Disclaimer: Not ours! Belongs to Tammy.


Cleon opened his eyes and lazily took in the surroundings of the room. It was already late in the morning and the sun shone in brightly through his windows. He stretched his arms out above his forehead, not wanting to leave the comfort of his sheets. He gave in to his fatigue for a moment, falling back onto his bed, but as he stared at the ceiling above him, his brow suddenly creased and he heaved a great sigh. He turned over, remembering that he shared his bed with someone else. She must have risen already and let him sleep, because the room was silent and the place next to him was cold. He rubbed his face with his hands, still tired, and swung his feet onto the chilly stone floor. He pulled on some clothes- a pair of worn, brown breeches, a white shirt, and a simple, forest-colored tunic- and prepared himself for the day. As he looked around the room for anything he might've missed, he pushed away the thought of his bed partner's absence. He also tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling he got when he remembered that he did share his bed with a woman, as he had slept in their adjoining living room for days after the wedding. He yawned, sleepily, then took one last glance around the room and vacated it. As he walked through the halls, he noticed how empty they seemed, as if he was the only person around for miles.

He slowed down as he reached his destination, and then knocked three times on the heavy wooden door. "Just a minute!" a voice called from the other side. Cleon tapped his foot a little impatiently, and then finally the door swung open. Kel appeared in the doorway; the two knights looked equally surprised at seeing one another. Before he could think better of it, Cleon asked incredulously, "What are you doing here?" She seemed taken aback by the abruptness of his question, but his expression showed immediate remorse as soon as the words left his mouth. "Sorry," he said, looking away. "I wasn't thinking."

"It's alright," Kel said gently, "Neal's just too lazy to answer his own door." Cleon smiled cheekily, the discomfort momentarily forgotten, and replied, "The man is engaged, you know."

"Of course, and as the maid of honor, I have to help with all the wedding arrangements," she said dryly.

"Of course," Cleon replied, shuffling his feet; weddings were an uncomfortable subject.

"For Mithros' sake, Kel, won't you let my visitor inside?" Kel rolled her eyes as Neal spoke from his seat which he was content to remain in. Cleon stepped into the room, giving a cheerful hello to Neal and his bride-to-be. It felt strange to be reunited with his old friends, and stranger still to see how they had moved on with their lives in his absence.

"What took you so long to get down here?" Neal asked cheerfully. Cleon looked down at his feet and, turning slightly pink as he spoke, replied, "Well, you know, there was the wedding and then all the work to be done at Kennan. We worked tirelessly to restore the lands..."

"All excuses, my dear friend, what could possibly keep you away from us? Well besides your beautiful wife." Kel wished she could stomp on Neal's foot as he spoke, the almost annoying cheerfulness never leaving his voice, but there was nothing she could do that wouldn't appear rude. Cleon laughed nervously and replied, "You'll know the feeling, dear friend, soon enough I'm sure." There was awkward silence for a moment until Yuki offered to get the group something to drink.

"So, Neal, about the wedding..." Kel began.


A/N: Hey everyone! We're BACK!! So we wrote this totally randomly while chatting online one night and here it is! I don't know about you all, but I really liked Cleon and though yeah... he and Kel had to break it off, I still missed him being in the rest of the book! So here he is for your reading enjoyment. Please review. Reviews are GREATLY appreciated. Really. Defiantly. Well... that being said. Hope you enjoyed chapter one! New chapters will be coming relatively soon- no promises, because school has started (oh joy, oh rapture) so time is limited. But we will do our best!