night. "All right, good luck with the training," she said at last. She then returned her attention to the paper she had been previously reading, assuming Dom would take his leave. A few moments later, Kel realized that her hadn't moved.
"Was there something else?" she asked puzzled. 'Why is he standing there like that?' she thought fretfully. There was a long tense silence. 'Why won't he say something!?' she thought. She could take the silence no longer. "SAY SOMETHING DAMMIT!" she exploded.
"Us, Kel. What about us? Is there an us?" he replied calmly as if not acknowledging the fact that she had just screamed at him.
"I don't know Dom. What happened the other night?" she asked him.
"I don't know, but I want more of it. Kel," he told her softly. "You've been acting as though it never happened. I thought you weren't interested anymore," he continued with just a hint of anger rising in his voice, which irritated Kel.
"Well I'm sorry for not fawning over you like all the other court ladies!" she screamed at him, not quite sure what had gotten her so upset. Dom looked absolutely shocked and hurt at her words. Obviously that was not the reply he had hoped for.
"Is that what you think? I just fool around with whomever I feel like? Kel, I thought you knew me better than that," he yelled back and stormed out of her office, missing the tears that had started streaming down her cheeks.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
'They're back!' Kel screamed to herself in utter panick. The black killing devices were here in New Hope and murdering her people without restraint. To her horror, they were now killing everyone and taking no prisoners. She heard a scream behind her. She whirled around and saw a device tear apart her friend and son-figure Tobe. Then, he picked up a man's body and turned him to face Kel. It was Dom.
"NOO!" Kel cried. She ran toward the machine with anger in her heart, ignoring the fact that she was completely unarmed. He cut Dom in two. When she reached the monster she passed right through it like a specter. She turned around and stared at the black beast in total disbelief. It didn't even seem to notice her. It continued its rampage around her camp, killing all who crossed its path.
Kel felt helpless, her worst fear had come true. All the people she had looked after for so long being slaughtered in front of her eyes. She cried out in anguish.
Kel sat up in bed with sweat pouring down her body and tears cascading down her cheeks. It had been a dream, albeit a horrible one, but a dream all the same. It was about four-thirty in the morning and Kel knew it was useless to try to go back to sleep, so she got out of bed and grabbed her glaive to start a complex pattern dance.
Suddenly the horn blew to signal an attack. Kel quickly got dressed in her armor and raced out to the wall. Merric was already there waiting for her and giving defensive commands.
"What's going on?" Kel shouted to Merric over the noise of the refugees readying for battle.
"Raiders from Scanra. About fifty," he replied just as loudly.
"BOWS!" Kel bellowed in her most Raoul-like voice. "READY.FIRE!!" she roared. A wave of arrow launched over her head and to both sides of her. She saw many of the invaders go down with arrows lodged in various places. "AGAIN!" she shouted once more, and another stream of arrows whisked overhead. More men fell.
They had reached the wall and were moving ladders into position. The Scanran archers let their bolts fly to cover the ascending men. Kel heard scattered screams.
"POLES! I NEED POLES!" Merric hollered at the defenders. The refugees quickly retrieved long wooden poles to push the ladders off of the walls. Many succeeded, a few had been too slow and attackers had breeched the walls, but were having little success. After a few skirmishes on the walls, the battle had been won.
"Not.bad for.our first.battle," panted Merric wiping his blade clean of blood. Kel did the same catching her breath as she did.
A man with a shallow leg wound limped over to Kel to report the damage. "No dead, but a dozen or so badly wounded, my lady," he reported to her.
"Is Sir Nealan in the infirmary already?" she asked the young soldier. He nodded. "Good. Round up all the healers or hedge witches in the camp and get them working. We don't want to lose anyone if we can help it." He nodded briskly and jogged away as fast as his injured leg would carry him.
Kel looked around anxiously for familiar faces. Then she realized that she wasn't looking for any familiar face, but Dom's. She quickly found him tending to a patient bleeding heavily from a chest wound. He caught her eye and winked. She smiled in return; all memories of the previous night's encounter forgotten.
"Merric?" she asked.
"Yes?" he replied.
"Get a squad together and search the woods. I'll get a group together to collect their dead and burn them. The last thing we need is some foreign disease spreading through the camp."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
That evening Kel went looking for Dom to apologize, but she couldn't find him. She first went to the infirmary to see if he was still tending patients, but Neal told her he had left earlier entirely worn out. Next she checked his rooms, but he wasn't there either. Kel asked around, but no one had seen him for at least an hour. She finally gave up retired to her study.
"Hello Kel," Dom said mildly from her seat behind her desk. He looked terrible. He had bloodstains on his shirt and was covered in scratches and dirt.
"I was just looking for you," she replied to him wearily. "How are you holding up?"
"Barely, actually. I feel like someone as hammered my head into my shoulders." He responded wincing slightly as she shifted his weight. "You?"
"I'm alive at least," she told him. "About last night. I shouldn't have lost my temper." Dom put up a silencing hand.
"Don't even mention it. We were both exhausted and edgy," he said to her in a matter-of-fact way that even she couldn't argue. Kel gave him a grateful smile. "I'm in your chair. Forgive me," he said gracefully, despite his stiffness, stood up and walked over to her. He kissed her gently and proceeded to bow extravagantly. "Good night, my lady."
"Good night, good sir," she answered. He smiled at her and left. Closing the door quietly on his way out.
Sorry it took so long dedicated readers, but I'm back in school and have homework to do and less time to write! Please R/R!!