Running is easy, but hiding is hard

Kel was exhausted. She'd spent an entire three days running away from Dom, and it hadn't been easy. He must have eyes in the back of his head, she decided. Every time Kel got caught in a public place Dom would appear around a corner and call her name, hurrying toward her. Kel would flee the scene as quickly as she could.

She'd hidden herself in a hay wagon more than once. And gotten kicked off without any mercy whatsoever. Then there was the time she'd ducked into a brothel by mistake. That was almost as bad as meeting with Dom.

Kel's closest call had been in the library. Dom was over by the window, reading a large tome, and directly in view of the door. Fortunately, Kel was resourceful. She unrolled a rather long scroll that stretched all the way down her front. Walking as quickly as she dared, she held the parchment in front of her and made for the door, pretending to be thoroughly engrossed in "The Deterioration of Stain Glass Windows over Long Periods of Time". Her planned worked; Dom hadn't glanced at her, but one of the librarians had hounded her for removing an important document without permission. She still wasn't quite sure how an article on stain glass windows could be all that important.

Her rooms were no longer a refuge. Dom always seemed to know when she was home and knocked at her door relentlessly. She wouldn't answer, pretending she was out, but he knew better. There was no escape from Domitan of Masbolle.

Dom had come knocking again just an hour ago, but she focused all her attention on her payments. But the pounding on her door returned, and she couldn't concentrate anymore, with the noise, and how tired all her limbs were. She needed a holiday.

This is your holiday, said that annoying little voice. You ruined it for yourself. I hope you're happy now.

Dom persisted with his knocking, driving Kel to the edge. It was clear now that she couldn't run from him. He was there, just beyond the door, waiting for her to open it. Kel took and deep breath in through her nose, and out through her mouth, calming herself. Then she got up from her chair and made her way to the door. Calm, controlled. She turned the handle and opened it slowly. The knocking stopped.

As she opened the door fully, the afternoon sun hit his features, turning his hair golden and casting a shadow along his long-bridged nose, his eyes studying her.

Kel tried to hide her surprise. "Hello, Neal."

(A/N: Ha! I bet you thought it was going to be Dom, huh? Excuse moi l'ttle joke!)

"Do you always wait that long to open the door?" Neal grumbled. "I've been standing here for ages an' ages,"

"Umm, well, I didn't want to be interrupted. Paperwork. Got to get it done."

He raised his eyebrows. "They sure dump a whole lot of papers on you, don't they, Kel? If I were you, I would complain."

Kel smiled crookedly. "I have no doubt that you would,"

"Huh?"

"It's typical Neal behaviour."

"Everybody says that. 'Typical Neal'. What does that MEAN!"

"Ahh, Neal,"

"You know what, I don't want to know what that means. I prefer to remain happily oblivious. But we're not talking about me, we're talking about you."

It was Kel's turn to raise her eyebrows. "Oh?"

"Oh, yes. Dom tells me that you've been avoiding him. For three days!"

She looked at her hands. "He.. must be mistaken. It's probably just that... we haven't seen each other in a while.. and he's misinterpreted it."

Neal looked her straight in the eye. "Hah! You are the worst liar I have ever seen. Except for Owen. But we're not talking about him. We're talking about you."

"So I've heard,"

"Come on, tell Uncle Neal what's wrong," he said in a soothing voice.

Kel was grateful he wanted to help, but this matter was between her and Dom and no one else. "No, Neal. I think we should work out our..." She paused, not quite knowing what to say. "..differences, on our own."

Neal looked both suspicious and curious, not a good combination. "Are you sure you're not just going to start hiding in hay wagons again?"

"I'll try to resist."

"All right. Well, good luck." Neal gave her shoulder a rare affectionate pat. He turned to leave, then looked back at her, smiling. "I hope you two can work out your..." he paused and his smile widened into a smirk. "..differences."

Kel scowled and shut the door.

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The sun was setting, and it was suppertime in the palace. Most people were either in the messes or dining in the more luxurious halls. It was a perfect time for Keladry to escape.

She opened the door carefully, trying to mute the creaking sound. She poked her head out and looked both ways. Cautious, much? said the little voice. Kel squelched it with a frown. The voice seemed to forget it's place more often now. Keeping it quiet was becoming difficult.

She stepped out into the corridor wearing soft boots that muffled her footfalls. Dom had become even worse since yesterday. Kel knew she'd told Neal that she would confront him, but it was easier said than done. She couldn't bring herself to do it. To tell the truth, she would gone to Dom by now if it hadn't been for his persistence in catching her. Kel hated to say it, but it was his persistence that frightened her. She didn't know what to do when faced with it. After all this time, the Lady Knight was acting like a coward.

And she knew it.

She shut and locked the door behind her, then started on her way to the kitchens. No one came there at this time of night. It was safe.

The sun did not strike this part of the palace, so it was very dark in the corridors, the light from the sconces casting flickering shadows along the walls. Kel didn't like it when it was this dark. One could never tell if someone might be hiding, waiting to pounce. But that was silly, no one would attack her in the middle of the palace.

Kel froze. She was quite sure she had heard footsteps behind her. She looked over her shoulder, peering into the darkness. There was no one there. It must have been my imagination, she assured herself. All the same, she felt uneasy.

She started walking again, ears straining for some sound of pursuit. Yes, it was there; she could just hear the gentle scuffing of boots against the stone floor. Her muscles tensed, and she stopped again, turning more quickly this time. But yet again, she found herself alone.

Kel set herself a brisk pace then on, and her pursuer, forced to keep up with her, could no longer keep his steps so quiet. An attacker would have acted by now, she thought. And there was only one person she could think of that would be following her. Worry crossed her face. It seemed Dom had adopted new means of waylaying her. But she wasn't ready to speak to him yet. She wanted to go up to his door, of her own free will, knock on it, and work things out with him through polite conversation like a civilized person. But that couldn't be expected of her while being followed down a dark corridor.

Her mind worked quickly, searching for a safe haven. Her eyes settled on a small gilded sign set on the wall above a doorway. 'Ladies Baths'. Smiling mischievously, she entered, the door swinging shut behind her. There were a few women getting massages, sitting by the pools bathing. She walked casually, so no one would notice her, and headed off to a change room. They would never suspect her.

It was at this very moment that Dom, who had obviously not bothered to read the sign, barged into the Ladies Baths, panting from his run and looking about wildly. Kel could hear his boots slapping against the marble as she undressed in the change room. There were a couple screams and squeals and "I'm so sorry, so terribly sorry. I was, err... looking for someone..."

Kel poked her head out, swathed in a bath robe. The mistress of the baths, a heavy woman with a red face, was leering at him, her keys jangling on the chatelaine at her waist. "Oh, I'll bet you were looking for 'someone', yeh rip! But you won't find em 'ere! Out, out!" She waved her hands at him threateningly, seeming to grow by a few inches. Dom's eyes widened and he exited the room still muttering his apologies, stumbling over discarded towels.

When the door shut behind him, the ladies erupted into fits of giggling, congratulating the mistress on her performance. The big woman held her sides a gave a deep, merry laugh. Her face looked kind when she was laughing.

It was at this point that Kel decided to enter the room and inquire innocently about the commotion. They were all too eager to tell her the tale.

__________________________________________________________________

Kel was still chuckling to herself on her way back to her room an hour later. The encounter with Dom had been very entertaining, and brightened her mood. She'd missed dinner, but the ladies in the baths had some fruit and bread laid out on platters and were glad to share.

In her elated mood, she hardly noticed that she didn't look around corners or glance warily at the shadows anymore.

She reached her rooms and inserted her key into the lock. Once inside she took off her tunic and threw it in the general direction of a high backed chair. It was dark, and she couldn't tell where everything was. She reached up and rubbed the back of her neck, groaning. It was late, and Kel was tired.

She reached about blindly until her hands found purchase on the desk. She searched around a bit and found the matches. Striking one, she lit three candles, letting out a small yelp as the flame reached her fingers. She dropped the match and shook her hand to cool it, the picked up a candle and moved over to light the one by the bed stand. When she saw what was waiting behind, she nearly dropped it.

Sitting regally in the high backed chair with Kel's discarded tunic in his lap was Dom.

"Hello, Keladry. Long time no see."

A/N: Heh, heh, heh. Sneaky Dom.