Buri.? What about her? There was nothing between us.Raoul ranted in his
mind as he briskly headed for his room and slammed the room. Nothing.he
shouted in his mind as he roughly pulled off his boots followed by his
clothes. He went into the bathroom and went into the tub already filled
with hot water from the castle servants.
Buri. Commander Buri of the Queen's Riders. The woman he once loved and lost. ONCE. It was the inevitable. The two were good friends that always argued good-naturedly. Their friendship then naturally grew into something more, and soon they were sleeping together. Then, out of the blues, Buri called it all off. She said something about how she found someone else on one of her campaigns. Someone who would always be there for her because a knight, especially the Knight Commander of the King's Own, could not always be relied on to be there by a person's side constantly. With that brief explanation, she walked out of his life, forever. There was an invitation to her wedding to some bastard, but of course, he burned that letter the instant he saw her name. Buri? Who's Buri? There is no Buri.
After a good hard scrub, he grabbed a towel and dried himself of moisture. As he started putting his trousers on, he heard a soft knock on the door and then a heavy thump on the ground, followed by some glass object rolling on the floor. He quickly put on the rest of his clothes and opened the door. He found Kel giggling softly as she grabbed the bottle she dropped. She looked up and smiled sheepishly.
"Hello Raoul, can I *hiccup* come in?" she said, her speech slurred.
"Kel? Have you been drinking?" he asked in surprise, appalled by her appearance.
Her hair was again ruffled into a mess along with her clothes. She swayed somewhat as she got on her feet. She smiled stupidly and took a step, finding herself falling into Raoul's arms.
"Oh god Kel. Why did you drink yourself to a stupor?" he groaned as he dragged her onto his bed.
She sat up abruptly and lifted her bottle, as if to give a toast. "Drink? What drink? Oh this thing? It's just a little punch. Nothing more~" and she took a swig of wine.
"That's quite enough," Raoul said sternly as he attempted to take the bottle away from her.
"Why take away my fun? I haven't had that for a while now. It's my own little party," she said as she grabbed it and took another gulp.
Raoul grabbed the bottle away from her and threw it out the window against her protest. "Look Kel, I don't know if you're trying to escape your nightmares but this is not how you do it."
"Nightmares? Oh you mean those dreams I've been having about those children getting slaughtered. Nah. It's not mainly that. It's more on the lines of love," she commented woozily and plopped down on the bed.
"Love? You're in love?" Raoul asked bemusedly at his companion.
"Were. I was in love. With Cleon. Who ended up going after some bimbo with money. Can't blame him. Who'd choose this scrawny tomboy over some beautiful shapely blonde that's loaded?"
Raoul sat next to the drunk Kel. "You're not the only one with the heart broken. Buri left me to get married to some bastard who has a much more stable life than I. We're in the same boat but you don't see me getting drunk."
Kel sat up again and stared at him. "Buri left you? Aren't we just a wonderful pair of shattered hearts," she sang while she swayed about.
Raoul grabbed a hold of Kel. "Listen Kel. This is not how you escape reality. This will end up making you do things that you'll regret later!"
"Something like. this?" and she kissed him firmly on the mouth.
Raoul stared at her shocked and stood up quickly. "Exactly! Why can't you just come to your senses for once like you used to?"
"Like I USED to. The oh-so-wonderful-Kel that is a tomboy. Yes, that wonderful pleasant little girl that decided to be a knight because she felt that she could overcome the odds in the world of men. That beautiful foolish girl who gave her heart away to some guy who ended up breaking her heart but remained calm and collected because she is supposed to be rational. The rational sensible Kel! That's who I am. Rational and sensible!"
Hearing her rant, Raoul finally came to realize what was wrong. It wasn't just the whole Blayce incident. It was everything. Everyone's expectations, the gossips, the pressure. He grabbed her and held her tight, to give her some sort of reassurance that everything was all right when it truly wasn't.
At this sudden burst of his physical emotion, Kel began to cry softly, clinging to her friend because she had no one else to hold onto.
The two clung to each other, one comforting the other while the other clung for support. After a few minutes Kel reluctantly pulled away and sat down on his bed again.
"Is it okay if.." she began.
"It's okay. You can sleep with me tonight," Raoul said reassuringly.
Kel smiled her thanks and she immediately fell asleep.
Raoul looked at his beloved vulnerable friend, worried about her stability and her endurance. Noticing her boots still intact on her feet, he gently pulled them off from them and covered her with his blanket. With that covered, he softly kissed her on the forehead and went to sleep on the floor.
Buri. Commander Buri of the Queen's Riders. The woman he once loved and lost. ONCE. It was the inevitable. The two were good friends that always argued good-naturedly. Their friendship then naturally grew into something more, and soon they were sleeping together. Then, out of the blues, Buri called it all off. She said something about how she found someone else on one of her campaigns. Someone who would always be there for her because a knight, especially the Knight Commander of the King's Own, could not always be relied on to be there by a person's side constantly. With that brief explanation, she walked out of his life, forever. There was an invitation to her wedding to some bastard, but of course, he burned that letter the instant he saw her name. Buri? Who's Buri? There is no Buri.
After a good hard scrub, he grabbed a towel and dried himself of moisture. As he started putting his trousers on, he heard a soft knock on the door and then a heavy thump on the ground, followed by some glass object rolling on the floor. He quickly put on the rest of his clothes and opened the door. He found Kel giggling softly as she grabbed the bottle she dropped. She looked up and smiled sheepishly.
"Hello Raoul, can I *hiccup* come in?" she said, her speech slurred.
"Kel? Have you been drinking?" he asked in surprise, appalled by her appearance.
Her hair was again ruffled into a mess along with her clothes. She swayed somewhat as she got on her feet. She smiled stupidly and took a step, finding herself falling into Raoul's arms.
"Oh god Kel. Why did you drink yourself to a stupor?" he groaned as he dragged her onto his bed.
She sat up abruptly and lifted her bottle, as if to give a toast. "Drink? What drink? Oh this thing? It's just a little punch. Nothing more~" and she took a swig of wine.
"That's quite enough," Raoul said sternly as he attempted to take the bottle away from her.
"Why take away my fun? I haven't had that for a while now. It's my own little party," she said as she grabbed it and took another gulp.
Raoul grabbed the bottle away from her and threw it out the window against her protest. "Look Kel, I don't know if you're trying to escape your nightmares but this is not how you do it."
"Nightmares? Oh you mean those dreams I've been having about those children getting slaughtered. Nah. It's not mainly that. It's more on the lines of love," she commented woozily and plopped down on the bed.
"Love? You're in love?" Raoul asked bemusedly at his companion.
"Were. I was in love. With Cleon. Who ended up going after some bimbo with money. Can't blame him. Who'd choose this scrawny tomboy over some beautiful shapely blonde that's loaded?"
Raoul sat next to the drunk Kel. "You're not the only one with the heart broken. Buri left me to get married to some bastard who has a much more stable life than I. We're in the same boat but you don't see me getting drunk."
Kel sat up again and stared at him. "Buri left you? Aren't we just a wonderful pair of shattered hearts," she sang while she swayed about.
Raoul grabbed a hold of Kel. "Listen Kel. This is not how you escape reality. This will end up making you do things that you'll regret later!"
"Something like. this?" and she kissed him firmly on the mouth.
Raoul stared at her shocked and stood up quickly. "Exactly! Why can't you just come to your senses for once like you used to?"
"Like I USED to. The oh-so-wonderful-Kel that is a tomboy. Yes, that wonderful pleasant little girl that decided to be a knight because she felt that she could overcome the odds in the world of men. That beautiful foolish girl who gave her heart away to some guy who ended up breaking her heart but remained calm and collected because she is supposed to be rational. The rational sensible Kel! That's who I am. Rational and sensible!"
Hearing her rant, Raoul finally came to realize what was wrong. It wasn't just the whole Blayce incident. It was everything. Everyone's expectations, the gossips, the pressure. He grabbed her and held her tight, to give her some sort of reassurance that everything was all right when it truly wasn't.
At this sudden burst of his physical emotion, Kel began to cry softly, clinging to her friend because she had no one else to hold onto.
The two clung to each other, one comforting the other while the other clung for support. After a few minutes Kel reluctantly pulled away and sat down on his bed again.
"Is it okay if.." she began.
"It's okay. You can sleep with me tonight," Raoul said reassuringly.
Kel smiled her thanks and she immediately fell asleep.
Raoul looked at his beloved vulnerable friend, worried about her stability and her endurance. Noticing her boots still intact on her feet, he gently pulled them off from them and covered her with his blanket. With that covered, he softly kissed her on the forehead and went to sleep on the floor.