A Meeting of Houses
Act XI - Show Me The Sky

Jaelawyn Noble [ Jaelawyn@attbi.com ]

Disclaimer: Love 'em, dun own 'em.
Warnings:
Rating: R
Pairing: Lerant/Keladry, Roald/Shinkokami, Buri/Raoul
Summary: Kel is in an arranged marriage. Only, it's at the brink of the war with Scanra. Kel is a Knight - and has to follow the king's orders. Will she learn to love her future husband, as they fight together? Or is everything just doomed to forever be something you cannot fight?
Archive:
Feedback: 'm a whore for it.
Notation: Originally a lemon. You can find that version here.

~

Lerant of Eldorne glared at his lover, fists clenching and unclenching in anger. His brown eyes blazed, his jaw hurt from gnashing his teeth together. "Why?" he demeaned of her.

Kel sighed, sitting on the bed, taking her tunic off. She acted as if none of this had any effect upon her. "I have to, Lerant. I don't have a choice."

"Is my lord sending you to track down this mage? Is Commander Tourakom? Their majesties? Keladry, you don't need to do this! I don't understand, and I'm not going to pretend that I do. This much I know, he is dangerous! Unless you have a death wish, you can't go!" he was shouting by now, that much he knew. Of course, at the moment, her safety was more important than worrying about the volume of his voice.

She looked up at him, her mask on. "It's just something I have to do. I didn't expect you to understand, Lerant. I don't need you to, either. Things are going to get complicated, and quickly at that. I have a job to do. No one here has sent me to go after this mage."

"Then what?" Lerant cried out, frustrated at the half answers Kel was giving him. "What's sending you after this mage? Kel, just talk to me. I need to know these things -"

"You need to know nothing."

"You're wrong, Mindelan! People worry about you, whether you want them to or not. It's not something you can help. I suggest you get over it. Now, answer my question!"

"I don't have to answer anything, Eldorne!" Kel snapped, temper getting the best of her. "You don't control me!"

"Men have power over women!" he snapped back at her. His temper had flared and gone out of his control when Kel had calmly announced that she was leaving to go after a mage. While everyone was in a confused and shocked state, Lerant followed Kel as she left the room. And that had started this. Something he wish he had ignored.

Keladry sat there, eyes slit in anger. That one comment had been the breaking point. What she let loose was an impressive vocabulary of the Yamani language. Judging from the anger and tone in her voice, Lerant knew he wouldn't want to know what she was saying. Instead, he reacted as any male would when threatened.

He drew himself up to his full height. "Some women need more control than others. I believe you have just proven how completely immature you are." Turning on his heel, he left the room, slamming the door on his way out.

~

Thom sighed, pushing his magick into the tree he had destroyed. It wasn't the tree's fault he was angry, and it most certainly did not deserve to die. The tree was being very stubborn and refused to be healed. With an angry glance at the tree he stood up.

"Don't care to live, hm? Your as stubborn as my mother! You wish to die forever?" Thom asked, hands on his hips. From the tree he could feel a silent apology. "Will you behave now?" The tree shuddered in it's own language.

Thom smiled and once again knelt in the dirt. His hands glowed with the color of his magick. This time, the tree accepted the power of Healing and relaxed. As the tree grew and regained it's damaged limbs, someone watched the redheaded mages form the shadows.

~

Lerant stormed out of the living quarters, muttering about a certain headstrong female. He was arguing with himself when he walked out to the courtyard. He was startled out of his thoughts by the tall redhead. Lerant walked silently over to Thom, but stayed in the shadows. He remembered the last time her had startled Thom... He remembered it quite well in fact. And he remembered what had happened afterwards as well.

"Don't care to live, hm? Your as stubborn as my mother! You wish to die forever?" Thom placed his hands on his slender hips, glaring at the tree. Those hips led to long legs... And impure thoughts of another man. Lerant tuned out of his ogling to hear Thom speak again. "Will you behave now?" The tree shuddered and Thom knelt in the dirt. Lerant watch in awe as the tree regurgitate. Thom really had a talent.

When Thom stood up, Lerant came out. "You're pretty good with the magick, aren't you?" Lerant asked.

Thom turned around, startled to find he had a one person audience. "Thank you," he said softly, blushing. "How long have you been watching?"

"From when you scolded the tree."

"Oh..." Thom gave Lerant a pained smile. "I'm not crazy."

"I know."

"Is something wrong?" Thom asked, noting the troubled expression and the waves of anger emanating from Lerant. "Your aura is pulsing like mad." Thom decided not to mention that he was an empath.

"Nothing's wrong," Lerant muttered.

"Wanna sit?" Thom asked, sitting - more like falling - in-between the roots of the tree he had just healed. Lerant shrugged and sat next to Thom, only separated by a long root. "Something wrong with Keladry?"

That seemed to do it. The floodgate was now open. "That insolent female? The one who has no regard for those who worry about her? Who doesn't seem to care if she lives or dies? The one who thinks she has to take on the Scanran mages herself? No! Nothing's wrong with her!"

Thom smiled. At least he had gotten an answer. "It seems to be a requirement with lady knights."

"What does?" Lerant was still seething.

"Being stubborn and thinking that they have to be self sufficient. I know my Ma is that way. She and Da occasionally get into fights about her doing something alone."

"Maybe it's a woman thing."

"Maybe." Thom twirled a piece of grass in her long fingers. "My sister, Alianne, is a permanent bitch. She's always fighting with Ma. If it's not about her choice not to be anything, then it's about how Ma is never home to care about us. Alianne doesn't understand how hard it hits Ma. She also doesn't know that Ma cries about it afterwards."

"Sounds like one of my sisters."

Thom smiled. Lerant's aura was steadying. He need Lerant to relax a bit more though, if Thom was to help. Family seemed to be a safe topic. Thom glanced at Lerant out of the side of his eyes.

Lerant was leaning back against the trunk of the tree. His brown hair was in his eyes, but he refused to push it away. His profile was lighted by the sun's rays that were coming in through the green leaves of the apple tree. The light seemed directed completely at him, and made him seem as if he were a heavenly angel.

With a noticeable blush, Thom looked up. Yes, family was a very safe topic. "I don't understand how Ma and Da can fight all the time, and still love each other. It's amusing, really. They fight, Ma's body is outlined in daggers, and Da's hair or something on him turns different colors." Lerant laughed at this, Thom only smiled sadly. "It's like that at the University, too." Thom launched into a tale about two novices who had gotten into a debate and ended up turning each other pink and yellow. Thom smiled as he heard Lerant's laugh. It was deep and it was rich... and it sent shivers down Thom's spine.

"So... What about your family? Anything crazy?"

Lerant's mood shifted from a pleasant mood to a melancholy one. He shrugged. "Not really. My family is really tame. If you don't count Dione and Aerope, that is. Those two are prone to pranks." He scowled darkly. "And unless you count Aunt Delia. She ruined our family. No one can become anything, thanks to her."

"Oh, you can't possibly mean that. Everyone has family problems." Thom didn't want to mention his Uncle Thom. Though he wasn't charged with High Treason, it was well known that the whole Coronation Battle was his fault. And it was also why mages from anyone related to the Trebonds was discouraged.

"Like hell I don't! I meant every word of it. Killed for High Treason. She ruined my chance to be something." Lerant sighed desperately. "Not only because of her actions, though. It's because they fear the King's wrath. My life has been hell thanks to them both."

"Can nothing change? People shouldn't always fear a king. Not to mention that Jonathan isn't really a bad king. It's just... He doesn't always understand what 'fairness' is."

"Nothing can change. No one accepts those of a traitorous family," Lerant said bitterly. Silently, Thom agreed with him.

"Raoul? Keladry? Those of Third Company?"

"Exceptions." Lerant flopped onto his back and peeled his tunic off. It was very warm, considering they were up north and it was late August. "I only want a chance." His shirt accented the fine muscles of Lerant's midsection. Thom tried to tear his eyes away, but he couldn't. Lerant looked so perfect, and so damn tempting!

"Do you love Keladry?" Thom asked suddenly.

Lerant looked up, surprised. "In what sense of the word?"

Thom looked away, glancing up at the sun and squinting. "Love as in you can't help but adore and like someone so much you can barely live without them. That sort of love. One where all the faults of the person just slips away and all you can see if the perfection and beauty of the soul and heart they have."

Lerant snorted, a cynical expression crossing over his features. "There is no such thing as love then."

Thom ached upon hearing those words. More than ever he wanted to say, "Let me show you there is!" All he could do, though, was helplessly look at Lerant in sadness.

"Did you ever like girls?" Lerant asked, after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

Thom scowled. "I still do. I don't court them or get to know them," he snapped. "Most women are cruel and vicious and use men for their own purposes. I only have good opinions of the queen, Buri, some of the Riders, the princesses, and my Ma. Other than that, I want nothing to do with women!"

Lerant watched as Thom's expression went from livid to total embarrassment. "Had a few problems, hm?"

Thom sighed, his blush fainting. "Several."

"I'm sorry," said Lerant."

Thom waved him off. "I don't mind getting rejected. I do mind being used. And that's exactly what Synia did." He drew a deep breath. Was he ready to admit to this stranger about Synia? Yes... Yes he was. "This isn't anything I've ever told before, all right? So, let me say this now: tell, and I will deny it a hundredfold."

Lerant nodded, knowing Thom was serious. Thom sighed and laid down in the grass. He stared at the sky. A few minutes later he began.

"Synia was a friend of mine when we were younger. We had been friends since I was at least five. She's... She was a spitball. Always being wicked capricious. She was always magnanimous, though. The last time I saw her was when we were eight. About a year after I entered the University, Synia enrolled. We began being friends again. She acted like she was the same. I refused to believe what I saw in her eyes. She had lost everything I had loved about her: her ardor, her personality, her... her spunk, I suppose."

Thom stopped. Lerant noted despondency and despair were very apparent in Thom's eyes. "And?" Lerant asked.

"And that was the end of that."

Lerant looked at Thom with wide eyes. "You must be joking."

"No. That was the end."

"It doesn't add up though."

"It doesn't have to."

"What else happened?"

Thom swallowed, his eyes were stinging. There was no way he was going to admit what had happened. He wasn't going to tell what had happened with Synia. He thought he could, he thought it had been long enough for the anguish of betrayal to fade... He thought wrong. It still burned as fiercely as it had when Synia had first torn his life to shreds. There was no way he could admit to Lerant what had happened. Lerant would laugh at him... And Thom wouldn't blame him. He was a freak. Someone who didn't deserve to live. It was just like Synia had said.

"Nothing happened, all right?"

"You're lying."

"You want to know every bit? Everything of what she did? If you want to hear about a woman who can completely tear you to shreds then yes, I'll tell you!" Thom was ashamed to feel the tears flowing down his cheeks. He savagely wiped them away.

"Synia used me. She was a very good player, knew exactly how to get a man to act like a fool around her. She knew about how our family wasn't perfect, how everything was falling apart around our ears. She used me. She found out about some of my reservations that I wasn't one way or the other. She used them against me. Within a few simple weeks, though it seems like perpetuity, she utterly destroyed me. You ever go to the University when I'm there, you'll hear various people shouting 'fruitcake.' And it's always obvious who they're shouting it at. It was the first time I ever lost control of my Gift..."

Thom had long ago stood up. Now, though, he twisted and punched the tree's trunk. His knuckles began to bleed furiously, and he didn't even try to heal them. He looked away, at a point in the sky that Lerant couldn't see. "I lost control when they cornered me. Their intentions were clear, they meant to kill me. I panicked. Synia was among them. They attacked, I tried to fend them off. One of the boys struck me over the head, knocking me to the ground. I could feel a burning sensation growing within me the whole time." Thom licked his lips before continuing. "When they knocked me down, I lost control. My Gift tore free on my control and erupted into the elements... Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth. The fire destroyed those around me, burning them alive. The water drowned those who couldn't swim. The wind spread the fire... and the Earth revolted, crumbling buildings within a fifty-foot radius of me.

"All in all, over seventy people were killed, the majority were students. Only two teachers were killed. Pity I didn't kill myself. Ma, Master Numair, and a few other mages came down. They fixed the University as much as they could. They fixed the students' memories so they thought it was a bad earthquake, an blazebalm experiment gone wrong, and a water pipe bursting. Too bad they didn't fix my memory. After that I was under heavy training by my teachers. Freedom was gone. Also meant that people thought I was too good for them. I was so eager when I heard of the Scanran threat. I began getting my teachers to teach me more powerful and deadly war spells. I finished them in January, and then all I had to do was get Ma to let me go. And that's how I ended up here."

Lerant, throughout the entire rant, was calm. He was surprised when Thom had told him everything. And even more surprised when Thom told him of losing control. Maybe magick wasn't such a good thing after all. His surprise lasted as long as it took for Thom to fall to his knees and begin sobbing. Lerant moved over to Thom and got the sobbing boy - for it was true that Thom had barely reached manhood - into his arms and into his lap. Lerant began to try and sooth the boy who was curled into the fetal position and who was half in and half out of his lap.

Thom's sobbing ceased, but the tears did not. Lerant pulled Thom into a sitting position and put his arms around the shaking boy. "It's okay, just get it out of your system. No one's around to see. Just let it go," Lerant whispered to Thom. As Thom cried, Lerant held him and gave him emotional support. When Thom sat up and wiped at his eyes, Lerant thought the all-powerful mage had fallen. In truth, Thom was only showing that he was all of seventeen years and still very new to the outside world.

"Sorry..." Thom muttered, sniffing.

"You needed to get it out."

"Thank you," Thom sighed.

Lerant noticed how close the two of them were. He wondered, vaguely, what it felt like to be the one to kiss, instead of being kissed. For a moment there, in suspended time, he felt a jolt of energy running through his veins - in his blood. Thom looked up at Lerant, hazel eyes slightly glassy. Brown met hazel. Both leaned forward and lips met. The two moved closer to the other as their lips met again... and again... and again. When they pulled apart, they stared at each other with wide eyes. Both were panting; Lerant licked his lips.

"Sorry," he murmured.

[ CENSORED ]

With a contented sigh, Lerant lay down next to Thom. "You should really get some rest." He yawned. "We both should. We're too tired to even think."

Thom nodded in agreement, and drifted off to a restless sleep.

~

[ THOM'S DREAM CENSORED FOR RAPE ]

With a strangled sob, Thom awoke. He got out of bed, knowing Lerant was still there, and stumbled over to his clothing. He dressed quickly and grabbed a spare blanket and his staff. It was already dark out, meaning he could sleep outside. He ran out to the courtyard, tears streaming down his face. He fell the ground near the apple tree and sobbed.

They were right. All he was was a pretty face and a good fuck. Love was nothing. Love didn't exist. Nothing existed for freaks like him.

With that thought in mind, he pulled the blanket over him, clutched his staff tightly, and fell asleep, crying as if there were no tomorrow.

~

Alanna awoke with a start. Once again, that nightmare. Jonathan. Why was he haunting her? Wasn't it enough he scared her? Did he have to make her wake up every night for the past three months in a cold sweat? With a moan, she got out of her bed. For the past two years her back had been bothering her. Of course, she figured it was all the riding she did. Sighing, she fetched her clothes and built up the fire so that her bones wouldn't hurt so much.

"I'm getting to thin..." she muttered. "One would think I would snap in half, that's how thin I am." She pulled at her breeches and scowled. They were practically falling off of her hips. This wouldn't do. "Urgh..." she muttered. "Jesa!" She was surprised when she had to break out coughing. She slumped to the floor, unable to stop coughing.

"'Anna?" Jesa called out, brown hair flying down her back as she entered the room. She noticed her friend hunched over, coughing relentlessly. Jesa reacted fast; she grabbed a pitcher of water and poured Alanna a cup. Kneeling before her friend and mistress, she held the cup to Alanna's lips and helped pour some down her throat. When the Lioness had stopped coughing enough to breathe, Jesa sat back.

"Jesa...?" Alanna gasped. The woman beside her nodded, green eyes wide in fear for her friend's safety. Alanna struggled to her feet. "Good. I need your help."

Jesa eyed Alanna's thin form. Her body was so thin... It must be painful to even breathe. Alanna was always thin, but this was something else altogether; you could count every one of her bones. "You need my help to fed you?" Jesa asked sourly.

Alanna looked at her friend plaintively. "I've been eating, Jesa! But it seems like over night I lose what little I have! I've lost close to thirty pounds in three weeks!" Alanna slumped to her feet. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"The Healers -"

"No."

"Fine. Be stubborn."

"I need your help finding something to wear. I can't seem to fit in anything."

"Breeches?" Jesa asked, puzzled.

"All fall off my hips."

"Hm..." Jesa sighed. "'Anna... You need to stop getting clothes that fit right to your form."

"I know..." 'Anna replied. "Just... Help me this once?"

"Of course," Jesa said with a sad smile. She helped her friend over to the bed and draped a blanket over Alanna's too thin shoulders. Jesa walked over to the closet and opened it. Inside were dresses, cloaks, and a majority of men's clothing. With a sigh, Jesa began to take out many morning gowns. When they were all out, they totaled as five. And none but one fit.

"Alanna..." Jesa said, holding the dress up. "Have you ever worn this?"

Alanna shook her head, "Never."

"Why not?" Jesa asked, running her hands of the fabric. "Silk and flax, then silk gauze. This must have cost a fortune."

"Not really. I bought it a year or so ago, mostly to surprise George when he came up to Corus for Midwinter. Never happened, so I never wore it."

"All right, then. It'll be closer to your body type now. Now, take off that breast band. This dress uses the bodice to support your breasts." Alanna nodded and took off the offending garment. Jesa took out the pins off of the dress and motioned for Alanna to come over. Each part of the dress was slipped on and the secured. Jesa left it slightly loose, so that way the lose of weight would not be noticed too much.

The dress was beautiful. The underdress was a cream colored camisole and had a three-boned petticoat added to it to add flare and layers. The overdress was a pastel colored green, and was much like a jumper. It was sleeveless, except for two layers of silver and dark green gauze silk that flew to the floor in elegant waves of silk. The overdress was flared to cover the petticoat, wide enough to allow freedom of movement, and made of a cotton-type silk. The bodice was also a light colored green. It was worked through with forest green and silver threads, weaving together in the form of vines. As Jesa tied the bodice up, it forced Alanna's breasts up, showing plenty of cleavage; it also pressed on Alanna's weakened ribs. The actual skirts came next. Three layers of alternating pastel green and silver silks. Each was cut to a different wave pattern and the edge of the skirt looked liked layers of leaves.

Jesa stood back and looked at her lady. "It's fitting," Jesa said. "Not too dressy, yet perfect for today." Alanna nodded. "Now, sit down so I can fix your hair."

Alanna moved over to the vanity table and handed Jesa the brush. Normally, Alanna would fix her own hair but, due to unknown incidents, Alanna's strength was next to none. As Jesa played with Alanna's silky curls, Alanna pondered over why these nightmares of Jonathan haunted her. Why was she so terrified of him?

That one was easy. He terrified her for a number of reasons. Save for the fact, she knew why he did now: he watched her like she was his prey. He watched her movements, his eyes were filled with lust for her. It made her feel dirty, as if she was nothing more than a simple "play toy" for him. To use and to throw away when he was done. As Jesa moved onto the cosmetics to hide the shallowness of Alanna's face, the mistress thought of George.

Her sweet husband was currently up in Scanra. Doing what he did best - spying. That was the only reason Jonathan dared look at her with such lust and wanting. Had George been in Corus, Jonathan would have stayed far away. The worst part of all this was one factor - two nights ago, Jonathan almost raped her.

"All done," Jesa said, cheerfully. Alanna looked in the mirror. Her skin was not so shallow anymore, and a tint of pink had been added to her pale cheeks to make her seem healthier. Her eyes had been coated in a silver-green shadow and her eyelashes darkened. Her lips had been colored with a faint pink to add to the picture of health. Her silky hair had been twined together and formed into a waterfall of curls and waves. Alanna smiled at herself. She still looked tired and haunted, but health had come back into her face and body. No one would worry about her now.

A knock at the door sounded. "Shoes," Jesa said, stopping Alanna from rising. "Alicia will get the door." Alanna nodded and accepted the small green slippers Jesa handed to her. When Alanna had stood up, Thayet came in and did a double take.

"Alanna?" Thayet breathed.

Alanna gave a small smile. "Something wrong?"

"Lose a bet?"

"No."

"Then your wearing a dress willingly when there's no social function?"

"Correct."

Thayet went over to Alanna and put a small hand to the younger woman's forehead. "You do have a slight fever."

"Tis only the heat of the room."

Thayet didn't look convinced. "You should go to the Healers. You might be sick."

Alanna frowned. "I've never been sick in my life."

"There is always a first time for everything," Thayet retorted, giving a winning smile. Jesa smiled and gave Alanna an, "I told you so" Look.

"What are you here for so early in the morning, Thayet?" Alanna questioned.

"Oh! That's right! You're wanted for wedding preparations for Roald's wedding. Shinkokami wants you there to help. Someone told her about your wedding, I'm guessing. Anyway, you're needed. It'll be within fifteen minutes, so try to be on time. Also, there will be dress fittings."

Alanna paled; Jesa stepped in, "Tell your seamstress to give the designs to me. I am the one who makes my Lady's clothing, no one else. I refuse to have someone put something ill-made on my lady."

"Very well," Thayet said with a smile. "Grab some food before you go, Alanna. This may take a while." Alanna looked like she was about to protest, but Jesa took an apple, put it in Alanna's hand, and pushed her and Thayet out the door with a simple wave.

Once out the door, Alanna began mumbling darkly and bit into her apple. The queen looked at her friend with a smile. Something was wrong with Alanna, though the woman refused to admit what it was. Alanna seemed too thin, even for her. Flushed and almost always tired, fear hung in the back of those violet eyes.

"Alanna... Are you sure you're all right? You know if anything was ever wrong, you could come talk to either me or Jonathan, right?" Thayet asked. Alanna stopped dead, the apple dropping from her hand. "We both are worried about you," Thayet continued.

"Neither of you would care, nor understand. The least of all, Him. Do not presume that you know what I am going through," Alanna spoke harshly. Thayet drew back, shocked. What was going on?

"Ah, my Queen and Lady," Jonathan hailed, approaching them. He kissed Thayet on both cheeks and smiled at Alanna. "And my Champion. I have need of you, Alanna." He moved to kiss her as well, but she took a large step backwards.

"Do not touch me," she whispered, voice harsh with fear.

Jonathan frowned. "Do I frighten you?" Alanna spat at him in a different language. Jonathan took a step closer to Alanna, who froze, eyes wide in terror. He scowled. "Why do you cower from me? Am I not your friend?" Alanna stood there, frozen. "Answer me!"

A maid curtsied to the Queen. "Your Majesty? Her highness wishes you to join her and the seamstress."

Thayet nodded. "I'm coming." With a last look at her enraged husband and pale friend, she left.

Jonathan took hold of Alanna's wrist and pulled her after him. Several times Alanna feebly tried to get away - each time Jonathan only tightened the hold he had upon her wrist. He pulled her into the council room and locked the door. He flung her into a chair, so easy to do considering how light she suddenly was. She clutched the armrests as he advanced on her.

"What do you think you are playing at?" he snapped tightly. "Hunh? Do you think that if you act as if you couldn't stand to see me that people would protect you? Are you insane? Oh, don't answer that. We already know your mind is filled with nothing but a sword and being a whore to that commoner."

Jonathan moved as if to strike her, but stopped when Alanna whimpered and pulled back. He suddenly knelt before her, and took her face in his hands, against her sudden panic. "Oh, Alanna... I am so sorry! You know what you do to me! How can I not do anything but yearn after you?"

[ CENSORED ]

"Jonathan?" Gary called. "Are you in there?"

Jonathan covered Alanna's mouth with his hand. "I'll be right out, Gary."

"All right," he said, his retreating footsteps echoing.

Jonathan gave Alanna a swift kiss and left.

Alanna sat there, cold and scared. If only he would leave her alone.

~

Neal's head moved slowly, eyes opening. He grimaced in pain as he tried to move his body. He turned his head to the side, hearing sounds of arguing. He saw Roald, Shinkokami, and Yuki arguing. His angel was on the verge of tears while the two tried to get her to leave so she would sleep.

"Yuki!" Shinko pleaded. "He's been in a coma for the past three months! Even his Father has doubts about his awakening!" Tears ran down her face. "Please... You won't be able to do him any good if you're ill! When he awakes he won't want to see you ill, sleep dispossessed, and weakened. You must conserve yourself!"

"I cannot leave him!" Yuki cried out. She was crying now. "I cannot leave him!"

Roald sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. It was a habit he had picked up a few years ago when he was a squire. "Yuki... Listen to us. Neal may not wake up. If he does, he most likely won't be able to move from the sheer pain of the injuries he still has." Neal nodded mentally, for it was true about the pain. "You need to regain your strength. You haven't left his side since he was brought in! You need to care for yourself. Neal would not want you to pine away on his account."

"Listen to them..." Neal said, voice harsh and weak with disuse. The three turned and stared at Neal. He tried to move and bit back a gasp of utter pain. "Do I even want to know what fell on me?"

Roald chuckled. "What? You think a horse sat on you because it disliked your philosophy?"

Neal managed to get himself into a sitting position with Shinkokami's help. Yuki was standing shock still, eyes wide, face contorted in shock; tears ran down her face. "I would going to ask if it was a small manor, but a horse sounds reasonable. And my philosophy has nothing to do with it!" he added indignantly.

Roald smiled. "We'll fetch Duke Barid. He's been worried sick over you, Neal. So have other people. We missed your cynical views..." With that, he and Shinko left, leaving Yuki and Neal together.

"Yuki..." Neal said softly.

"You're... You're awake..." she whispered, her voice harsh with the tears she tried not to shed.

"Of course I am," he muttered. "The pain couldn't keep me asleep for long. Though, in truth, I wish it had. I'm in too much pain to even think. Should keep some people happy, that last bit."

Yuki smiled softly. "Neal... I... I need to tell you something."

He leveled a look at her that was dry. "Does it have to do with any more rejections? I still love you, you know. I just don't understand why you refused me." He looked away, muttering something about maybe it was him.

"No... No, it's not you," Yuki murmured. She looked at him, eyes bright with tears. "Neal, I refused you because... I can't have children, Neal. I can't give you a family. I can't give you an heir."

Neal let out a peel of laughter. "Let me tell you something, Yuki. I have five older brothers - I'm not the heir to Queenscove. If I was, I'd have made sure that I had died in the North! Too much responsibilities. Plus, all the Court functions? Please... I prefer being the youngest son. As for having a family... Yuki, I don't need a family. I need you. You're the only thing important to me."

Yuki looked at him, torn between joy and sadness. "Easterners large families..." she said, as a last protest.

Neal took her hand and drew her over to him. "Yea, well I don't like them. Too much noise. So, I ask you again, love. Will you marry me?"

Yuki bit her lip, tears falling from her eyes. Neal was glad they had put him in his own room. He opened the drawer in his night table and pulled out a black silk pouch. "Open it," he told her as he handed it to her. She did so with trembling fingers, and reached inside of it. What she pulled out surprised her.

It was a fine silver band, with a black opal in the setting. But what was most fascinating about it, was that the shimmering bits of color were gone from all but the center of it, and the shape in the center, was the silhouette of a phoenix. Resting next to the opal, were two garnets cut to resemble stars. Her breath caught in her chest.

" Neal... It's beautiful."

He smiled at her. " It'll look better on you..."