As the mismatched group of knights and lady entered the inn, they were surprised to see that it was nearly deserted. Unnerved, Kel went up to the manager and asked him if they were normally busier than this.
"Aye," said the man. Kel almost laughed when he started to talk, and was thankful for her Yamani training. He was a big man, of 6 feet and looked like he could do massive amounts of damage with his bare hands, but the voice that came from his throat was as high and youngl as a boy's. "Normally, at this hour we'd be nearly full, but there was some commotion at the main fief..some lady's honor was being tarnished so her knight challenged Cleon of Kennan to a duel to the death...any news of how it turned out?"
This was too ridiculous for Kel to pass off. She gave a very un-ladylike snort and said, "Well, good sir, all I know is that Sir Cleon most definitely didn't win...." She heard a few loose giggles behind her and decided now would be a good time to fill those mouths. "So, what would you suggest for a group of hungry knights?"
~*~
Twenty minutes later, the six of them were seated around a table, and digging into their steaming meals. For the next few minutes things were quiet, but as they finished, conversation picked up again. Even though Kel was a main topic of conversation, Kel herself was zoning out. 'He purposely missed that last shot. What did he do that for? Did he really miss it on purpose? I really need to talk to him, I guess.'
"So Keladry, when are we planning on leaving, now that you've cleared your honor?" Neal asked.
"Umm," Keladry thought, caught off-guard. "The sooner the better I guess.....tomorrow after lunch?" She suggested, thinking, 'That will give me enough time to find Cleon and ask him what's going on...I know that curiosity killed the cat, but this cat will die if her curiosity isn't fulfilled.'
The others agreed to leaving the next afternoon, they had to pack also. Caught up in the excitement of the day, most didn't notice that something was on her mind.
As the compand rode back to the fief, Dom quietly slipped towards the back of the line of horses, where Kel was thinking. He couldn't help but notice how prettily her eyes looked in the moonlight, instead of their normal rich hazel color, they were a delicate amber. "So, Kel, how do you feel now that you've marred the honor of your arch-rival?"
Kel tried to grin, but didn't really see a whole lot amusing about the situation. "It's great Dom," Kel said, hiding her true feelings. She didn't want to have her suspicions unsupported, and then have another man to mock her for it. "I was really surprised though, that I won, it was a close match, wasn't it?" Kel asked, trying to pry to see if Dom had noticed anything.
"Come on, Kel. We all know that one YOU get mad, there was a reason, and you won't rest until your honor is avenged."
Kel laughed. Dom always seemed to put things in perspective, sort of. With his dry sense of humor, she could always take a step back and look at things. Probing deeper, Kel continued, "Didn't you think it was strange though, how Cleon had been doing so well for the first two shots, and then missed it completely the third?"
Dom looked surprised. "The gods must have wanted you to win Kel, unless you think there was another reason he lost?"
Kel shook off her feelings that bordered on guild and said, "You're right Dom, sorry I've been so unresponsive, I guess I'm just tired."
"Not to worry, Lady Knight," Dom said with a wink. "We all know the feeling, and I know just the cure for it..."
"Dom!" Kel said exasperatedly, stretching his name into two syllables. "I can't believe you just said that! And to think, I always thought of you as the good old, innocent Domitan..."
"Now, now, Lady. Let's not get cheeky...I'm not THAT much older than you, remember?" Dom said, trying to preserve his honor.
"I know, Dom..." Kel trailed off, surprised that their trip has gone so quickly. They were now rounding the bend towards the main fief. About to say goodnight to the handsome knight, Kel said, "Look, I'm going to put Peachblossom to sleep, and then head back to my rooms...It's early so maybe I'll see you later?" Then realizing how that must have sounded, and after all that scandal, she quickly amended, "Well, not really like that, I just don't want to spend the rest of the night packing by myself, I could use some help, and we need to discuss out route for tomorrow, normally I'd ask Raoul to do it, but he looks a bit, um, tired." Kel said tactfully; Raoul was, in reality, snoring uproariously. It was all she could do to keep from laughing.
"As you wish, my dear." Dom said with a smile, and headed towards his rooms. As soon as he was out of sight, Kel sprinted towards her rooms, and began to write.
Dear Cleon,
I think that something was wrong today, when we were competing. Is there anything you want to share about your performance?
Sincerely,
Keladry
~*~
A/N I would LOVE to have at least 10 reviews on this chapter, and thanks so much to everyone who has so far, it's been helpful!!
"Aye," said the man. Kel almost laughed when he started to talk, and was thankful for her Yamani training. He was a big man, of 6 feet and looked like he could do massive amounts of damage with his bare hands, but the voice that came from his throat was as high and youngl as a boy's. "Normally, at this hour we'd be nearly full, but there was some commotion at the main fief..some lady's honor was being tarnished so her knight challenged Cleon of Kennan to a duel to the death...any news of how it turned out?"
This was too ridiculous for Kel to pass off. She gave a very un-ladylike snort and said, "Well, good sir, all I know is that Sir Cleon most definitely didn't win...." She heard a few loose giggles behind her and decided now would be a good time to fill those mouths. "So, what would you suggest for a group of hungry knights?"
~*~
Twenty minutes later, the six of them were seated around a table, and digging into their steaming meals. For the next few minutes things were quiet, but as they finished, conversation picked up again. Even though Kel was a main topic of conversation, Kel herself was zoning out. 'He purposely missed that last shot. What did he do that for? Did he really miss it on purpose? I really need to talk to him, I guess.'
"So Keladry, when are we planning on leaving, now that you've cleared your honor?" Neal asked.
"Umm," Keladry thought, caught off-guard. "The sooner the better I guess.....tomorrow after lunch?" She suggested, thinking, 'That will give me enough time to find Cleon and ask him what's going on...I know that curiosity killed the cat, but this cat will die if her curiosity isn't fulfilled.'
The others agreed to leaving the next afternoon, they had to pack also. Caught up in the excitement of the day, most didn't notice that something was on her mind.
As the compand rode back to the fief, Dom quietly slipped towards the back of the line of horses, where Kel was thinking. He couldn't help but notice how prettily her eyes looked in the moonlight, instead of their normal rich hazel color, they were a delicate amber. "So, Kel, how do you feel now that you've marred the honor of your arch-rival?"
Kel tried to grin, but didn't really see a whole lot amusing about the situation. "It's great Dom," Kel said, hiding her true feelings. She didn't want to have her suspicions unsupported, and then have another man to mock her for it. "I was really surprised though, that I won, it was a close match, wasn't it?" Kel asked, trying to pry to see if Dom had noticed anything.
"Come on, Kel. We all know that one YOU get mad, there was a reason, and you won't rest until your honor is avenged."
Kel laughed. Dom always seemed to put things in perspective, sort of. With his dry sense of humor, she could always take a step back and look at things. Probing deeper, Kel continued, "Didn't you think it was strange though, how Cleon had been doing so well for the first two shots, and then missed it completely the third?"
Dom looked surprised. "The gods must have wanted you to win Kel, unless you think there was another reason he lost?"
Kel shook off her feelings that bordered on guild and said, "You're right Dom, sorry I've been so unresponsive, I guess I'm just tired."
"Not to worry, Lady Knight," Dom said with a wink. "We all know the feeling, and I know just the cure for it..."
"Dom!" Kel said exasperatedly, stretching his name into two syllables. "I can't believe you just said that! And to think, I always thought of you as the good old, innocent Domitan..."
"Now, now, Lady. Let's not get cheeky...I'm not THAT much older than you, remember?" Dom said, trying to preserve his honor.
"I know, Dom..." Kel trailed off, surprised that their trip has gone so quickly. They were now rounding the bend towards the main fief. About to say goodnight to the handsome knight, Kel said, "Look, I'm going to put Peachblossom to sleep, and then head back to my rooms...It's early so maybe I'll see you later?" Then realizing how that must have sounded, and after all that scandal, she quickly amended, "Well, not really like that, I just don't want to spend the rest of the night packing by myself, I could use some help, and we need to discuss out route for tomorrow, normally I'd ask Raoul to do it, but he looks a bit, um, tired." Kel said tactfully; Raoul was, in reality, snoring uproariously. It was all she could do to keep from laughing.
"As you wish, my dear." Dom said with a smile, and headed towards his rooms. As soon as he was out of sight, Kel sprinted towards her rooms, and began to write.
Dear Cleon,
I think that something was wrong today, when we were competing. Is there anything you want to share about your performance?
Sincerely,
Keladry
~*~
A/N I would LOVE to have at least 10 reviews on this chapter, and thanks so much to everyone who has so far, it's been helpful!!
