Disclaimer: Oh, screw it. I don't own them.
This chappie is dedicated to by beta and eternal friends, Judie and Brigid. Luv ya!
Underneath the Surface - Chapter 2 - Cling-on Strikes Again!
Kel mounted Hoshi as skillfully as she could on four hours of sleep. She had been awake most of the night trying to force herself back to sleep.
Unfortunately, that hadn't been very successful.
'Ah, the irony of it all.'
"Kel? You all right?" she heard Cleon ask from behind her.
"Everything's just peachy, Cleon. Just peachy."
"Well, I heard you tossing and turning all last night. Did you get any sleep?" Cleon asked as he mounted his own horse.
Kel turned sharply to look at him. Had he heard her? She hoped she hadn't said Neal's name during her dream. Cleon would never let her live it down.
"I got plenty of sleep, Cleon. I was just a bit restless. I guess my body's so used to sleeping on the floor that it couldn't get used to something as comfortable as pillows and mattresses," Kel replied as they both left the inn's gates.
"Oh," Cleon responded. He paused, then spoke again. "So I suppose waking up to your moaning in the middle of the night was entirely to do because of sleeping on the floor?"
Kel felt her cheeks start to burn as she turned away from Cleon. She didn't say anything.
"Oh, come now! Tell! Who was it?" Cleon prodded. Kel simply proceeded to turn redder.
"Kel! Tell me! Come on, what are friends for? We're supposed to tell each other all about our embarrassing fantasies!" When Kel didn't answer, Cleon went on. "I remember, one dream I had about Lady Laurana when I was a squire-"
"Cleon," Kel growled at him.
"Yes?"
"Shut up."
"No! I want to know who turned you on last night!"
Kel's face turned beet red. Did he always have to make things so blunt? "Oh, Cleon, stop it."
"Tell me, Kel! What are friends for, after all? Maybe I could set the two of you up!" His face lit up with glee at the prospect of playing Kel's matchmaker.
Kel suddenly had a brilliant idea. "You really want to know who was turning me on, Cleon?" Cleon nodded enthusiastically. "Well, he's a knight. And he has perfectly flaming red hair. And the most lovely gray eyes I have ever seen."
"Really?" Cleon asked.
"Yes. And you know what his name was?" she said, lowering her voice so that it was almost seductive. 'Then again,' Kel told herself, 'it's strictly an almost.'
"What was his name, Kel?"
"It was-" she bent over on Hoshi to whisper in his ear. "Cling-on."
Cleon pulled back to look at her strangely. "Cling-on? What an odd name." Kel smirked at him. "Oh. I see. I'll be quiet now," he said as he turned away and blushed.
Kel allowed herself a small snicker. 'Well. That's one way to shut him up.'
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
The ride back to the palace was uneventful. Cleon was quiet for most of the time - meaning that he didn't crack vulgar jokes about Kel's love life. They had stopped to set up camp the night before, but Kel hadn't had any more - lusty dreams.
'That's a relief, at least. I couldn't stand if I had kept thinking about him like that. I mean, he's my best friend! I remember how things were when I had that crush on him as a page! It just made things so utterly - complicated. Painfully complicated. Besides, he's getting married. It would just be fruitless to have feelings for him, especially now that he's in love and getting married. Perfectly fruitless.'
"Hey, Kel?"
"Yeah, Cleon?"
"What do you think Neal will be like when we get back? I mean, you haven't seen him for almost a year now. You've been on border duty for all this time, and he's been away..." Cleon's voice trailed off. Kel silently vowed to hurt Cleon after all this was over. He always knew how to bring up a touchy subject without trying too hard.
"Well, I'm sure he'll be the same, wisecracking Meathead that we all know and love." Kel winced at her choice of words. 'Not love, you idiot! He'll probably think that I do love him! Wait, what are you saying? It's an expression. He won't think anything of it.' She paused in her train of though. 'Hopefully.'
"Love?"
Kel mentally pictured stabbing Cleon with many, many dull knives. Countless times. A fitting death.
"You know what I mean, Cleon."
"Suuuure."
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
"I reckon we'll be riding for one more day," Cleon told Kel as they approached an inn in the small town of Relena's Peak. It was a small coastal township a couple of hours from Port Caynn. Relena's Peak couldn't have house more than 70 families, give or take. It was comprised of houses, an inn, a communal meeting place, a market, and various other small stores.
"Yeah. We'll probably reach Corus by mid afternoon tomorrow if we leave at an early enough time."
Cleon looked over at Kel. "They're probably not even expecting us for a couple more days, let alone hours. What if you have another dream??? You wouldn't want them to see you sleep deprived."
Kel glared at Cleon. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately.
"Cleon, a couple of hours might make the difference between life and death."
Cleon eyed her skeptically. "That was random."
Kel looked at him indignantly. "Well, I feel like being random today." Cleon raised an eyebrow at her, and she sighed. This was just not her day.
Or perhaps, it wasn't her week.
"Fine. We'll sleep in." Cleon gave a self-righteous grin as they walked their horses into town. They were silent for a moment.
"Cleon?"
"Yeah, Kel?"
"Don't let it get to your head. This is the only time I'll ever let you win again."
"Sure, Kel."
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Kel looked around her room in silent approval. It was small and neat. A fire burned in a medium sized hearth in the far end of the room. It was a simple room, with wooden floorboards, dusky colored curtains, and a small four poster.
'Anything's better than sharing a room with Cleon again,' she thought. Silently, she changed and crawled into bed. Drifting off into sleep, she had a fleeting thought of wildflowers and pink bunnies.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
"Hey, Kel."
Kel whirled around to Neal's smiling face. She couldn't help but grin.
"Neal. You came."
"Well, of course! You didn't think I would leave you here all alone, did you?" Neal walked toward Kel in the field of wildflowers and took both of her hands in his. He looked down at them and gently rubbed his fingers against hers, then looked up at her again.
"I got you something," he told her, a broad smile spread across his face.
Kel's eyes lit us. "Really? What is it?"
"Well," he started, a sheepish smile across his face, "it's nothing much, really. I found it, and I thought that you would like it."
"Really?" Kel answered. "What is it? Tell me! I won't laugh or anything, if that's what you're afraid of." She pushed Neal playfully to show that her spirits were light.
Neal grinned. He reached behind his back, and from seemingly out of nowhere, a crimson flower was produced. Its soft petals were round and delicate. He handed the flower to Kel.
"I thought you would like it," he said as Kel took the flower.
"It's beautiful." Kel couldn't think of anything else to say.
"A beautiful flower, for a beautiful lady," Neal said as he grinned cheekily. Kel felt herself blush.
"Stop, Neal. Your flattery is highly overrated."
"Ah, but my dear Keladry! I'm only saying what everyone knows is true!" Neal put a finger to her chin.
"Stop it. I look like a cow. That's what everyone says," she retorted as a scowl spread over her face.
Neal put a finger over her lips. "Everyone is wrong. Don't you see that you're beautiful in my eyes?"
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
'So much for not having any more dreams,' Kel thought as she opened her eyes and groaned.
Sighing, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. 'What is wrong with me? The first time it was random, second coincidence, but three times, to dream about him? What is going on in that subconscious?'
Kel sat up and walked over to the privy. She washed her face in the small basin of water that was sitting near the mirror and looked at her reflection. "Ha! Beautiful. Right. This is not happening to me."
She grabbed a towel and dried her face. Throwing it across the privy, she glanced back at her bed. It looked so warm and inviting... Then again, she would probably have more dreams if she went back. It was ironic that she never dreamed about Neal when she was sleeping on the dirt somewhere in the middle of nowhere. No. It had to be when she had a nice, comfortable bed.
'Comfortable... that sounds so nice...' Kel shook her head furiously.
'No! It's almost sunrise anyway. I'll just stay up the rest of the night. Right.'
Kel's eyes wandered back to her bed, though. It looked so warm and cozy...
'Maybe I'll just sit down on the bed. And close my eyes for a bit. It won't do much harm just to close my eyes... And I won't fall asleep or anything...' she thought as she found herself being inexorably being drawn towards the four poster. She let out a deep sigh as her head fell onto the pillow and her eyes closed in a dreamy sleep...
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
"Kel," a voice sang to her. Kel furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Who was that?
"Kel," the voice called again. Kel sighed in exasperation.
"Who are you?"
She heard a faint chortle come a couple of feet behind her. Whirling around, she found herself face to face with Neal. She smirked.
"Neal! Why are you sneaking up on me like that?" He grinned and took her roughly into his arms. Pulling her up against him, she felt her heart surge with a blast of passion.
"Hello Kel." He grinned and wrapped an arm around her waist. Kel turned red when she felt his hand move further down than was customary.
"Neal! Stop. You're not supposed-" he bent down to kiss the hollow of her throat "-to..." She felt her will power leave her as he trailed a line of kisses up her throat. "Neal..."
She felt him smirk against her jaw line. "I'll have you screaming my name by the time I'm done with you."
Kel was about to pull away from him but he brought his lips up to meet hers, blowing her mind away with one, dazzling kiss.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Kel sat up in bed as the first rays of sunlight touched her face. 'I really have to stop doing that.'
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
A/N: These chapters are so much fun! I never did "lusty" dreams before. (As Min so fondly calls them. *winks*) Neal's such a stud... agh. I've been reading ICBW seasons 1 and 2 and I can't believe I never read it before. It's just so good... agh. It's taking me forever though. I was planning on printing one of the chapters out to read before going to bed and it was 20 pages! Gah! Lol Mine will never be anywhere near that. Oh well. Then again, I'm 14, whereas Sulia Serafine's probably... well, older to say the least. But anyway, what I was going to say, was that now I have an odd obsession for Joren. *sheepish grin* Even more then when I'm reading Fallen Idols, one of my fav fics by one of my fav authors... *winks again* Heh... Anyway, hope you like the chapter. I do... the funny thing is, the dreams aren't even my favorite part. The bantering between Kel and Cleon is. Oh well. Whatever. Anyway, review please! You know I love em! Thanks to everyone who's reviewed. I can't believe I get so many now. It used to happen to everyone but me, ya know? And now... it's all... I can't describe it. Guess that's what happens after being here a while. Whatever. Man, now I'm boring all you people. Sorry. Anyway, here's the thank yous:
Jude: Yes, you probably would lie to me to spare my very sensitive feelings. You know how I am. *sniff* I LOVE HAVING A FRIEND LIKE YOU!!!! *breaks out into tears* Sorry. I feel very emotional today. Oh well. ICBW is so freaking good. Joren... I just keep imagining him in that towel... and those sweatpants... Gah! Mind out of gutter! Mind out of gutter! Then again, I wouldn't be me if my mind was out of the gutter, now would I?
Brigid: Hiya! No, he's not yours. He's mine. Deal with it. *growls* Lol.
'Chelle: Gah! You're always pointing out interesting things about my fics that even I don't notice! In SoT, you said they both had to do with protection, which I didn't notice, and now with the wildflowers! Well, I sorta did notice about the wildflowers, but I didn't think that deep into it. Sheesh. Luv ya!
Arctic Princess: I know, I know. I'm trying. It's in a rut though. And this is at least somewhat interesting... I'm trying, I promise. ^_^
Merry of Masbolle: GAH! YOU CHANGED IT!!! MOOAHAHAHA!!!! Lol Right. Anyway, thanks. I hate those stories too. They're just so... tasteless. Oh well. Liked your K/D btw. It was very good. Although I haven't gotten around to reading the last couple chappies... *sheepish grin*
Queen of Fluff: Hmmm...... scary in the good way? I suppose that means it's good, then doesn't it? Hehehe...
Alex: No. Alas, I have decided he will not die. Because he's funny. And an idiot. So there.
Kate: Fire? There's a fire? Funfunfunfunfun! Lol. Anywho, THEY LIKE US! THEY REALLY LIKE US! Heh... damn nun... getting me in trouble... gr... don't ask. It's a long story.
Min: Ya know, I should really call you Min of Stone Mt. or something. You're way too obsessed with Joren. Then again, aren't we all? *dreamy sigh* OMG I FINALLY GOT TO READING ICBW!!! IT'S A FREAKIN MASTERPIECE! Gah, it's taking so long though. And I can't kill Yuki cuz that would be plain unrealistic. ^_^
Jossie: Hello! Tell me about it. I have to read the next three books in the Odyssey, do questions on them, analyze something from the Catcher in the Rye, do math, bio and French homework. But I decided to screw that and write this for you guys. Aren't you happy?
Natalia: Grrr... well, that's true. But still. Owen?
ThePenMage: You see why he was sleeping with Kel? To make fun of her! Hehehe... Plus, he's going to actually use his brain for once later on in the story and, well... its going to be one of the clues! It's good I'm not making sense now, otherwise you might guess the plot. Heh...
Pam: Randomness! Ya for randomness! Lovely randomness! MOOHAHAHAH!!!!! Heh... isn't Neal a stud?