Okay. I'm done being sadistic. For now. Here's the longer, more informative chapter, followed by a small little blurb chapter. I hope you enjoy them. They're my babies! *sniff*
The Truth Comes Out
We got back about a week later. I was very nervous. Kel had never answered any of my letters. What if she didn't WANT to forgive me? What if she'd decided to run off with 'Marques'? I couldn't stand it.
I climbed the stairs with mixed feelings (followed by a couple of the Own who wanted to see how things turned out. I tried to get them to go away but they kept coming back) I both longed for Kel and dreaded her. What if she just laughed in my face? I could hear her voice saying, "Dom, you idiot! Didn't you get the message when I didn't answer your letters? You're so stupid! I'm in love with Marques now, you can have your silly ring back!"
I stopped dead in my tracks. Stop thinking like this, Dom, I thought. What happens, happens, but you can't avoid your own wife. Wait a minute, can you? No! Keep going until you get to your door and knock on it!
I did. My 'followers' hid in an alcove. Kel opened the door and her eyes widened. My heart skipped a beat. She threw her arms around me with a sob. "Oh Dom! I missed you so much!"
There was a cheer from the alcove, and then the men scurried off to tell the others. Kel craned her neck to see. "Who's that?"
"No one," I lied, and pulled her quickly through the door.
I hugged her tightly, saying over and over "I'm so sorry! I was such a fool!"
"It's all right." Kel murmured. She hugged me back and stroked my hair soothingly. "Let's not fight anymore," she whispered softly in my ear. Her breath was warm against my neck. I felt a shiver go down my spine. "I'm tired of fighting."
I nodded and buried my face in her neck. Her hair brushed against my cheek. It was damp from a recent bath. "So am I. I'm so sorry."
"You said that already, Dom."
"And I'm saying it again: I'm so sorry."
She pulled back and chuckled. "I think I get the picture."
I moved onto other things. "Why didn't you write me? I wrote to you all the time and you never wrote back! I was so worried! You should hear some of the ideas that were going through my head!" I didn't actually mean that. Really, the thoughts going through my head were absolutely ridiculous. She didn't love me anymore, or she ripped up my letters without a thought. Or she'd been captured by Scanrans and put to work on a slave ship and then the slave ship sank and she was stranded in Carthak and adopted by a band of thieves who used her as a scapegoat for a murder and she was nearly hanged when cannibals raided the city and they took her from the gallows and tied her over a roasting pit, but then they were attacked by killer bees and she was able to escape by playing a magic flute that lulled the bees to sleep and ruled them as Queen Bee, and then she received one of my letters which she promptly ripped up without a thought because she didn't love me anymore. Obviously, I was a little off.
"I got all your letters and I did write back! Didn't you get them?"
I shook my head.
"That's odd," Kel said.
"Very odd."
"Maybe I got mixed up about the address," she suggested.
"Not likely."
"Well, what do you suggest? What matters is we're together and I love you."
My heart warmed. "I suppose so."
Kel placed her hands on my shoulders and touched her nose to mine. "You've been travelling all day. You must be tired."
I smiled suggestively. "Not any more."
She blushed. "Fine. But you have to promise me that you will go to sleep at some time tonight."
I cocked my head in mock-consideration. "I don't know...."
"Dom, promise me." She had one of those looks on her face that told me there was no use arguing.
"Alright," I grumbled.
Kel smiled triumphantly. "Good. You go ahead, I have to empty my bath."
She disappeared into the next room and I walked to the bedroom. Slowly I stripped down and got under the covers, groaning happily as I settled back against the cushions. I'd traveled far that day, and I was tired. But as I mentioned earlier, I was never too tired for Kel.
I waited for a while with my hands behind my head, and then decided that I might as well get a little rest. I blew out the candle and rolled onto my side, pulling the covers up to my chest.
It was several minutes before I heard the door open. I stayed still. When she leaned in to check if I was asleep, I'd pounce on her.
I listened to the rustle of cloth as she undressed, picturing her removing each garment in my mind's eye.
She slipped under the covers next to me and leaned close. "Kel?" she said.
I tensed, ready to pounce on her, then paused. Wait a minute, I thought. That's not right. She just called me by her own name. Her voice is too low, and it sounds an awful lot like – Marques. The bloody bastard.
"Kel are you awake? I know you are. You're breathing too quickly. Do you feel that way too, when I'm close to you? Don't be angry with me, Kel. Those letters you sent never reached Dom. He doesn't deserve you, love. He doesn't make you happy, I can tell.
"But I can make you happy. I love you more than your husband ever could. Let me make you happy. I'll always be there when you need me, I promise. Not like him. Please, Kel."
I didn't answer him. All I could think of was that he was putting the moves on Kel, well, he thought he was. And the way he was doing it! I became more angry by the second, listening to 'he doesn't deserve you', 'he doesn't make you happy'. My fists clenched on the bedsheets.
"Please Kel, I love you." He wriggled right up next to me and planted a hot, wet kiss on my bare shoulder.
I decided that this was the right moment to inform him that I was not Kel. I did this by way of yelling at the top of my lungs. "AAAARRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
He apologized for his mistake. "YAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHGGG!!!!!!!!!"
Kel came running in with only a towel wrapped around herself. "Dom, what's going –" She saw her husband and her scribe sitting up naked in her bed, mouths hanging open. I imagine it was quite a shock to her. So much of a shock, in fact, that she dropped her towel.
For a moment Marques and I stared at the object of our affections, standing naked in front of us. It was the oddest moment of my entire life. Then I came to and realized that another man was looking at my wife and punched Marques in the nose, cursing and yelling. He fell off the bed from the impact. I tried to leap off and give him a beating he'd never forget, but my legs were all tangled in the bed sheets. I lost my balance and fell over, my cheek colliding with the bed post. I struggled against the bed clothes for a while, then gave up.
Kel had wrapped her towel around herself again and was passing a very red Marques his clothes. "I think you'd better go," she said, "I'll write you a recommendation and find a new position for you."
Marques looked mournfully at her. "I love you," he whimpered.
Kel winced. "Um, right," She turned to me. "Are you alright, Dom?"
I rubbed my cheek and looked up at her. "I was right all along!"
Kel winced again, but nodded in agreement. "Yes, you were right. But don't let it go to your head."
Marques had pulled on his breeches and was making his way out of the door. "Well, bye then," he said sadly.
I know I really hated the swine, but I kind of felt sorry for him. He was humiliated. But I couldn't think of anything I could say that would comfort him. Not from the husband of the woman he was in love with.
Kel walked him to the door. "Goodbye, Marques," she sighed.
He shut the front door behind him. It creaked. I really should get it oiled, I thought.
I was about to say something when I heard a loud yell and the sound of many footsteps thundering down the hall. Kel wrenched open the door and the sounds became more clarified. She gasped. "What's happening?" I called from the bedroom.
"I don't know! All I can see is a group of rough men, and they're carrying off Marques! Do you think he's all right?"
I tried not to look guilty. "Sure he's all right. Those are probably just friends of his, coming to console him."
"He's screaming and struggling!
"Well, he must be mad with grief after what happened..."
"Wait a minute, isn't that man in the Own?"
I jumped. "Uh, your eyesight must be a little blurred. It's late."
Kel sighed and let the door swing shut. It creaked. Got to oil the door. "I suppose you're right."
"Kel," I began, on a more serious note.
"Oh, Gods," Kel murmured wistfully, leaning against the bedroom door. "I'm sorry, Dom. I should have listened to you."
I smiled. This is a sentence every man wants to hear. And yet we hear it so little. Many men would have gotten her to repeat it, but I didn't. The scribe's remark that I didn't make Kel happy had cut deeper than I liked to admit. "Apology accepted. But, hmmm, I'm still not satisfied."
Kel sighed. "What do you want me to do, Dom? Get down on my knees and beg for forgiveness?" She looked like she would actually be willing to do it. But I couldn't stand to see my Lady Knight sitting on the floor like some slave, and besides, that wasn't what I wanted.
I had managed to disentangle myself from the sheets and arranged them around me in the way I liked. I looked up at Kel, who was was staring at me suspiciously. Smiling pleasantly, I patted the mattress beside me.
Kel mock-glared, then moved over to sit primly on the edge of the bed, too far away for my tastes. I sidled closer and leaned in so that I could smell the fresh scent of soap on her neck. I captured her chin with my hand and turned her face toward mine. DO you deserve her? I asked myself. She must have seen the doubt in my eyes, because the stern look faded and her lips curved into a smile. Kel leaned in that last inch and kissed me warmly, squelching all of my doubts.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Raoul was concerned about Dom and Kel. He hadn't heard from either of them since Dom had left for his rooms. He decided to go pay them a visit.
He found the door to their rooms unlocked. This disturbed him. "Kel? Dom?" he said softly. Raoul pushed the door wider and stepped inside. Dom's rucksack was on the chair. Well, at least he's arrived safely, Raoul thought.
THUMP! He jumped. What was that? It was coming from the bedroom. Raoul pulled out the knife he always kept in his boot and made his way toward the bedroom door. He was just about to turn the handle when he heard a voice, Kel's, from inside.
"Oh, Gods! DOM!"
He snatched his hand away from the door handle as from hot coals, his eyes widening. Then he smiled knowingly, a grin that spread from ear to ear. Of course, he should have known.
THUMP!
Raoul decided it was time for his exit. Just before shutting the door, he heard a deep groan of male satisfaction. He smiled again and wished both of them luck. The door closed with a muffled click.
The little rat got what he deserved. Imagine, trying to steal Kel from Dom! What a bloody arsehole! And Kel didn't really do anything wrong. Don't pick on her.
Btw, once again, I must explain. Dom is still in the Own because I didn't want to make up some cheesy reason for the law to be removed. Like "it's old-fashioned" or, "it's okay, we're going to make Dom commander now" or "what the heck, who needs it anyway!" I mean, really. Would anybody here want the law to change for some other reason than for Kel and Dom? Who here wants Captain Flyndan to get married? How about Wolset? I didn't think so. So quit saying "Oh, excuse me, I think you're wrong there. Isn't there a law?" JUST IGNORE IT! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLY INFLUENCING YOUR LIFE!
-*- Shibhon
The Truth Comes Out
We got back about a week later. I was very nervous. Kel had never answered any of my letters. What if she didn't WANT to forgive me? What if she'd decided to run off with 'Marques'? I couldn't stand it.
I climbed the stairs with mixed feelings (followed by a couple of the Own who wanted to see how things turned out. I tried to get them to go away but they kept coming back) I both longed for Kel and dreaded her. What if she just laughed in my face? I could hear her voice saying, "Dom, you idiot! Didn't you get the message when I didn't answer your letters? You're so stupid! I'm in love with Marques now, you can have your silly ring back!"
I stopped dead in my tracks. Stop thinking like this, Dom, I thought. What happens, happens, but you can't avoid your own wife. Wait a minute, can you? No! Keep going until you get to your door and knock on it!
I did. My 'followers' hid in an alcove. Kel opened the door and her eyes widened. My heart skipped a beat. She threw her arms around me with a sob. "Oh Dom! I missed you so much!"
There was a cheer from the alcove, and then the men scurried off to tell the others. Kel craned her neck to see. "Who's that?"
"No one," I lied, and pulled her quickly through the door.
I hugged her tightly, saying over and over "I'm so sorry! I was such a fool!"
"It's all right." Kel murmured. She hugged me back and stroked my hair soothingly. "Let's not fight anymore," she whispered softly in my ear. Her breath was warm against my neck. I felt a shiver go down my spine. "I'm tired of fighting."
I nodded and buried my face in her neck. Her hair brushed against my cheek. It was damp from a recent bath. "So am I. I'm so sorry."
"You said that already, Dom."
"And I'm saying it again: I'm so sorry."
She pulled back and chuckled. "I think I get the picture."
I moved onto other things. "Why didn't you write me? I wrote to you all the time and you never wrote back! I was so worried! You should hear some of the ideas that were going through my head!" I didn't actually mean that. Really, the thoughts going through my head were absolutely ridiculous. She didn't love me anymore, or she ripped up my letters without a thought. Or she'd been captured by Scanrans and put to work on a slave ship and then the slave ship sank and she was stranded in Carthak and adopted by a band of thieves who used her as a scapegoat for a murder and she was nearly hanged when cannibals raided the city and they took her from the gallows and tied her over a roasting pit, but then they were attacked by killer bees and she was able to escape by playing a magic flute that lulled the bees to sleep and ruled them as Queen Bee, and then she received one of my letters which she promptly ripped up without a thought because she didn't love me anymore. Obviously, I was a little off.
"I got all your letters and I did write back! Didn't you get them?"
I shook my head.
"That's odd," Kel said.
"Very odd."
"Maybe I got mixed up about the address," she suggested.
"Not likely."
"Well, what do you suggest? What matters is we're together and I love you."
My heart warmed. "I suppose so."
Kel placed her hands on my shoulders and touched her nose to mine. "You've been travelling all day. You must be tired."
I smiled suggestively. "Not any more."
She blushed. "Fine. But you have to promise me that you will go to sleep at some time tonight."
I cocked my head in mock-consideration. "I don't know...."
"Dom, promise me." She had one of those looks on her face that told me there was no use arguing.
"Alright," I grumbled.
Kel smiled triumphantly. "Good. You go ahead, I have to empty my bath."
She disappeared into the next room and I walked to the bedroom. Slowly I stripped down and got under the covers, groaning happily as I settled back against the cushions. I'd traveled far that day, and I was tired. But as I mentioned earlier, I was never too tired for Kel.
I waited for a while with my hands behind my head, and then decided that I might as well get a little rest. I blew out the candle and rolled onto my side, pulling the covers up to my chest.
It was several minutes before I heard the door open. I stayed still. When she leaned in to check if I was asleep, I'd pounce on her.
I listened to the rustle of cloth as she undressed, picturing her removing each garment in my mind's eye.
She slipped under the covers next to me and leaned close. "Kel?" she said.
I tensed, ready to pounce on her, then paused. Wait a minute, I thought. That's not right. She just called me by her own name. Her voice is too low, and it sounds an awful lot like – Marques. The bloody bastard.
"Kel are you awake? I know you are. You're breathing too quickly. Do you feel that way too, when I'm close to you? Don't be angry with me, Kel. Those letters you sent never reached Dom. He doesn't deserve you, love. He doesn't make you happy, I can tell.
"But I can make you happy. I love you more than your husband ever could. Let me make you happy. I'll always be there when you need me, I promise. Not like him. Please, Kel."
I didn't answer him. All I could think of was that he was putting the moves on Kel, well, he thought he was. And the way he was doing it! I became more angry by the second, listening to 'he doesn't deserve you', 'he doesn't make you happy'. My fists clenched on the bedsheets.
"Please Kel, I love you." He wriggled right up next to me and planted a hot, wet kiss on my bare shoulder.
I decided that this was the right moment to inform him that I was not Kel. I did this by way of yelling at the top of my lungs. "AAAARRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
He apologized for his mistake. "YAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHGGG!!!!!!!!!"
Kel came running in with only a towel wrapped around herself. "Dom, what's going –" She saw her husband and her scribe sitting up naked in her bed, mouths hanging open. I imagine it was quite a shock to her. So much of a shock, in fact, that she dropped her towel.
For a moment Marques and I stared at the object of our affections, standing naked in front of us. It was the oddest moment of my entire life. Then I came to and realized that another man was looking at my wife and punched Marques in the nose, cursing and yelling. He fell off the bed from the impact. I tried to leap off and give him a beating he'd never forget, but my legs were all tangled in the bed sheets. I lost my balance and fell over, my cheek colliding with the bed post. I struggled against the bed clothes for a while, then gave up.
Kel had wrapped her towel around herself again and was passing a very red Marques his clothes. "I think you'd better go," she said, "I'll write you a recommendation and find a new position for you."
Marques looked mournfully at her. "I love you," he whimpered.
Kel winced. "Um, right," She turned to me. "Are you alright, Dom?"
I rubbed my cheek and looked up at her. "I was right all along!"
Kel winced again, but nodded in agreement. "Yes, you were right. But don't let it go to your head."
Marques had pulled on his breeches and was making his way out of the door. "Well, bye then," he said sadly.
I know I really hated the swine, but I kind of felt sorry for him. He was humiliated. But I couldn't think of anything I could say that would comfort him. Not from the husband of the woman he was in love with.
Kel walked him to the door. "Goodbye, Marques," she sighed.
He shut the front door behind him. It creaked. I really should get it oiled, I thought.
I was about to say something when I heard a loud yell and the sound of many footsteps thundering down the hall. Kel wrenched open the door and the sounds became more clarified. She gasped. "What's happening?" I called from the bedroom.
"I don't know! All I can see is a group of rough men, and they're carrying off Marques! Do you think he's all right?"
I tried not to look guilty. "Sure he's all right. Those are probably just friends of his, coming to console him."
"He's screaming and struggling!
"Well, he must be mad with grief after what happened..."
"Wait a minute, isn't that man in the Own?"
I jumped. "Uh, your eyesight must be a little blurred. It's late."
Kel sighed and let the door swing shut. It creaked. Got to oil the door. "I suppose you're right."
"Kel," I began, on a more serious note.
"Oh, Gods," Kel murmured wistfully, leaning against the bedroom door. "I'm sorry, Dom. I should have listened to you."
I smiled. This is a sentence every man wants to hear. And yet we hear it so little. Many men would have gotten her to repeat it, but I didn't. The scribe's remark that I didn't make Kel happy had cut deeper than I liked to admit. "Apology accepted. But, hmmm, I'm still not satisfied."
Kel sighed. "What do you want me to do, Dom? Get down on my knees and beg for forgiveness?" She looked like she would actually be willing to do it. But I couldn't stand to see my Lady Knight sitting on the floor like some slave, and besides, that wasn't what I wanted.
I had managed to disentangle myself from the sheets and arranged them around me in the way I liked. I looked up at Kel, who was was staring at me suspiciously. Smiling pleasantly, I patted the mattress beside me.
Kel mock-glared, then moved over to sit primly on the edge of the bed, too far away for my tastes. I sidled closer and leaned in so that I could smell the fresh scent of soap on her neck. I captured her chin with my hand and turned her face toward mine. DO you deserve her? I asked myself. She must have seen the doubt in my eyes, because the stern look faded and her lips curved into a smile. Kel leaned in that last inch and kissed me warmly, squelching all of my doubts.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Raoul was concerned about Dom and Kel. He hadn't heard from either of them since Dom had left for his rooms. He decided to go pay them a visit.
He found the door to their rooms unlocked. This disturbed him. "Kel? Dom?" he said softly. Raoul pushed the door wider and stepped inside. Dom's rucksack was on the chair. Well, at least he's arrived safely, Raoul thought.
THUMP! He jumped. What was that? It was coming from the bedroom. Raoul pulled out the knife he always kept in his boot and made his way toward the bedroom door. He was just about to turn the handle when he heard a voice, Kel's, from inside.
"Oh, Gods! DOM!"
He snatched his hand away from the door handle as from hot coals, his eyes widening. Then he smiled knowingly, a grin that spread from ear to ear. Of course, he should have known.
THUMP!
Raoul decided it was time for his exit. Just before shutting the door, he heard a deep groan of male satisfaction. He smiled again and wished both of them luck. The door closed with a muffled click.
The little rat got what he deserved. Imagine, trying to steal Kel from Dom! What a bloody arsehole! And Kel didn't really do anything wrong. Don't pick on her.
Btw, once again, I must explain. Dom is still in the Own because I didn't want to make up some cheesy reason for the law to be removed. Like "it's old-fashioned" or, "it's okay, we're going to make Dom commander now" or "what the heck, who needs it anyway!" I mean, really. Would anybody here want the law to change for some other reason than for Kel and Dom? Who here wants Captain Flyndan to get married? How about Wolset? I didn't think so. So quit saying "Oh, excuse me, I think you're wrong there. Isn't there a law?" JUST IGNORE IT! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLY INFLUENCING YOUR LIFE!
-*- Shibhon
